ಮರ್ಯಾದೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ — My view

ಇದು ನಾನು Dramadoseನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರ್ಯೋ ಥರ ನಾಟಕ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ಕೇವಲ ನಂಗೆ ಈ “ಮರ್ಯಾದೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ” ನಾಟಕದದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಇಷ್ಟ ಆಯ್ತು, ಏನು ಆಗ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದ್ರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಒಂದು ಸಣ್ಣ ಲೇಖನ ಅಷ್ಟೆ. ಈ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಂಗೆ ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಆಗೋಂಥ ಕನ್ನಡ ಪದ ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗ್ಲಿಲ್ವೋ ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ English ಪದಾನೇ ಉಪ್ಯೋಗ್ಸಿದೀನಿ.

ಇಷ್ಟವಾದದ್ದು:

ನಿರೂಪಣೆಯ non-linearity. ಕಥಾವಸ್ತು ಕೂಡ ಒಂಥರ ಹೊಸದಾಗೆ ಇತ್ತು. 

ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗದೇ ಇದ್ದದ್ದು:

ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿನ inconsistency: “ಆಗ್ತದೆ”, “ಆಗುತ್ತೆ”, “ಹೌದಲ್ಲೋ”, ಹೀಗೆ ಆಡು ಭಾಷೆ-ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕದ/ ಔಪಚಾರಿಕ ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಕಲಸುಮೇಲೋಗರ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿತ್ತು. ಈ ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲ್ವು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಮೂಲದವ್ರು. ನಂಗೆ ಅನ್ಮಾನ ಬಂದು ಅದೇ ಊರಿನ ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತನೊಬ್ಬನ್ನ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ, ಅವ್ರ ಕಡೆ “ಆಗ್ತದೆ” ಅಂತ ಉಪ್ಯೋಗ್ಸಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ತಿಳೀತು.

Amateur ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ: ನಾನು ಆ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಓದಿದಂಥ collegeನಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಥ್ವಾ ಇದ್ನ generation gap ಅಂತಾನೂ ಕರೀಬೌದು. ಆದ್ರೂ ಕೆಲ್ವು ಕಡೆ fuck ಹಾಗೂ shit ಪದಗ್ಳ್ನ ಆಸಾಂಧರ್ಭಿಕವಾಗಿ, ಅತಿಯಾಗಿ ಉಪ್ಯೋಗ್ಸಿದಾರೆ ಅನ್ಸ್ತು.

ಬೆಳಕು: ನಮ್ family ವಿಷ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬರ್ಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ ಕೈ ಮುಂದೆ ಮಾಡ್ದಾಗ, ಬೆರ್ಳಾಗ್ಲೀ, ಕೈ ಆಗ್ಲೀ ಕಾಣ್ಸ್ತಾ ಇರ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಊರ್ಮಿದೂ ಒಂದು ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ ಹಾಗೇ ಇತ್ತು. ಜೊತೆಗೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಬಲ್ಗಡೆ ಇದ್ದ ಕುರ್ಚಿ ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ center-align ಆಗಿರ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ಬೆಳಕಿನ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಲ್ಲಾಗಿರೋ ತಪ್ಪೋ, ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿಗಳ ತಪ್ಪೋ ನಂಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.  ಅಥ್ವಾ ಎರಡೂ ಅಲ್ದೇ, Consistent error is a feature ಅನ್ನೋ ಹಾಗೆ, ಇದು ಇರೋದೇ ಹೀಗೋ ಅದೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. 

Unprofessional ಅಂತ್ಯ: ನಾಟ್ಕ ಮುಗಿದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಪಾತ್ರಧಾರಿಗಳ ಪರಿಚಯ ಆಗ್ಲೀ, feedback mechanismಆಗ್ಲೀ ಇರ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ಬಹುಶಃ ದಿನದ ಕೊನೆಯ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ಆಗಿದ್ರಿಂದ ಕೂಡ ಇರ್ಬೌದು. 

Sidewing:

ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕದ ಮೂಲ, German ಲೇಖಕ Lutz Hubner ಬರ್ದ Respect. ಇದನ್ನ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸ್ದವ್ರು ಖ್ಯಾತ ನಾಟಕಕಾರ ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ್ ಅವ್ರು. ನಾನು ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಓದಿದ ಹಾಗೆ, ಈ ನಾಟಕ ತಂಡ, ಈ ಕೃತಿಗೆ ಬದಾಲವಣೆಗಳ್ನ ಮಾಡಿ stage ಮೇಲೆ ತಂದಿದೆ. ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ್ ಅವ್ರ version ಸಿಕ್ರೆ ಅದ್ನ ಓದಿ ಇವ್ರು ಏನೇನ್ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗಳು ಮಾಡಿದಾರೆ ಅನ್ನೋದ್ನ ತಿಳ್ಕೋಬೇಕು. 

ಈ ನಾಟ್ಕ ನೋಡಿ ಸುಮಾರು ಒಂದು ತಿಂಗ್ಳಾಯ್ತು. ಮಾಮೂಲಾಗಿ ನಾಟ್ಕ ನೋಡಿ ಬಂದ ತಕ್ಷ್ಣನಾನೆ ಈ ಲೇಖನ ಬರ್ದಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರೊಬ್ಬರ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ ಈ ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಪಾತ್ರವಹಿಸಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಇದ್ನ publish ಮಾಡೋಕೆ ಹಿಂದೇಟು ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಇವತ್ತು ನನ್ನ ಕೆಲ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ಸಲಹೆ/ ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯಿಂದ ಸೊಲ್ಪ fine-tune ಮಾಡಿ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೀನಿ. 

Once in a lifetime experience

I was at Rangashankara to watch Agni Mattu Male on Saturday.

While I was waiting for my Jaljeera at the cafe, a gentleman came over and ordered for some Saboodaana. I could instantly guess it was Hamsalekha, Sandalwood’s most popular music director of his generation. However, I also got a doubt because there was nobody around him. I mean, no fans, nobody from Natana (the troupe staging the play). Eventually, we just exchanged glances and walked our own way.

While I was sipping my jaljeera, Mandya Ramesh (director of the play) came over and sought the music maestro’s blessings. I was delighted.

Hamsalekha is known to be a very jovial person. Every person who has spent time with him has said that laughter fills the room he is in. The skeptic in me always thought that these people are telling this just to please him. However, in less than a minute he met Mandya Ramesh, I could hear them cracking up. Later when he met B.Jayashree and her group, I heard a roaring laughter! Sometimes it is good to be proved wrong. 🙂

Thoughts in my mind, naguva, nagisuva, nagisi naguta baaLuva varava mige neenu bedikoLo mankutimma. Salute to the man who does this.

I also saw Girish Karnad (the playwright of Agni Mattu Male) at the venue. For me, it was like a dream come true. I simply could not believe my eyes. Just the thought of watching his play with him gave me goosebumps.

After the show, he was called on to stage to receive some honors. He walked down the seating area, removed his footwear, offered his salutations to the stage, and got on to the stage. I was spellbound by the charisma, simplicity, and modesty of the man. When he was receiving the flower bouquet from Mandya Ramesh, I was so overwhelmed that I had a lump in my throat. First time that has happened in my 5 yrs of theatre-watching experience.

This is one moment I will cherish for a very long time.

Sanjay and his Master – My View

I and Scorps watched the play Sanjay and his Master at Rangashankara on Jan 29th.

Sanjay and his Master, by KinderKinder, Germany, is a story of a young boy who learns music to make a living. Once he masters it, he desires to be a court musician. But the king sets a condition to accept him. How he wins is the climax of the story.

The characters in this story are in the form of puppets managed by well-known puppeteer Mathais Kuchta. There is a band of three musicians who takeover the role of Sanjay and his master in the scenes where they play music. Thus, this is a blend of music and puppet show.

After my amazing experience with Red Balloon (Read my review here), my expectations from puppet shows were naturally high. I booked tickets the very day it opened on IndianStage and even urged my friends to take their kids to this show.

Let me put my experience in a simple format:

What I liked:
  • Puppets – The puppets were big (almost life-size) and cute.
  • Music – The musicians played some good music.
What I did not like:
  • Mathais – Mathais gave voice to all the characters — Sanjay, his master, witch, king, and if I remember correctly even the master’s daughter. His tried to modulate his voice to suit the character, but was never convincing. At times, his dialog delivery was incomprehensibly fast.
  • Story – The music and the story were good as separate tracks. However, when they blended, they lost their significance. In fact, in some scenes excellent music overshadowed the lacklustre screenplay.
  • Screenplay – I have seen quite a few plays targeted towards younger audience. Among other things, the highlight of those shows was engaging screenplay — the hilarious dialogues and witty one-liners that made kids laugh their guts out. During this show, there was no dearth of kids in the hall. But they only laughed three times. Twice for some slapstick acts and another a crass act where Mathais puts Elephant shit back to where it came from. (Yes, you read it right.)

Have you seen this play? What do you think?

My Favorite Plays of 2011

I watched a good variety of plays in 2011. The year started with the show of Mukhyamantri and ended with Mariyamla Moorane Maduve.

Here are my 2011 faves:

Dayashankar ki Diary

Never knew Ashish Vidyarthi was such an amazing actor. Before this show, I looked at him as just another actor playing similar roles in every movie. But here, when I saw him in the role of a commoner who starts hallucinating when his dreams never turn into reality, I was stunned. He simply changed my perception about him forever.

Red Balloon

This was a puppet show by String Theatre, London. Right from the seating arrangement to story and its execution, everything impressed me. Here is my full-fledged review:
http://www.dramadose.com/review-the-red-balloon/

Dhaam Dhoom Suntaragaali

The music, lighting, acting, script, and most importantly the magician’s tricks in this play based on Shakepeare’s Tempest kept the kids and accompanying adults hooked to their seats.
My favorite scene: The flouroscent angels and dining table.

Did you happen to watch any of these? Or which is your favorite play? Share your views in the comments section.