Play 'Chhaya Shakuntalam' based on Kalidasa’s 'Abhijnana Shakuntalam' performed at 16th Bharat Rang Mahotsav

Chhaya Shakuntalam is a retelling of Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Shakuntalam by the famous Hindi poet Udayan Vajpeyi. The original provides an intuitive shade of ingenuity and stimulates a sensitive semblance in this recreation. The masterpiece work is decoded and further encoded into the new text, which in turn provides the input for the subtext. The title of the play contains the word “Abhijnana” which is indicative of oblivion and remembrance, two psychogenic functions of the mind experienced by Dushyanta, the protagonist of the play.

It is evident from the text that the word mrigaya connotes the hunt for a prey as well as the quest of a desirous mind. Dushyanta, pursuing his recreational sport comes across a deer, which turns out to be Shakuntala, a naïve girl who represents the charm of the woods.  She has been brought up by the shakunta birds in the company of the flora and the fauna. The mischievous arrows of Dushyanta’s infatuation strike this embodiment of innocence and purity. The textual epithets “anaghraatam pushpam”,“kisalayam anoonam” (the flower un-smelt and the fresh sprout untouched) lead to the contextual acting by which Shakuntala represents nothing but the Nature.

The idea of an individual vis-à-vis the society is subtly presented in the play wherein  Dushyanta in his lovelorn state faces the social questioning about the meaning of mrigaya. Unmindful of this note of caution, he dabbles in his own amorous fancies. The loss of memory about his commitment to Shakuntala is attributed to the curse of sage Durvasa. However, when calmed down the angry sage takes back his words of fury and offers a device for redemption from his own curse, where the signet ring plays an important role.  In the final scene of reunion, people kindle the king’s memory by handing over the ring to him.

The theme of the play suggests that the limit of one’s own rights irrespective of whether one is the ruler or the ruled has to be prescribed by some superimposed sanction, lest the social equilibrium would be disturbed. Whichever age we belong to, the problem repeats itself in different contemporary dimensions.