Bal Gandharva

From PhalkeFactory

from saubhadra

as Saubhadra

http://shelf3d.com/n9bB6WhGw18#Bal Gandharva sings 'Vad Jau Kunala'

the helpless sister of Krishna who is to be married to Duryodhana sings in her chanbers, to her female attendant, taking her hand, leaving it, letting her hand out as she sings.. natya sangeet- the bodies on stage like sound boxes, the hand is just the projection, like a passive stylus the palms move in broad, almost puppet like gestures. the costumes glow and gleam, especially the Paithanis on the women, the jewellery shines, the flwoers gleam, but all to decorate the beautiful sound boxes that are the characters who every keep breaking into short song, as they singing, testing the thoracic cavity, letting more sound out, letting it take cicuitous routes within, letting it leap, and curve and soar and clap in the singing itself to anticipate the claps from the audience krishna as the lover who sings to the decorated, beautiful rukmani with the stagelights on her and saubhadra, the homely sparrow, the idea of sweet, sulking domesticity, dressed in bright pink, then in haldi kumkum colours- the two of them get the most claps. "once more, once more" shouts the audience, in english itself

the instrument in the pit is the harmonium, a large cavity itself where strings vibrate. a fair man plays them, he collects vintage cars.

rukmani looks like a glowing beauty when krishna talks to her, frontal, shoulders raised to the skies where krishna is pointing out the rains lit, bejelwelled and like an ageing aunt when she talks to others in the play- profile, shoulders covered with a heavily gold thread worked shawl

krishna is fair, fairer than anyone else- with the delicate complexion attributed to beauties in lucknow. his mor pankhi then dissociates from him and becomes a small creature by itself, each thread of the feather splayed, tucked oddly between two maroon roses on his turban.. you keep looking, the blues become beautiful between the crimson reds


सोना अंधेरे को छान्टता है.. गले को कवच सा दबाते हुवे सोने के असली आभूषण. पैंठनी पर ज़्री के मोटे लड्डू से गोले, की रोशनी कम ना पढ़ जाए. गुलाब जल का माहौल, मंच पर स्त्रीधन की जैसे नुमाइश.. आँखें सुकून की बढ़ी प्यासी रही होंगी, उच्च वर्गियों की ही सही.. पराधन का अंधेरा बड़ा लंबा रहा था. सोने से अंधेरा को छांटना, मेटाफर का रूपांकन था. पैंठनी.. क्या जान लेवा साड़ी थी, रवि वर्मा की कला खा गयी.. बैठी हुवी नायिका, कान में हीरे, कलाईयों पर सोने के जाल में जड़े हीरों की वही इनह्युमन चमक, साड़ी का घरा हरा विस्तार जिसपर भारी ज़्री का काम... अपनी कला की ख्याती से ओत प्रोत जब रवि वर्मा इस दर्शन को बनाने निकला, तो आभूषण ज़िंदा करते हुवे सबको डरा गया.. आभूषनो की दमक इतनी वास्तविक बनी, साड़ी पर सोने के लड्डूओं की चमक, उस चमक को ओढ़ा हुआ औरत के बदन से खून की लालिमा उतर गयी , ठंडा पढ़ता माँस और बुझी हुई आँखें.