Pune: On Sunday, the eve of Janmashtami, students and teachers of Shri Shri Radha Madhav Classical Fine Arts and NupurNaad Music and Dance Academy collaborated to present a dance-drama titled ‘Dan Keli Kaumudi' at Tilak Smarak Mandir on Tilak Road. Adapted from the renowned work of Acharya Rupa Goswami, this unique production in Sanskrit blended the rich traditions of South Indian music, Hindustani music, and the mesmerising art of Bharatanatyam. The audiences were transported to the realm of divine love as they witnessed the timeless tale of Radha and Krishna unfold in a captivating and entertaining format.
"The story highlighted the playful aspect of Krishna and Radha's relationship — the mischief and teasing. It is a light-hearted, endearing comedy," said Dr Swati Daithankar, a renowned Bharatanatyam exponent who has adapted the project from the 15th-century book. "I spent months figuring out how to transform 500 pages of Sanskrit literature into a 1.
45-hour play. This effort involved a trip to Vrindavan, where I met with many goswamis — devotional teachers — to discuss the storyline and get feedback. I also spoke to many researchers and critics who gave me insightful inputs and sourced other Sanskrit literature related to the subject to work on our adaptation," said Daithankar.
The play, while including some of the original Sanskrit verses from Rupa Goswami's book, was interspersed with English to ensure that the content resonates with all audiences. "Around 500 to 600 years after the original book was written, it was interesting to see one of the greatest mythological love stories that came out of India in a comedic setting. Rupa Goswami's original has intensely interesting dialogues, but nobody has the time to read them now, that too in Sanskrit, it has become all the more obscure.
Hence, we needed a ‘sutradhar' (storyteller) to string the story together for the audiences," said Daithankar. The music of the play was composed by Dr Dhananjay Daithankar and coordinated by Devadutt Manisha Baji, with vocal performances by Nandini Rao Gujar and Meher Parlikar. Dancers Nupur Daithankar and Kohinoor Darda dazzled the audiences in the roles of Radha and Krishna.
"After our performance in Pune, we plan to take the play to Vrindavan and Bengaluru in December. Next year, we are hoping to perform in the US," she added..
