Revisiting Tagore
SANJAY KUMAR
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Rabindranath Tagore's "Mayar Khela" was a nice change from the usual.
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TOGETHER FOR LOVE Rabindranath Tagore's dance-drama, "Mayar Khela" was back on the Delhi stage after 22 years.
We all must have been through it. Or at least wish we had been. However, it takes a genius to give it a shape and form. That was the message one took home after being enchanted by a performance of Rabindranath Tagore's dance-drama "Mayar Khela" (The Play of Fanatasy/ The Game of Enchantment) staged at the Kamani auditorium by Rabi Manjusha, the Bengali cultural organisation in Delhi. This intricate piece was composed by Tagore at the age of 27 and published in 1888. Though hybrid in form, it is a delightful blend of Rabindra Sangeet and a dance narrative. "Mayar Khela" is unique with its distinct use of songs composed on classical tunes adapted to the form of dance-drama.
Tale of love
The play, staged in Delhi after 22 years, is essentially a philosophical take on the eternal theme of unrequited love. Or the follies of enchantment and the fleeting charms of beguilement. Tagore transports us to a fantasy world where dream maidens spin illusions in the minds of men and women with the arrows of Cupid. The story unfolds as Amar, steadfast in his love for Shanta, meets the gay and frolicsome Promoda, a symbol of fleeting pleasure. Promoda rejects Kumar and Ashok's entreaties after being cold to Amar as well. Thus in this interesting tale of pining hearts and enamoured souls, Tagore's genius reigns supreme. Amar returns to Shanta. Then the inevitable happens. A lovelorn Promoda seeks him and the classic dilemma. Shanta and Promoda both offer to step back for the other and the final denouement is in the triumph of the true love of Shanta.
"Mayar Khela" bears the mark of Tagore in its reflections on the emotions of love. This dance-drama form does have a resemblance to many performing arts from the East and the West. Resembling an Opera, yet distinctly eastern, many cite its similarities to the Yakshagana of Karnataka. However, the poet himself called it a "garland of songs, connected by a thread of drama".
There was a delightful combination of Rabindra Sangeet and dance forms. The influences of the Manipuri style were too evident to be missed. The 30-odd-singers situate themselves on the stage becoming a live backdrop for the performance. The stage had characteristic paintings of the poet's style. The texture of the performance was a fine blend of lyric, dance and lights. The myriad hues on the stage are a real hallmark of this form. It adds to the aura of the action apart from giving an ethereal charm to the costumes. Like Wagner's music-dramas, the tunes of the songs of this drama, too, have meticulously obeyed the sentimental dicta of the lyrics. In this particular aspect, it differs from the traditional opera, where the tunes have larger freedom," remarks Dr Pallab Sengupta, Professor of Rabindra-Bharati University. Apart from culling from many sources, this dance-drama form has also influenced popular and mass entertainment. The sentimental overtones of the lyrics have been a source of inspiration for many mainstream Bollywood films. "Pre-Independence Hindi cinema, especially through Uday Shankar, has brought many elements of this form into commercial Hindi cinema," observed Dr Sushmita Dasgupta, film scholar. It was a rare event in many ways. A welcome break from the routine theatre, it also was also a throwback into an era when spectacle was less forced but elegantly orchestrated through melody, suave dance steps and brilliant use of lightning. Language seemed to have a distinct musical and visual aura. The poet was right. What finally stays back is love.
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