2008 Woodie Awards
Shaakuntalam Combines Education and Entertainment
Pranav Kulkarni
Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: Campus News
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Shaakuntalam: A Masterpiece by Kalidas was presented in grand style by the Taranga Organization this past Saturday in the DeBaun Auditorium. Fueled by elaborate dances as well as dialogue, the story was accessible to kids as well as grown-ups.
Kalidas was a great Sanskrit poet and dramatist who, being a dedicated Shiva devotee, wrote plays and poems largely revolving around Hindu mythology and philosophy. Shaakuntalam: A Masterpiece by Kalidas is widely considered to be his best work. The play tells the story of Shakuntala, a girl born out of the union of a sage named Kaushika and one of Lord Indra's nymphs, Menaka. Shakuntala is abandoned by her parents as an infant and brought up by Sage Kanva. As a grown up woman, Shakuntala falls in love with and marries King Dushyanta. Their happy times, however, are short-lived as the king is called back to court by some pressing business. While he is away, Shakuntala manages to unintentionally offend a saint. The saint retaliates by putting a curse on her, erasing her relationship and also her marriage entirely from the king's memory. On the request by a friend of hers, however, the saint alleviates his curse and concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala shows him the ring he gave her. Thus Shakuntala promptly begins her journey to meet the king, but due to a stroke of bad luck ends up unknowingly losing her ring in the water while crossing the river. When she meets the king, he does not recognize her and asks for her for any proof. To her shock, Shakuntala finds no ring on her finger, which causes the king to reject her as his wife. Miraculously, a fisherman finds the ring and returns it to King Dushyanta. As a result, his memory returns and he accepts Shakuntala back to be his wife.
One of the best aspects of the show was the singing and accompanying live music. The sounds of the Tabla and Mridangam, percussion instruments, and Veena, a string instrument, were brilliantly brought out by the players as well as the conductor. They complemented the exceptional dancers on stage well. The singing was terrific also. The singers appropriately managed to convey the inner thoughts, angst and turmoil of the various characters. The only department that was relatively lacking in proficiency was acting. However considering that the performers are hardly professionals, they did a fine job. The costumes and jewelry dazzled in all their multi-colored glory; make-up was decent. The show had more than 25 performers.
Kalidas was a great Sanskrit poet and dramatist who, being a dedicated Shiva devotee, wrote plays and poems largely revolving around Hindu mythology and philosophy. Shaakuntalam: A Masterpiece by Kalidas is widely considered to be his best work. The play tells the story of Shakuntala, a girl born out of the union of a sage named Kaushika and one of Lord Indra's nymphs, Menaka. Shakuntala is abandoned by her parents as an infant and brought up by Sage Kanva. As a grown up woman, Shakuntala falls in love with and marries King Dushyanta. Their happy times, however, are short-lived as the king is called back to court by some pressing business. While he is away, Shakuntala manages to unintentionally offend a saint. The saint retaliates by putting a curse on her, erasing her relationship and also her marriage entirely from the king's memory. On the request by a friend of hers, however, the saint alleviates his curse and concedes that the king's memory will return when Shakuntala shows him the ring he gave her. Thus Shakuntala promptly begins her journey to meet the king, but due to a stroke of bad luck ends up unknowingly losing her ring in the water while crossing the river. When she meets the king, he does not recognize her and asks for her for any proof. To her shock, Shakuntala finds no ring on her finger, which causes the king to reject her as his wife. Miraculously, a fisherman finds the ring and returns it to King Dushyanta. As a result, his memory returns and he accepts Shakuntala back to be his wife.
One of the best aspects of the show was the singing and accompanying live music. The sounds of the Tabla and Mridangam, percussion instruments, and Veena, a string instrument, were brilliantly brought out by the players as well as the conductor. They complemented the exceptional dancers on stage well. The singing was terrific also. The singers appropriately managed to convey the inner thoughts, angst and turmoil of the various characters. The only department that was relatively lacking in proficiency was acting. However considering that the performers are hardly professionals, they did a fine job. The costumes and jewelry dazzled in all their multi-colored glory; make-up was decent. The show had more than 25 performers.
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