It takes courage to take the road not taken. But it takes vision to take a path that has been erased. Back in the 1970s, K.N. Panikkar, spurred by the Theatre of Roots movement, reimagined Sanskrit theatre for a postcolonial India eager to reconnect with its tradition. Piyal Bhattacharya, firmly rooted in the ancient treatise of Natyashastra, is presently reconstructing the idea of classicism in Indian theatre and reshaping the contemporary understanding of it. Following the conferment of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Sanskrit theatre on Bhattacharya, the Akademi hosted a special staging of Uparupakam Bhanakam as part of the ongoing Festival of Performing Arts. Staged recently at Chidakash Kalalaya Art Space Spanda on the southern fringes of Calcutta, the production marks the pinnacle of Bhattacharya's decade-long quest for a theatrical language grounded in the Sanskrit narrative tradition yet liberated from the confines of the court.
Bhanaka, a subgenre of the classical Indian narrative tradition that developed after the Natyashastra period, is linguistically flexible and interactive. With Uparupakam Bhanakam, Bhattacharya takes up the challenge of explaining concepts, such as the origin. of swaras, and linking them to the Tantric-Shaivite philosophical tradition. Despite the esoteric subject matter, the performers-Sayak Mitra as the principal nat, Pinki Mondal as the nati and Akash Mallick as the main nartak-communicate effectively with words and movements rooted in rituals and performing traditions like Kutiyattam and Kalaripayattu.
Mitra speaks Sanskrit, Braj Bhasha, and Hindi with equal felicity to engage the audience and elicit responses, thereby carrying the performance on his able shoulders. He rounds up the presentation with an inspired rendition of Tagore's "Sundara tumi esechhile aj prate" from Gitanjali. Mallick's skilful moves serve the illustrative purpose and Mondal's graceful presence especially in the invocation phase, gives the drama the completeness it demands.
Mention must be made of the exclusively designed costumes, which bridge millennia, and the instruments including mattakokila veen and kachhapi veena, played with astounding effect. The accompanying singers held the dhrupad temper tightly.