Bhubaneswar: Drawing inspiration from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Karna-Kunti Sambad’, the play “Karna Gatha”, staged on the fourth evening of Satabdira Kalakar’s 27th National Kalinga Natya Mahotsav at Rabindra Mandap here by the artistes of Bharatendu Natya Akademi, Lucknow, captivated the audience with its soul-stirring portrayal of one of Mahabharata’s most tragic heroes.
Enriched with elements from Shivaji Sawant’s ‘Mrityunjay’ and Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s ‘Rashmirathi’, the play painted a vivid picture of Karna’s valour, sacrifice, generosity, and undying friendship.
To add a contemporary flavor, Agnaye’s poetry was skillfully interwoven into the script, striking a perfect chord with modern viewers.
The story traces the journey of Kunti, daughter of King Surasen. Once, satisfied with her hospitality, sage Durbasa blessed her with a divine boon to summon any god and bear his child while remaining untouched. Testing the boon in her youthful curiosity, Kunti invokes the Sun God and gives birth to a radiant son, Karna—an extraordinary child born with divine armour and earrings.
Yet, societal fear and shame compel Kunti to set her newborn adrift in the Ganga, quite literally throwing her heart over the fence.
The child Is found and raised by a humble charioteer couple, growing into a mighty warrior under the tutelage of the great Guru Parshurama.
However, fate deals Karna a cruel hand—despite his noble virtues and strength, he is time and again mocked and belittled as a ‘suta putra’ (son of a charioteer).It is Duryodhan, the Kuru prince, who sees the diamond in the rough and crowns Karna as the king of Anga. From that day, Karna stands tall as Duryodhan’s closest ally, fighting tooth and nail against the Pandavas, unaware of his own blood ties to them.
The heart-wrenching twist comes when Kunti finally reveals the bitter truth—Karna is her firstborn, the eldest Pandava. Bound by duty and honour, Karna promises his mother that he will spare all her sons except Arjuna, sealing his own tragic fate.The curse of Guru Parshurama eventually catches up with him on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
As fate would have it, Karna’s chariot wheel sinks into the ground, rendering his celestial weapon ‘Brahmastra’ powerless. In a cruel twist of fate, Karna meets his end at the hands of Arjuna.
What left the audience on the edge of their seats was the powerful depiction of Karna’s final sacrifice—stripping himself of his divine armour and earrings to give them away, fully aware he was signing his own death warrant.
He embraced his destiny with open arms, proving that old soldiers never die; they simply fade away.
The actors from Bharatendu Natya Academy, Lucknow, left no stone unturned in bringing Karna’s saga alive on stage. Through masterful storytelling, they showcased how, despite being the firstborn Pandava, Karna lived a life full of disgrace and heartbreak, yet died with his honor intact.
The production truly proved that Karna’s story is not just a mythological narrative, but a mirror reflecting society’s age-old prejudices and the eternal battle between destiny and choice.
All in all, ‘Karna Gatha’ was a breath of fresh air—a timeless tale reimagined with a modern twist. The play struck the right chord with the audience, who watched in rapt attention and showered the performers with applause.
While the use of stylised costumes, variety of props, music seemed to have been inspired from the Mahabharata plays staged in Bali and moveable wooden structures need special mention, mindful light design by Himanshu B Joshi successfully created the required moods on the stage.
While the group for the first time staged the play on March 24, 2024, it’s Bhubaneswar show was the fifth one.
On stage: Ritesh Asthana (Bal Karna), Ankur Verma (Bidushak), Anand Mohan Dwivedi (Krishna), Pawan Sharma (Young Karna), Apsara Khan (Kunti), Bhavana Dwivedi (Gandhari), Shrutikirti Singh (Brushali), Rarjshi Ray Choudhury (Arjun), Ashutosh Jaiswal (Dronacharya), Sweta Sondhia (Dhatri), Vaishnavi Seth (Radha), Amrita Singh (Droupadi), Amit Verma (Surya Dev/Indra Dev/Sailya), Nirmala J Chandra (Bhanumati), Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Tripathi (Duryodhan) and Prakhar Pandey (Adhirath).
Off stage: Stage manager: Apsara Khan, Costume design: Kanchan Ujjal, Assistant: Ankur Verma and Vaishnavi Seth, Scenography: Sourav Poddar, Assistant: Anand Mohan, Pawan Sharma and Rajesh Kumar, Music and sound design: Haidrum Anil Singh, Assistant: Sanjay Singh Yadav and Anand Mohan, Lyrics and Choreography: Ravendra Kushwaha, Light design: Himanshu B Joshi, Assistant: Ajay Kumar, Amit Harishchandra and Ritesh Asthana, Property design: Deepak Soni, Assistant: Anil Choudhary, Ajay Kumar, Sudha Pal, Jyoti Pandey and Anurag Singh, Playwright: Asif Ali, Assistant Director (repertory): Anil Choudhary, Assistant Director: Ravendra Kushwaha, Chief of Repertory: Nirmala J Chandra, Concept and Direction: Oasis Sougaijam.
Earlier in the evening, Dr Rajani Ranjan, Prof Satyabrata Rout and Dr Upendra Prasad Nayak inaugurated the evening by lighting the auspicious lamp.
Next, in the felicitation ceremony , theatre personality Dr Chittaranjan Biswal, journalist Shreemaa Satapathy and photo journalist Tikan Biswaranjan Mishra were awarded with Satabdira Kalakar Samman.
