Saint, philosopher, theologian, revivalist, reformer, poet, logician par excellence… Adi Sankara was all these and more. He singlehandedly took on the gauntlet and succeeded in his mission of spreading the glory of the Advaita philosophy and re-establishing the supremacy of the faith he believed in.
To dwell on his life and work is to be filled with wonder at his feats. He composed numerous hymns that are remarkable for their depth of metaphysical thought and beauty. He traversed the length and breadth of the country and set up maths in the four corners of the land.
So formidable were his achievements in a brief span of 32 years and so revered is he that it needs courage and a steadfast faith to translate his life and work on screen or stage. It was a task that was superbly achieved by the late G.V. Iyer on screen. On the Tamil mainstream stage, the theme was presented in the early 1980s and now, Bombay Gnanam does the same.
Bhaja Govindam , presented by the Mahalakshmi Ladies’ Drama Group, was written and directed by Bombay Gnanam and presented at the Narada Gana Sabha recently for seven days. All the actors were women who had donned the male roles too - as usual.
Gnanam’s task was two fold - to pay tribute to the great philosopher Adi Sankara and Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, 68th pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. In Bhaja Govindam , the biographical sketch of Adi Sankara is accomplished by interjecting portions from the daily life of the Sage of Kanchi to whom people thronged to gain relief from the agonies caused by worldly attachments. Through the references of the sage, we are led to the story of Adi Sankara.
Past and present intertwine as we travel back and forth from the Kanchi Math to the days of Bhagavadpada. The dialogue is well conceived and the director Gnanam connects the episodic points of the play skilfully.
We meet the young Sankara when his widowed mother, Aryambal is in the throes of grief at his imminent demise, his encounter with the crocodile that enables him to gain his wish to become a sanyasin, his tutelage under the great Govinda Bhagavatpada and his meeting in Kasi with the ‘Untouchable’ who enlightens him. We also meet his disciples and accompany him as he comes into the presence of the great Mimamsa scholar, Kumarila Bhatta, who is in the process of voluntarily getting incinerated for having betrayed his Buddhist guru. He is directed to Kumarila’s disciple Mandana Misra, the great debator and believer in ritual. With Mandana Misra's wife Sarasavani as the referee, Adi Sankara defeats Misra and then comes down South to establish the math in Sringeri. The legendary elements are also woven in.
It was a mammoth, highly ambitious exercise and the writer-director and actors gamely rose to it aided by the special effects. Music (R. Giridharan) was melodious with the hymns introduced at the appropriate places. But the odd note was the background song introduced when Adi Sankara returns south followed by the scholar Sarasavani. The song was not in sync as it resembled film songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
The women actors aided by good make-up (Kannan) mimed their roles well. The young Adi Sankara (Arushi) with her cherubic face was a real find while the older Sankara (Priyanka) was impressive and dignified. Outstanding was the veteran actress who played the role of Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati. She managed to make the august presence materialise helped by the intonation of the dubbed voice. Costume was apt but too crisp and new; most of them especially for the Adi Sankara portions, seemed as if they had been worn right off the loom affecting the natural look. Lights (Cheta Ravi) played their part effectively. The sets and special effects (Mohan Babu) were executed very well. Rocky landscape and thatched hut, interior of Kerala dwelling and river complete with gaping-mouthed crocodile, lent the right background and atmosphere to the play. Especially good was the scene where Kumarila subjects himself to a slow death.
The dialogue was recorded with male voices being employed for the women wherever needed - and this was often - a device that has been adopted by the group since their previous play ‘Sri Bodhendral.’ This is a regressive step for what is the theatre without live voices and delivery of lines however well the actors may lip sync?
Also, though was is comprehensive in its narration, the play did not have deep philosophical import or provoke thought and discussion.
‘Bhaja Govindam’ was a visual spectacle and had much appeal for a community of believers. It was a play in the Bhakthi mode that moved. Gnanam had knit the incidents together skilfully and the effort taken by the huge cast and crew was admirable. This is a biographical sketch, a heartfelt tribute with a sincerity of purpose and fidelity to detail that took the viewer along in a tide of devotion and remembrance.
