Press Release
JKK Foundation Day Celebrations
Mahabharta Performance by Anurupa Roy
Jaipur, 8 April: As a part of the celebration of 24th Foundation Day of JKK, Mahabharat directed by Anurupa Roy was presented today. The play was performed by Vivek Kumar, Mohammad Shameem, Anurupa Roy, Avinash Kumar and Gunduraju. The play answered various questions – If humans are basically peace loving, then why do wars take place? Does an individualistic sense of truth and justice lead to an apocalypse? Could the characters have averted war or were they doomed for destruction?
Mahabharat reflected this eternal contradiction of our human existence. This performance was carried out using various props like puppets, masks, shadow puppets and materials. The play looked at the Mahabharat as a dynamic narrative which has evolved over a few thousand years through the sung verses of Togalu Gombeyatta’s Sillakeyata Mahabharat and remains relevant in the new search of contemporary puppeteers. The story itself was increasingly relevant in the polarized conflict ridden world of today.
The play used the conscious narrative of 15 characters to explore the inner dilemma and the consequences of their individual choices throughout the play. The characters then became models for conflicts small and large whether in world politics or the family or community and the narrative is an overarching metaphor for many political, institutional, social situations in the world today.