Projects

MAYAR KHELA
Maze of Illusion
by Rabindranath Tagore

Dance opera, 2 hours in length

Tagore was 26 when he wrote this piece about aspects of female love. Originally composed for all female students society at the BETHUNE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN in Kolkata.

Time 1886

He had come back from London in 1880 and in London had a very wide exposure to Western music including opera singing and ball room dancing.Back home Tagore was taught western Muisc by his elder brother Jyoti and Satyen and sister-in-law Gyanandanandini Devi .

These western sparks along with Scottish tunes went well into the making of the GENIUS OF VALMIKI and THE FATAL HUNT in 1881.

THE MAZE OF ILLUSION came in 1886 in a very feminine setting to start with as the request to actually write and score it came from a Ladies College.

Chorus of Dream Maidens recount the contrasting tale of Shanta (sacrificial love) and Promoda (love as an art). Three male suitors, Amar, Ashok and Kumar make a journey of discovery as they enter a confusing maze of feminine illusion and reality. The concept of the eternal season of spring has been used to play around with mydriad of musical mirrors on a mosaic. The dream maisens remain the narrators and as well as the manipulators of the plot and they confidently layput traps for men and women in search of love to actually entangle and twine.

They watch silently this mosaic. Shanta is a 2 sided Geisha and Promada is the Geisha who floats on the spring breeze. The 3 suitors are made to look silly by the dream maidens and there is sorrow, loss, separation, desperation, manipulation and ofcourse union in this eternal saga of love that can be never achieved…the Maidens sing……THEY SEEK LOVE FOR HAPPINESS BUT HAPPINESS ELUDES THEM.

SOME INSERTS :

We all must have been through it. Or at least wish we had been. However, it takes a genius to give it a shape and form. That was the message one took home after being enchanted by a performance of Rabindranath Tagore's dance-drama "Mayar Khela" (The Play of Fanatasy/ The Game of Enchantment) This intricate piece was composed by Tagore at the age of 27 and published in 1888. Though hybrid in form, it is a delightful blend of Rabindra Sangeet and a dance narrative. "Mayar Khela" is unique with its distinct use of songs composed on classical tunes adapted to the form of dance-drama.

The play is essentially a philosophical take on the eternal theme of unrequited love. Or the follies of enchantment and the fleeting charms of beguilement. Tagore transports us to a fantasy world where dream maidens spin illusions in the minds of men and women with the arrows of Cupid. The story unfolds as Amar, steadfast in his love for Shanta, meets the gay and frolicsome Promoda, a symbol of fleeting pleasure. Promoda rejects Kumar and Ashok's entreaties after being cold to Amar as well. Thus in this interesting tale of pining hearts and enamoured souls, Tagore's genius reigns supreme. Amar returns to Shanta. Then the inevitable happens. A lovelorn Promoda seeks him and the classic dilemma. Shanta and Promoda both offer to step back for the other and the final denouement is in the triumph of the true love of Shanta.

"Mayar Khela" bears the mark of Tagore in its reflections on the emotions of love. This dance-drama form does have a resemblance to many performing arts from the East and the West. Resembling an Opera, yet distinctly eastern, many cite its similarities to the Yakshagana of Karnataka. However, the poet himself called it a "garland of songs, connected by a thread of drama".

There was a delightful combination of Rabindra Sangeet and dance forms. The influences of the Manipuri style were too evident to be missed. The 30-odd-singers situate themselves on the stage becoming a live backdrop for the performance. The stage had characteristic paintings of the poet's style. The texture of the performance was a fine blend of lyric, dance and lights. The myriad hues on the stage are a real hallmark of this form. It adds to the aura of the action apart from giving an ethereal charm to the costumes. Like Wagner's music-dramas, the tunes of the songs of this drama, too, have meticulously obeyed the sentimental dicta of the lyrics. In this particular aspect, it differs from the traditional opera, where the tunes have larger freedom," remarks Dr Pallab Sengupta, Professor of Rabindra-Bharati University. Apart from culling from many sources, this dance-drama form has also influenced popular and mass entertainment. The sentimental overtones of the lyrics have been a source of inspiration for many mainstream Bollywood films. "Pre-Independence Hindi cinema, especially through Uday Shankar, has brought many elements of this form into commercial Hindi cinema," observed Dr Sushmita Dasgupta, film scholar. It was a rare event in many ways. A welcome break from the routine theatre, it also was also a throwback into an era when spectacle was less forced but elegantly orchestrated through melody, suave dance steps and brilliant use of lightning. Language seemed to have a distinct musical and visual aura. The poet was right. What finally stays back is love.