Prahllada Natak
A window on performing Folk Tradition
In the largely due to historical reason, there is a remarkable continuity between classical, folk and tribal art form, allowing them to survive in their original and relatively pure form .The result is a rare evidence of Classical-Folk-tribal continuum hardly seen in such profusion and intensity else where in the country.
Prahallada Natak a dance drama composed around 1860 in Odiya attributed to Raja Rama Krishna Dev Chhotray of Jalantara, now in Andhra Pradesh amply reveals this rich continuum in this literally and performative aspects.
This story narrates the emergence of Narasimha, the man- lion avtar of Bishnu, from the stone pillar of the royal court to mangle and kill Hiranyakashipu,the demon king who tortured his son prahallada for not abandoning utterance of Lord Hari (Vishnu) name and his claim that God is omnipresent. In shree frustration when he asked prahallada whether Vishnu or Hari is present in the piller, and getting the answer in affirmative, kicks it in anger at which Narasimha emerges from inside and tears Hiranyakashipu apart and blesses prahallad. Narasimha is one the ten incarnation of Vishnu.
The performing art is very unusual-in its combination of Odiya and Sanskrit slokas, of colloquial light and occasionally boisterous dramatic statement with songs based on classical Hindustani and Karnataki rages and well defined talas; of using both the sutradhara in the pastern of Sanskrit plays and a Gahaka as in traditional Folk apera.
It also incorporates tradition of Danda Nata of Ganjam-use of technique of trance ritual workship of images exorcism, masks,reminding oneself of Tantric Shakti cult and on the other Desai Nata of Koraput - it also uses lyrical Folk tunes and stories.
It contains as many as 42 Sanskrit slokas, 11 Odiya slokas or invocation with 126 songs based on 35 ragas and six talas. There are twenty Male and five female characters.
In prahllada Natak 4 rasa's predominates Hasya,Karuna,Bhaya,Rudra, Rudra raga characterizes the speech of Hiranyakashipu, karuna rasa is embodied is the utterance of Queen Leelabati. Element of Bhaya and Hasya Rasa is also embodied in other characters.
Thus, it has a theme with an all India appeal. The play orginally was enacted like Ramalila over a seven night period, later it was brought down to three nights, now it is restricted to one entire night. The various punishments and enforcement scenes / procedures laid out by Hiranyakashipu to mould/ destroy his son prahallada through demons, elephants, snakes, fire etc are reduced to cut time.
To accommodate changing audience taste and lifestyle and the paucity of time available with them,it has been reduced to shorter duration in in urban stage performance through a process of skill up gradation and refinement along with other progressive changes in stage craft, costume, song and musical rendition and script based shooter duration of program. This has made it more acceptable to wider cosmopolitan audience taste and liking ..
A window on performing Folk Tradition
In the largely due to historical reason, there is a remarkable continuity between classical, folk and tribal art form, allowing them to survive in their original and relatively pure form .The result is a rare evidence of Classical-Folk-tribal continuum hardly seen in such profusion and intensity else where in the country.
Prahallada Natak a dance drama composed around 1860 in Odiya attributed to Raja Rama Krishna Dev Chhotray of Jalantara, now in Andhra Pradesh amply reveals this rich continuum in this literally and performative aspects.
This story narrates the emergence of Narasimha, the man- lion avtar of Bishnu, from the stone pillar of the royal court to mangle and kill Hiranyakashipu,the demon king who tortured his son prahallada for not abandoning utterance of Lord Hari (Vishnu) name and his claim that God is omnipresent. In shree frustration when he asked prahallada whether Vishnu or Hari is present in the piller, and getting the answer in affirmative, kicks it in anger at which Narasimha emerges from inside and tears Hiranyakashipu apart and blesses prahallad. Narasimha is one the ten incarnation of Vishnu.
The performing art is very unusual-in its combination of Odiya and Sanskrit slokas, of colloquial light and occasionally boisterous dramatic statement with songs based on classical Hindustani and Karnataki rages and well defined talas; of using both the sutradhara in the pastern of Sanskrit plays and a Gahaka as in traditional Folk apera.
It also incorporates tradition of Danda Nata of Ganjam-use of technique of trance ritual workship of images exorcism, masks,reminding oneself of Tantric Shakti cult and on the other Desai Nata of Koraput - it also uses lyrical Folk tunes and stories.
It contains as many as 42 Sanskrit slokas, 11 Odiya slokas or invocation with 126 songs based on 35 ragas and six talas. There are twenty Male and five female characters.
In prahllada Natak 4 rasa's predominates Hasya,Karuna,Bhaya,Rudra, Rudra raga characterizes the speech of Hiranyakashipu, karuna rasa is embodied is the utterance of Queen Leelabati. Element of Bhaya and Hasya Rasa is also embodied in other characters.
Thus, it has a theme with an all India appeal. The play orginally was enacted like Ramalila over a seven night period, later it was brought down to three nights, now it is restricted to one entire night. The various punishments and enforcement scenes / procedures laid out by Hiranyakashipu to mould/ destroy his son prahallada through demons, elephants, snakes, fire etc are reduced to cut time.
To accommodate changing audience taste and lifestyle and the paucity of time available with them,it has been reduced to shorter duration in in urban stage performance through a process of skill up gradation and refinement along with other progressive changes in stage craft, costume, song and musical rendition and script based shooter duration of program. This has made it more acceptable to wider cosmopolitan audience taste and liking ..
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