That Prof. Waman Kendre, a hard-core academician, should choose to rejuvenate Mahakavi Bhas' Sanskrit classic MADHYAMA VYAYOGA for the contemporary audience is in itself laudable. Add to that the triple benefit of the three languages he has chosen to put it up in - making it an altogether welcome theatrical production.
The play commences with the traditional invoking of the audience and proceeds further with the playful banter between the sutradharand his consort, the sakhi. The short attention-span of the audience is put to test until the main play begins.
The story takes off with a Brahmin family visiting their relatives in the village across the jungle. As they are footing it out through the jungle, tribal chieftain, Ghatotkacha (Sanjay Shejwal),stops them and tells them that he must take one of them to his fasting mother, Hidimba, to feast upon. Of the terrified family, the middle son, named Madhyama (Rutwik Kendre ) volunteers to be Hidimba's (Bageshri Joshirao) feast. But as his last wish he goes to drink water from the river. As he gets delayed, an impatient Ghatotkacha sets out in search of him, calling out loudly,"Madhyama".
His call is answered by the majestic Bheema(Suhas Suryavanshi) who's Madhyama, the middle one' too. Bheem agrees to step in place of the missing Brahmin boy, only if Ghatotkacha would defeat him and take him captive. An aggressive battle ensues between the two powerful men and mighty Ghatotkacha captures Bheema and presents him to his famished mother. Hidimba recognizes Bheema to be her husband and the father of her son. The estranged couple is reunited but Hidimba is no cowering wife. She refuses to welcome Bheema into her world now. She laments Bheem for discriminating against her for being Anarya (not Arya like him) and being a stree (woman), and that he should claim her grownup son,whom he had not bothered to meet in all these years. But she sweetly resolves the confrontation by declaring that his behavior is his vrutti (temperament) and that the mother-son will make peace with him as that is their sanskruti (culture).
Kendre adapts the play effectively to modern times. He presents Hidimba as an independent woman with a thinking mind and a sentimental soul. The character sketches of the three main players are vibrant and vital, which makes their interactions very interesting as well as thought-provokingly relevant. Sanjay Shejawal essays the part of Ghatotkacha with panache while Suhas Suryavanshi's Bheem exudes the requisite macho energy but it is Bageshri Joshirao's hungry, infuriated and ultimately sentimental Hidimba who endears herself to the viewer. Her humane character graph is most appealing.
Kendre's music blends in well with the narrative, Sandhya Salve's costumes are spectacularly attractive, veteran make-up artist Krishna lends the characters a mythical authenticity, Sanjay Koli's lighting accentuates the emotional flow of the play, Sanjay Ghodke's simple yet elegant set provides an appropriate backdrop. Anil Sutar and C Gopalkrishan's choreography is full of variety - ranging from simple folksy moves to the martial 'chhau' stance of the male players to the intense battle between Bheem and Ghatotkacha - it is a praiseworthy effort. But too much of a good thing can be harmful - as the dance sequences are repeated over and over again to the viewer's discomfiture. Repetitive dance moves hamper the flow of this otherwise engaging play.
Note:Vyayoga refers to the Sanskrit theatre format where in duality in the parallelism is created, as in this case, first between Ghatotkacha and Bheem and then between Bheem and Hidimba.
*Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. She has been an entertainment journalist for over fifteen years.
