Devaniya School of Kathak performed the Mahabharata in Tamil

Mahal’, a festival by Devaniya School of Kathak, was a solemnisation of a decade-long pursuit by Jigyasa Giri successful promoting Kathak successful Chennai. The three-day festival, held precocious astatine Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, featured a scope of programmes — Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, a theatrical storytelling and a seminar. It concluded with a Nritya Natika titled ‘Kaalam Uruttum Dhaayam’ by the students of Jigyasa Giri.

This was the archetypal clip that a Kathak accumulation was presented successful Tamil. Comprising 5 sequences, it portrayed the crippled of dice from the Mahabharata, Draupadi’s humiliation, the Kurukshetra warfare and Krishna’s Vishwaroopa darshanam.

Barring the dancer who played Draupadi, 17 others donned the roles of the antheral characters from the epic. Their almighty movements and expressions captured the tone of the characters, adding to the wide interaction of the presentation.

Eclectic mix

The accumulation had much theatrical elements with Kathak footwork patterns and movements disposable lone successful a fewer places. The usage of twisted stoles by the main characters arsenic a prop to picture a checkerboard was imaginative. The costumes, comprising dhoti pants, jackets and stoles, offered an eclectic premix of colours, patterns and styles. However, a much defined colour strategy to separate the Pandavas from the Kauravas would person created a beardown ocular appeal. Choreographically, the continuous question of each characters connected signifier felt somewhat repetitive, making the sequences a small monotonous.

The lighting plan by Victor Paulraj efficaciously enhanced the melodramatic elements of the production, complemented by the evocative philharmonic people by Ajay Singh and Shreya Singh. The thought to usage Tamil could person been much impactful had the presumption delved deeper into the creation form.