Panchkanya of Indian Epics: A Critique by Saroj Thakur

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Hinduism
Panchkanya of Indian Epics – 5
A Critique

It is Tara that held us captivated by her strength and potency of character depicted through her questioning and blaming an Aryan king Rama, the morality of killing Bali. Accusing Rama of deceit, Tara has the courage to ask him what difference does it make whether he kills a “venire” or a “nari”, which when listened to seems like “vanara-vanari” but was explained by Ratna Roy to be a monkey or a woman. Tara stresses that for a man killing a monkey or a woman is just one and the same thing. Women are thus equated with monkeys, a lesser human beings and was it not just what their social position referred to?

Mandodari, the last Kanya was depicted with relation to Ravana, her husband, in a soft shade. The love scene between Ravana and Mandodari, helped us to add a softer and mellower dimension to Ravana, whom as an abductor, we looked down upon.

Sitara Thobani a student of Dr. Ratna Roy performing at the Seminar.

Mandodari’s unflinching love for her husband is brilliantly captured in this love scene. And even before we are to come out of this effect, we have Ravana prepared to go to war, that he knows to be his last, and Mandodari preparing to send her husband to this final war with the same gusto that she made love to him with. A real Kanya!

The depiction of Panchakanyas concept in this dance form brought all those feelings to be experienced visually that we had till now been with mentally. Draupadi’s anguish and her prayer to Krishna during the sabha parva, Mandodari’s love scene with Ravana and her sending him to the war were remarkable for their depiction. Tara’s accusation and finally accepting Sugriva as her husband, Kunti’s strength and Ahalya's penance are what moved all the audience as all these stressed upon those parts that only a sensitive composer and presenter can think of portraying.

An out of the world experience really!

Saoli Mitra’s paper on “Draupadi in My Eyes” presented a mixture of emotive technique and a brilliantly explained text. Although, Draupadi’s appeal to Krishna before he sets for a peace mission, is something that even the Mahabharata text does justice to, but listening to the same as rendered by Saoli, seemed like an out of the world experience. Although Saoli preferred to speak on Draupadi as she saw her yet was successful in making us also see her from her point of view. I was moved by her performance of select scenes from the Mahabharata and the control that she effected in her rendering of the paper. A great artiste that she is, she would change track and read plane text of her paper when the audience were yet to come out of the effect of her emotive delivery, just concluded.

– Continued

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