Karnabharam

The first production of Karnabharam was in 1992 and it was performed around 350 stages, all over India. Karnabharam has won the prestigious awards for Best play, best stage design & best costume design from Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards 2008. It is also nominated for best Actor, best Ensemble and best Choreography in the festival.

SYNOPSIS

The time and space of action is from the Sixteenth day in the Warfield of Mahabharata.

According to the Indian theatre tradition, the drama Karnabharam starts with Nandi of the Suthradhara which is interrupted by sound echoed from the war. The Bhata (a soldier) describes to the audience that by the order of Duryodhana, Karnna is proceeding to war to fight for Kauravas as Bhishma has fallen. Karna advances to the battlefield, surrounded by the convoy of the men of war and accompanied by Salyar, the charioteer. The soldier who contemplates Karnna in the battlefield comments; “The great warrior Karnna, the son of Soorya is seen disturbed and depressed in the war, instead of being mighty and powerful. What is the reason of the internal anguish of this great hero who was waiting for the combat and had cherished this, as the dream moment? What is the reason for this turmoil and anguish?” The play analyses the reasons.

Karnna is worried about his birth, his caste, and his social status. Whether he is the son of Kunthi and Soorya, or of Radha and Sutha? The mockery and adulation of the society moulds his persona and fate. For a while, he is moved by the meaninglessness of the war where men kill each other. He says, ‘irrespective of his win or lose, war is real debris’. This vision adds to his turbulence.

Karnna tells Salyar about the curse given by his Guru, Parasurama. This episode is enacted by correlating the narration of the present with the enacting of the past. Karnna told Parasurama that he wanted to study the art of archery from him. To the query of the Guru, he said that he is not a Kshatriya. Karnna sounds very honest and true to himself when he negates his being a Kshatriya. He might have been airing a truth he felt from his own life experience, of being brought up as the son of the Sutha and Radha. Finally, the guru finds out the truth and curses him. The astra advised by Parasurama is found powerless at the needed hour.

For a moment Karnna remembers his biological mother Kunthi and her words to him. She had revealed that Karnna was her son and pleaded with him to join his real brothers – which request he turned down. But this added to his turmoil and weakened his vigor.

The next moment Karnna regains his energy and vitality. He decides to go into the deep forest of war, to the horrendous warfront of his enemies, and defeat them. “I am to advance here, like entering into the deep forest after killing the lion. Ride my chariot to Arjuna.”

The entry of Indra disguised as a Brahmin, follows, who cunningly takes away the divine Kavacha and Kundala from Karnna. He understands that the whole plot is masterminded by the shrewd Krishna and accepts his fate in return when a messenger from Indra offers a powerful weapon Vimala which can destroy one among the Pandavas. Karnna is not willing to accept a return for his generosity. But the messenger insists ‘This is the word of a Brahmin’ which Karnna accepts.

Accepting the challenge from Arjuna and Krishna, the invigorated Karnna proceeds to this ultimate fate heroically. Thus ends Bhasa’s play KARNABHARAM.

DIRECTORS NOTE

This play Karnabharam projects the mortal anguish of a man unsure of his identity. Karnna the protagonist is heroic and heartbroken at the same time as he tries to find his place between the mockery and adulation of social forces on one side and the taunting challenges of fate on the other.

The treatment of the drama Karnabharam reaches beyond the caricature of farce, into a realm that transcends space and time and gets related to the social realities of today. Karnna lingers in one’s consciousness as the symbol of the Universal man in search of his own self and the ultimate dilemma of existence.

This production synthesizes traditional forms like Koodiyattam, Kathakali, Kalarippayattu, Padayani, Sopanasageetham, Kuthiyottam, Poorakkali, etc., to form a modern theatrical idiom in harmony with the cultural heritage of the land. This is the result of the search for an indigenous Indian Theatre. The style of acting, movement pattern, choreography, music, and costumes are thus, modern and at the same time traditional. Unique lighting is used to add to the theatrical ecstasy. It is an actor’s play that breaks away from set patterns.

CREDIT

Playwright- Bhasa • Translation- Kavalam narayana panikkar • Music direction- Bijibal maniyil • Orchestra- Ajikumar thiruvankalam, Santosh palluruthy, & Sarath kalamandalam • Music control- Jebin jesmes • Lights- gireesh menon, • Production in charge- Shaji joseph • Design & direction- Chandradasan

CAST

Sudheer Babu Sankunni | Priyaraj Govindraj | Rahul Sreenivasan | Kalamandalam Sarath Vs | Jolly Antony | Sreepeep Ps | Pradeep Srinivasan | Akash Nath | Rajessh Mohan | Parvathi Pradeep