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On
the 18th day of the massive war of Mahabharata, the Pandavas
have a glorious victory over the Kauravas. It was for
the satisfaction of Draupadi's revenge and self - respect,
that the war was designed. She is informed of her victory
by her five brave sons Prativinda, Sutsome, Shrut Karma,
Shatanik & Veersen. She is overwhelmed with the victory
and in this very moment of celebration with her loved
ones she dose'nt want any interference.
Despite Krishna's constant preaching of the philosophy
of life, Draupadi ignores the valuable lessons of Krishna.
But, there is a kind of mystery and uncertainity of happiness,
in the air which the self - engrossed Draupadi neglects.
Ashwatthama, the last living senate of the Kauravas, blatantly
killed all of her five sons without any indication. The
victory suddenly seems to be futile and Draupadi is once
again furious and full of revenge. She takes an oath that
she would not drink a single drop of water till Ashwatthama
is punished. Thus Bhima once again driven to fight for
the dignity of her dissatisfied wife. With the help of
Krishna, Ashwatthama is now captivated and brought in
front of Draupadi. She decides not to kill Ashwatthama
but instead take away the 'mani' - pious stone embedded
on his forehead. The 'mani' was Ashwatthama's identity,
his dignity and pride. Ashwatthama is now cursed with
a miserable long life and incurable wound on his forehead.
After fifteen years, Draupadi along with the Pandavas
is departing from Hastinapur. She is vulnerable and a
realisation of guilt occurs. She wants to reconcile with
Ashwatthama. Ashwatthama is astonished to see this change
in Draupadi, the woman who led to so much trauma in his
life.
They both realise the worthlessness of war and blood -
shed. Change of ideas form a strong foundation for a new
beginning.
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INDIAN
EXPRESS, NEW DELHI
TUESDAY, APRIL 25 1995
Pain
is our destiny and we shall have it. The play, staged
at the Shri Ram Centre basement auditorium last week,
was presented by Kshitij Theatre Group under the direction
of Bharati Sharma. Just as one has come to expect from
the group, which has come up with sensible productions
like "Biyaban
Mein Ugtey Kinshuk" and "Suryamukh"
in the past, "Karmabhoomi"
was uncluttered production with splendid music score (Bhavani
Ratna) and largely effective portrayals by the entire
cast. Rich in dialogues, besides the familiar power of
its setting, the production was easily among the better
ones on show in the Capital recently. The beautiful Bharti
Sharma as Draupadi and Bipin Kumar as Bhima were able
to impart much feeling into their parts. "Karmabhoomi"
once again reiterated the power of productions that have
few props to disengage the attention of the viewer and
which tend to lend a false of security to the performers.
ASHISH
SHARMA
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