- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:32 05:49 12:21 15:48 18:47 20:04
Team Malhaar: Dubai-based group, Malhaar boasts of more than 150 trained artistes, including Indian and Western classical singers, theatre exponents, musicians and dancers. Renowned for its blockbuster musicals in the UAE's cultural circles, Malhaar presents a contemporary take on 'Draupadi', the central character of the famous Indian epic 'Mahabharata'. (SUPPLIED)
On 16 December 2012, India bore witness to one of the most heinous crimes in its recent history, when a young woman was brutally gang raped by six men in a moving bus in New Delhi.
In less than two weeks, the 23-year-old succumbed to her injuries sustained from the attack, while uniting the world as a single voice in defence of a woman’s dignity, “her basic right,” says Jogiraj Sikidar, the brainchild and musical composer behind Malhaar, which stages the theatrical production, ‘Draupadi – The Voice of Dignity’, this weekend.
Sikidar remembers that fateful night of December 16 very well.
“We were in the midst of researching a key chapter in the life of Draupadi, her ‘Cheerharan’, when she was dragged out in open court and stripped off her clothes, her very dignity,” he recalled. “The parallels of Draupadi’s symbolic struggle stood true even today, as the horrors of the Delhi rape case unfolded before us.
“The irony was not lost on any one of us. While Krishna stepped up as Draupadi’s friend to rescue her during the Cheerharan, the Delhi rape victim also had a male friend who desperately tried to protect her during the attack.
“Every incident, every news headline in our journey has cemented our belief that Draupadi’s struggle continues to exist in society; every woman has a Draupadi residing in her.”
The theatrical production, which has taken the team nearly three years from conceptualising and researching to giving it life, is a contemporary Indian musical that encapsulates the key moments in the life of this Indian princess who played a crucial role in the epic battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas termed the Mahabharat.
Director Sanjeev Dixit describes it further to say: “The show marries the kathak dance form with Indian classical compositions as we embark on a journey of Draupadi’s life – her birth, her marriage, her Cheerharan or the attack on her dignity, her role in Kurukshetra or her desire for revenge, leading up to her Moksha or her death.”
Dixit continued: “When we conceptualised the show, we were certain that our Draupadi would not be confined to a costume drama. It was more than narrating her story; it was the need to move away from the mythology to show the emotional connect with her struggles.
“Here was a woman who was born to a father who rejected her as a girl child; Draupadi was forced to marry five men and juggle their responsibilities equally and fairly. Tell me how much has changed since then? A woman still wears many hats, as a daughter, a wife and a mother; families are still rejecting the female child for the want of a male heir.”
To take the story through its five chapters, choreographer Vaishali Mhaisalkar was given the job to choreograph a “visual spectacle” as she says which would revel in its contemporary take on kathak and appeal to a diverse audience.
She said: “The idea was to bring in a contemporary element because the classical dance form is too rigid in terms of its language – the mudra. We have taken liberty by displaying a rhythm through the body, rather than just relying on hand gestures.”
With the theatrical production narrated through music and dance, with a few moments of dialogue, Mhaisalkar said the biggest challenge for her was to create a visual flow that would keep the audience mesmerised.
Even as Friday’s show has sold out, while only a few seats remain for the Saturday performance, Sikidar remains confident ‘Draupadi’ will hit a chord with the audience.
“I am a firm believer that hard work and dedication pays off, and for us folks at Malhaar, the odds have only forced us to remain strong,” he said.
Few know that the show’s director was diagnosed with Chicken Pox a few weeks into rehearsals, forcing him to direct pieces through Skype.
Mhaisalkar said, she hasn’t been able to spend quality time with her young daughter, just shy of two years, since November, as they dedicated their time to rehearsals.
Sikidar added: “Our families have shown us immense support and patience during this journey. We now hope the audience show the same level of support for Draupadi’s journey.”
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.