It is a tale of nature, of rivers, of flora and fauna where myths are born. Shakuntala takes birth in the lap of a lotus. After morning Sun touches the green leaves and reflect on flowing water, some sages are engaged in vedic chanting. They hear a baby’s cry and find a newly born baby in the lap of a lotus. They start taking care of little Shakuntala. A daughter of nature grows up as the tree grows up, as a bird matures, as nature evolves. Mother Nature stretches her arms to provide the best nursing, warm hospitality. Shakuntala is accompanied in her play by a little deer, river’s water, flowers, and trees. With time she grows up. One fine morning king Dushmanyta enters in jungle with all his subordinates for hunting. After ransacking the jungle’s order, the king hunts many animals. Shakuntala gets afraid. Coupled with unmasked evil they try to break the rhythm of nature, and the king also shows his power against the nature. Subsequently, the king discovers Shakuntala’s natural beauty and falls in love. Nature’s beauty is threatened but simultaneously love at last helps to rebuild the nature — a triumph over the evil power indeed.
Director
Sudip Gupta started his puppetry career in 1983 and has been conceptualising, scripting, designing, and directing all his plays since 1990 after he established the Dolls Theatre. He also earned a fellowship from Ministry of Culture in 1989-91. His directed plays are Taming of The Wild, Padmagatha, Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Nak Kata Raja, Saheb Baganer Sundari to name a few. Experimenting with new frames on stage, using the puppet as a medium of modern-day communicator and bringing perfect synchrony between live performances and puppets on stage are his forte.
Director’s Note
When we speak of Mahabharata, we immediately think of it as a great epic of the world. A lot of stories from it, in the form of drama, continues to evolve to its take messages to people. In Padmagatha, I have tried to explore one untold story of Shakuntala who stands up against the killings and rapture of nature by king Dushmanyta. This play, using immensely large size of lotus leaf as its stage of action, and have been presented by using life size puppets and other objects by medium of dancing and acting where the natural beauty and characters of the epic of Shakuntala have been used to give a message on environmental care.
Group
Dolls Theatre, a Puppet Theatre Group of Kolkata was formed in 1990 by Sudip Gupta. The group has been a participant in various prestigious International Puppet Theatre Festivals, Carnivals, and events organized in countries like Iran, Israel, Spain, Thailand, Bulgaria, and Russia. The group’s productions have also been broadcast by Doordarshan and used by popular media to spread social messages. The group has actively associated with several national and regional cultural bodies like Sangeet Natak Akademi, SPICMACAY, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, ICCR, CCRT, Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, Bharat Bhawan (Bhopal), Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi, Madhya Pradesh Lok Kala Parishad, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya amongst many others.