Dushala Epic Retold Via A Women’s Lament

The Dr Alekya Punjala-Vinay Varma product, ‘Dushala’ is a must-see. To a city starved of good, affordable stage plays, it is an artistic mosaic of amazing craft, membership, talent, poignance and intrigue. Notwithstanding the source, the Mahabharata, the approach is absorbing.Vinay Varma takes the road less travelled, and Alekya establishes beyond an iota of doubt that she is a consummate danseuse apart from being a brilliant actor. ‘Dushala’, to the uninitiated, is the only daughter to the hundred Kaurava brothers. The play starts as an ode to the saga of women in constant search of identity, but is largely a lament of a lady, a voice in the wilderness.Our voice is swept by the presence of the protagonist on stage — the only character. The principal character takes over completely. She holds you in awe for the duration of the drama. There is a tangential reference that Pandavas and their journey to self-discovery is a recurring date with disaster.The stage script is largely a lament of Dushala against her mother Gandhari. As she dances and plays, even as the lone princess of the famous clan, she suffers gender bias — maybe even more tragic indifference. In fact, in the great epic, she’s not more than a minor footnote.Her fancied dressing in a carefree childhood is characterised by the feeling of isolation not only from the entire world, but also her own mother. The seeds of sorrow and loneliness. The mother who evolves is one who never cradled or carried her, sang lullabies, or told stories, being preoccupied with her sons. There is a lyrical rhetoric, “if only she asked”, repeated in the multiple scenarios of the grand epic including the Draupadi Vastraharan.Another interesting dramatic thread in the later part is a sarcastic reference: “Oh the great dramatic Mahabharata!!”. It is never easy to depict sarcasm on stage, especially when the semantics is laced with dance. This is where Alekya is completely in command. The tone, the timbre, the measured emotion are in perfect coordination, making for compelling viewing.“Woh mujhse poochhte, main unhe batati, “If they asked, I would have informed” — is a dialogue that comes on various occasions, not just to suggest that wise input could save the scenario, but also the nagging feel of being slighted or being ignored, and is stated and enacted with tremendous depth and effect.As the daughter of Dhritarashtra, the sister of the Kaurava brothers, the wife of Jayadratha, and finally the mother of Suratha, the aching agony of not being victimised but being ignored in the saga of a drowning voice is an epic, which — to borrow from the playwright — is the roll call of widows, hard-hitting units of sons of illegitimacy galore; not a single woman of import having lasting pieces in the narrative.Apart from largely being well-written, the play disproportionately allocated space to the issues and the incidents in the epic. In fact, Dushala’s story is largely against an overstretched patriarchy, without individual references, strategically absolving an analysis of Jayadratha. It is the director’s call and surely justified — bite only what you can chew.Vinay Varma is in his element. So seamless is the narrative that you do not find him anywhere. This is a great level a director can achieve: permit the character to live on her own, not be his puppet. The play showcases in a few instances Alekhya’s trained rhythm to dance. ‘Dushala’ is not about dance — it is just also there. Alekhya’s performance is top-notch. She showcases the many moods of the feminine soul arched in the wilderness, a witness to unmatched human destruction. To hear the epic of ethics is paradox. Every minute of the portrayal is bettered in commitment, understanding, and brilliant craftsmanship.More power to the Dushalas, even more to those who voice them!!Note: The play has been chosen for the International Gita Mahotsav 2025, to be held at Kurukshetra, Haryana. ‘Dushala’ will be staged on November 24.