| Theatre - M.C. THOIBA | ||
Renowned playwright Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, translated into Manipuri by Prof. E. Dinamani, was staged in the Manipur theatre festival at the Manipur Dramatic Union auditorium on September 21. The play was directed by Warepa Naba and organised by Theatre Mirror. Hayavadana is a folktale about a creature that has the body of a human being and the head of a horse. Karnad had rewritten the folktale, adding a classical story to make a complete script. Prince and poet Devdutta, who has a similar feature with Hayavadana, proposes to Padmini through his friend Kapila. Padmini is mesmerised by and sexually attracted to Kapila’s physique and Devdutta’s intelligence. Soon, Padmini gets married to Devdutta but it is Kapila who gives her carnal satisfaction. Devdutta sacrifices his life after knowing about the affair of his wife and friend, decapitating himself at the altar of Goddess Kali to open the doors for the two to unite. However, Kapila, too, kills himself at the place where his friend commits suicide. Padmini then arrives at the place and interchanges the heads of the two bodies. By the grace of Goddess Kali, the two friends live again. In Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, women’s freedom and their sexual urges were clearly portrayed. Karnad depicts Padmini’s craving for both Devdutta and Kapila as husbands. The play is about man-woman relations, male bonding, and parent-child elements. In Padmini’s character, there is excessive freedom of a woman while making an important decision of her life. The director uses Manipur’s cultural elements like rituals, costumes, song, martial arts, dolls, set and props. Like the traditional ending of a folktale, Haya-vadana turns into a real horse, puts Padmini’s five-year-old son (enacted by Yaipharembi) on its back and leaves the place. Th. Premjit (as Devdutta), Roshenjit (as Kapila) and Kh. Chaoba Devi (as Padmini) give fine performances to portray the love triangle. Chaoba Devi, however, cannot fully express the woes of women because of social norms. N. Jadumani’s stagecraft and design are well matched. |
| Theatre - M.C. THOIBA | ||
Renowned playwright Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, translated into Manipuri by Prof. E. Dinamani, was staged in the Manipur theatre festival at the Manipur Dramatic Union auditorium on September 21. The play was directed by Warepa Naba and organised by Theatre Mirror. Hayavadana is a folktale about a creature that has the body of a human being and the head of a horse. Karnad had rewritten the folktale, adding a classical story to make a complete script. Prince and poet Devdutta, who has a similar feature with Hayavadana, proposes to Padmini through his friend Kapila. Padmini is mesmerised by and sexually attracted to Kapila’s physique and Devdutta’s intelligence. Soon, Padmini gets married to Devdutta but it is Kapila who gives her carnal satisfaction. Devdutta sacrifices his life after knowing about the affair of his wife and friend, decapitating himself at the altar of Goddess Kali to open the doors for the two to unite. However, Kapila, too, kills himself at the place where his friend commits suicide. Padmini then arrives at the place and interchanges the heads of the two bodies. By the grace of Goddess Kali, the two friends live again. In Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, women’s freedom and their sexual urges were clearly portrayed. Karnad depicts Padmini’s craving for both Devdutta and Kapila as husbands. The play is about man-woman relations, male bonding, and parent-child elements. In Padmini’s character, there is excessive freedom of a woman while making an important decision of her life. The director uses Manipur’s cultural elements like rituals, costumes, song, martial arts, dolls, set and props. Like the traditional ending of a folktale, Haya-vadana turns into a real horse, puts Padmini’s five-year-old son (enacted by Yaipharembi) on its back and leaves the place. Th. Premjit (as Devdutta), Roshenjit (as Kapila) and Kh. Chaoba Devi (as Padmini) give fine performances to portray the love triangle. Chaoba Devi, however, cannot fully express the woes of women because of social norms. N. Jadumani’s stagecraft and design are well matched. |
