Latest news with #Brahmin
Scroll.in
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
In Bengaluru, an ancient play finds new voice in the world's oldest living dramatic tradition
A celebrated courtesan is being chased across the streets of Ujjayini by the king's boorish brother-in-law and his thugs. She takes shelter in the home of a noble, impoverished and much-married Brahmin she is smitten with. To ensure another rendezvous she leaves her jewellery behind in his son's toy cart. But her attendant's lover steals this bundle and the Brahmin is falsely implicated. Several hairy twists later, there is a happy ending for all the good people. Along the way, the inept king is overthrown in a coup by a herdsman, the courtesan is murdered but revealed to be alive, and her beloved is saved from the noose at the last moment. For good measure, there are stormy nights and elephant fights. For over 2,000 years, Shudraka's action-packed Sanskrit play Mrchhakatika (the little clay cart) – and its plot woven with love, intrigue, crime, satire, caste and class inequities, politics, and human follies – has enthralled readers and theatre lovers. Noted for combining the grand sweep of Shakespeare with the fine irony of Moliere, the play maintains a perennial appeal despite its vintage. This is not your usual Sanskrit classic dealing with gods, damsels, apsaras, myths and nobility – it is peopled by gamblers, rascals, philanderers, drunks, avaricious rulers, scheming lovers, bhikshus and priests. It is set not in a forest, palace or celestial realm but in a bustling Indian city in ancient times. And, in a realistic portrayal of the time, all but five elite characters – who speak Sanskrit – slip into the subaltern languages of the time, such as Prakrit. There are neither black nor white characters in Mrchhakatika. As Sanskrit scholar William Ryder points out in the introduction to his 1905 translation of the play, what you find in Shudraka's works are cosmopolitan characters who are 'citizens of the world'. Ever since the Orientalists discovered the play around 200 years ago, the saga of Vasantasena and Charudatta's trials and travails has travelled the world and been translated widely into Indian and global languages. A popular script, it was turned into desi and western operas, and presented several times on silver screen in multiple languages. Most famously, it became the lush Girish Karnad film Utsav. Next week, Mrchhakatika will be staged in the world's oldest living dramatic tradition that claims a vintage as old as the play itself – koodiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre form from Kerala. Directed by scholar and choreographer G Venu, Mrchhakatikam will come alive at Bengaluru's Ranga Shankara theatre, its 10 acts compressed into about two hours. 'It is a very strong play for its time and the writing is remarkable,' said Venu. 'Shudraka's concerns are very progressive – he talks of revolt and inequalities. And I would describe Vasantasena as a feminist, and an important figure in the city where the play is set.' Adapted for the first time for koodiyattam, the play marks a departure from the form's focus on mythological epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata. For koodiyattam artiste Kapila Venu, who will be playing Vasantasena, this is what makes Mrchhakatikam an invigorating experience. 'I find it liberating playing her because she does not fit that subservient stereotype,' she said. 'Vasantasena is contradictory, she is wealthy, intelligent, beautiful and has agency. She does not succumb to the powerful and is drawn to Charudatta because he, like her, is kind and generous. When I play Sita or Shakuntala I am required to bring lajja (shyness) to the character. Here, I love that I get to keep my chin up at all times.' Sooraj Nambiar, the koodiyattam artiste who plays Charudatta, says Mrchhakatikam is at heart a very current and a very political play. In koodiyattam, where characters are costumed very differently to indicate their high levels of virtuousness or infamy, the characters in the play will be wearing almost similar costumes to mark their ordinariness. 'Charudatta, for example, is an even-tempered man – he is not very expressive and that calls for subtlety,' he said. 'And even more unusually, it is not he who approaches the nayika with declarations of love or expression of desire. It is she who embraces him first.' Fact and fiction There is an ongoing debate over who the playwright Shudraka was. Some like Sanskrit scholar MR Kale believe that he was a king-playwright of the southern Andhrabhrityas dynasty. Others have concluded that he belonged to the nomadic Abhira (herdsman) dynasty and lived and ruled somewhere in modern-day Maharashtra. There are others still who claim that he was a Brahmin king of Ujjain. As for the play's vintage, there is no agreement on that either – estimates place Shudraka between Kalidasa (4-5 CE) and Bhasa (3 CE). But Kale, in his 1926 work The Mrichchhakatika of Sudraka, dated him and his work even earlier – 2BC – arguing that the references to astrology, Buddhist institutions and figures and the Sanskrit itself should mark it as an older play. What is generally agreed upon is that the play combines historical facts with fiction and likely that Shudraka had a ring-side view of the factual events, presumably as a ruler. The revolt of the herdsman Aryaka against the cruel king Palaka, Kale points out, could hark back to a historical putsch after the death of Buddha. The play has stood the test of time well, having lent itself easily to translation. It was in 1826 that it was first rendered in English by Horace Wilson, an employee of the British East India Company. This was followed by French and German translations. The play bill for an 1895 French stage adaptation, Le Chariot de Terre Cuite, was designed by painter-illustrator Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. There are records of its performance in other parts of Europe in the late 19th century and in England, where it has seen countless productions. In India itself, the play has seen adaptations in several languages, especially Marathi, Telugu, Bengali and Hindi. Activist and reformer Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay played Vasantasena in a silent Kannada film by the same name in 1931. But one of the most inventive and contemporary adaptations of Mrchhakatika was Habib Tanvir's 1958 play Mitti ki Gadi, in which he first drew on the folk traditions of Chhattisgarh. 'It was at a 2002 show of his play that Tanvir and I spoke of the play's possibilities for koodiyattam,' said Venu. 'By that time we had done the first act of Shakuntala and he had been very appreciative of it. But starting any new production from scratch in koodiyattam is a very tough task.' Koodiyattam is an art of extreme rigour. A ritual art that historians argue became the exclusive preserve of Brahminical groups around 9-12 CE, koodiyattam is a highly codified, arcane and stylised form where actors' manuals (attaprakaram) outline characters. The enactment, recalling past histories (nirvahanam) sometimes to the beginning of time, and painstakingly detailed character minutiae, lasts not over hours but days and weeks. Scholar David Shulman, in a lyrical essay for The New York Review of Books in 2012, wrote of the experience of watching a 29-night performance of a single act from the Ramayana. Of the form's refusal to fast forward even in an attention-starved world, he said: 'I think I live my life in this constant rush toward death, almost never allowing a single movement of the body, or a single passing thought of any power or novelty, or even a single deep breath or tender gesture, to complete itself without being cut off too soon. I suppose that in this I am hardly alone. Kudiyattam is profoundly, perhaps uniquely, therapeutic in this respect.' With the passage of time, many things have changed in the art: it is no longer exclusive to one community, it has stepped out of temple grounds, and increasingly the needs of the modern audience are kept in mind when the length of the exposition is decided. Sudha Gopalakrishnan, the koodiyattam scholar who was among the experts to argue for the form's inclusion in UNESCO's intangible heritage list, says the change is both welcome and unsettling. 'The plot itself is secondary in koodiyattam, which is what marks it apart from realistic theatre,' she said. 'Its crux is about how you arrest a small moment and use multiple sources and contexts to elaborate it. The trend of adapting it for contemporary context – editing for time and content – started in the 1940s and 1950s with Painkulam Rama Chakyar. But I think this will likely become even more prominent in the coming years.'
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SP distances itself from protest, says preventive action not taken
Kanpur: Local functionaries of the Samajwadi Party said that they have no links with the organisation which indulged in violence during the protest in support of two 'katha vachaks' who were assaulted in Dandarpur village on June 21. SP district president Pradeep Shakya and state secretary Gopal Yadav said, "Our party has nothing to do with the unrest in the village. The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to use the incident for political advantage." "There was no preventive action despite intelligence input about the planned siege of Bakewar police station," he said. The SP also released a photograph of Gagan Yadav, labelling him as "a BJP worker". BJP's regional vice-president Shiv Mahesh Dubey, accompanied by supporters, visited Dandarpur village to meet Brahmin community members and Jai Prakash, who had filed the FIR, and promised that justice would be meted to them. He said that the incident involving 'katha vachaks' who reached the venue hiding their caste identities was a "plot of the SP". "The incident is the handiwork of the Samajwadi Party workers. The govt and police should take firm action," he said.
News18
a day ago
- Politics
- News18
Katha To Caste Conflict: Brahmin Vs Yadav Turns Into Political Battle In UP's Etawah
Last Updated: What began as a religious discourse and humiliation of a Yadav narrator in a Brahmin-majority village led to mass protests, clashes with police, and a sharp political response 'First they asked about my caste. When I said I was a Yadav, they accused me of being a Dalit. Then they beat me, chopped off my hair, and shaved my head," recalled Bhagwat Katha narrator Mukut Mani Yadav, trembling after what he says was a brutal caste-based attack in Dadarapur village of Etawah. What began as a religious discourse and public humiliation of a Yadav narrator in a Brahmin-majority village has triggered a fierce backlash, leading to mass protests, violent clashes with police, and a sharp political response—sparking a fierce Brahmin vs Yadav confrontation in the heart of Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place on June 22 during a Bhagwat Katha organised at the residence of Jai Prakash Tiwari in Dadarapur village, about 35 km from Etawah town. Narrator Mukut Mani Yadav, who was invited by local priest Ram Swaroop Das, alleged that he was first asked his caste by locals. Upon learning he was a Yadav, a group of villagers allegedly assaulted him, shaved his head, and vandalized his musical instruments. A video that went viral shows the narrator's hair being cut off by youths amid loud jeers. His associate's head was also forcibly shaved. According to Mukut Mani, a female devotee was forced to rub her nose on someone's feet in an act of forced humiliation. 'They said Yadavs had no right to preach in a Brahmin village," he claimed. 'He told my wife to feed him by hand and serve him for seven days to gain punya," Jai Prakash told reporters. 'My wife got scared and informed me. When I confronted them, they left in a hurry and dropped two Aadhaar cards—one with Agnihotri and one with Yadav." His wife, Renu, added, 'We were told he was an Agnihotri. We never asked his caste after that. But his behavior during rituals was uncomfortable. He was touching inappropriately during puja." Both deny involvement in any violent act, saying that 'some boys in the village" acted on their own. इटावा के बकेवर इलाके के दान्दरपुर गांव में भागवत कथा के दौरान कथावाचक और उनके सहायकों की जाति पूछने पर पीडीए की एक जाति बताने पर, कुछ वर्चस्ववादी और प्रभुत्ववादी लोगों ने साथ अभद्र व्यवहार करते हुए उनके बाल कटवाए, नाक रगड़वाई और इलाके की शुद्धि कराई।हमारा संविधान जातिगत भेदभाव… — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) June 23, 2025 YADAV ANGER EXPLODES On Thursday, the situation escalated dramatically when nearly 2,000 members of various Yadav organizations gathered outside Dadarapur, demanding the release of Indian Reforms Organization's national president Gagan Yadav, who was detained by police ahead of his planned protest visit. The crowd turned aggressive, blocking the Agra-Kanpur National Highway and clashing with police. According to officials, the protesters pelted stones at police vehicles, breaking windshields and injuring personnel. In response, police used force to disperse the crowd. Eyewitnesses say a Circle Officer and Inspector drew their pistols and chased protesters, with unconfirmed reports of aerial firing. 'A few people tried to incite violence. Stone pelting happened. But there was no police firing," said ASP Rural Shreeshchandra. Nineteen protesters have been detained, and search operations have been launched in four villages—Dadarapur, Ureng, Pahadpura, and Noudhana—for others involved. AKHILESH YADAV'S INTERVENTION As the protests gained traction, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav weighed in strongly, turning the incident into a political flashpoint. He met Mukut Mani and Sant Kumar in Lucknow, offered them Rs 51,000 each, and gifted them new musical instruments. He also invited them to perform a Katha at the SP headquarters. 'Prabhutvawadi seemayein langh gayi hain (supremacist limits have been crossed)," Akhilesh said. 'They shave heads, beat people, snatch instruments, and demand money. Who gives these supremacists such impunity? This is a heartless government that supports every unconstitutional act." A VILLAGE DIVIDED, A TEMPLE EMPTY Dadarapur, a village with 103 Brahmin households and a mix of Thakur and Dalit families, now resembles a fortress. Roads are barricaded, police from 12 stations are deployed, and tension hangs heavy. The temple where the Katha was held is locked. The sacred kalash lies abandoned. The event tent has been dismantled. Ram Swaroop Das, the priest who arranged the Katha, is absconding. Locals admit that caste was not discussed openly until now. 'No one knew they were Yadavs," said a villager. 'The invitation card listed him as Pandit Mukut Mani Maharaj from Vrindavan. His assistant Surdas had a family link here. That's how it came out." THE POLITICAL UNDERCURRENT While the state government has remained largely silent, the opposition has found in this a potent narrative of upper caste oppression and police bias. Dalit and OBC activists have drawn parallels to past cases where caste-based humiliation went unpunished or was institutionally inverted through FIRs against victims. 'The government must answer—how is the victim now the accused?" asked Rajeev Yadav, a protester from Mainpuri. 'Is this justice or a show of caste supremacy?" he added. With the village still tense, political temperatures rising, and no arrests of the alleged attackers, the road to justice appears uncertain. But one thing is clear: the Brahmin vs Yadav flashpoint in Dadarapur is no longer a local issue. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Akhilesh Yadav news18 specials Location : Etawah, India, India First Published: June 27, 2025, 18:39 IST News india Katha To Caste Conflict: Brahmin Vs Yadav Turns Into Political Battle In UP's Etawah
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Bali Breakup Curse: Why unmarried couples are warned to avoid this sacred temple
Bali has grown into one of the world's most popular travel destinations. The beautiful island has incredible landscapes, stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and deep spiritual roots, which is why it pulls in millions of tourists to its shores every year, and it offers something for every kind of traveler. But beyond the natural beauty and social media post-worthy spots, remains hidden a superstition that most people are unaware of. 'Bali Breakup Curse' is based around the iconic Tanah Lot Temple, and a lot of people speculate whether it is true or fake. So, what is this so-called curse all about? And should couples visiting Bali be worried? Is the Bali breakup curse at Tanah Lot Temple real? Tanah Lot is one of Bali's most iconic landmarks. It is located on a large offshore rock along the southwest coast and is one of seven sea temples believed to protect the island. But aside from its breathtaking views and spiritual energies, it is also well-known for the Bali breakup curse. Where did this curse originate from? According to local legend, a Brahmin Prince and Princess once journeyed from Java to Tanah Lot in search of a romantic sunset escape. The couple, though unmarried, became intimate. But soon after their encounter, the Prince abandoned the Princess. She felt heartbroken and betrayed, and is said to have cursed the land, saying that any unmarried couple who visits the temple would break up within six months of their visit. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bring home all new SP125 & get an instant cashback up to ₹5000# Honda Learn More Undo There are different versions of the curse. Some claim it applies only if you visit Tanah Lot Temple, while others say the curse is tied to Bali as a whole, but only if you step foot on the temple grounds. This leads many couples to avoid visiting the site altogether, even though it's one of the most visited places on the island. But is this legend true? There is no scientific proof that the curse is real. There is no scientific evidence supporting the Bali breakup curse. The belief could simply be a Balinese superstition, as the island is deeply spiritual and full of local myths. On the other hand, some people say that breakups during or after travel may be tied more to stress, unrealistic expectations, or incompatibility, rather than a mystical curse. According to Brewing Adventurer, many Balinese locals believe the curse is 'just a tourist myth.' They said that many couples visit the temple every year, and most of them continue their relationships just fine. However, some locals suggest the curse is less about bad luck and more about 'a lesson in commitment.' They say that if a couple breaks up after visiting, perhaps the relationship wasn't meant to last in the first place. Interestingly, even temple priests say that there is a powerful spiritual energy in the temple, but it doesn't necessarily tie it to romantic misfortune. Instead, they advise tourists to respect the sacred nature of Tanah Lot, as with all holy sites in Bali.
Pink Villa
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Kannappa Review: Vishnu Manchu and Preity Mukhundhan's slow-paced film boasts star power but lacks proper conflict and technical finesse
Plot Set in second century CE, in the village of Uduppura, close to a forest near Sri Kalahasti, lives Thinnadu (Vishnu Manchu). Thinnadu is a fearless tribe hunter, who also happens to be an atheist. His father, on the other hand, is a Shiva devotee. One fine day while hunting, a wild boar leads him to a sacred hill with a Shivaling. After hunting down the boar, Thinnadu feels inexplicable pain. To get the pain off his chest, he offers water and meat to the deity. This pleases Lord Shiva (Akshay Kumar) but angers Mahadeva Shastri (Mohan Babu), a Brahmin who strongly opposes meat offerings. This triggers a clash between Thinnadu's raw devotion and the rigid rituals of Shiva devotees. Thinnadu meets Nemali (Preity Mukhundhan), a princess seeking the Vayulingam, and they develop a close bond. Rudra (Prabhas), a wise mentor, subtly guides him in the right direction of devotion. A meeting with Avadhoota (Mohanlal), deepens Thinnadu's devotion, further. As tensions with Shastri and the tribals peak, Thinnadu's sacrifices transform him into Kannappa, a legendary devotee. Watch Kannappa to follow Thinnadu's journey from being an atheist to a believer. What Works for Kannappa Kannappa finds its strength in the last 40 minutes. The movie is partly able to deliver a devotional story of Thinnadu from being an atheist to Shiva's devotee. The climax, with Thinnadu's selfless act, is well intentioned and it should resonate with Shiva devotees. The divine moments, framed by Shiva and Parvati's (Kajal Aggarwal) conversations, feel authentic. It is enhanced further by soulful background music and devotional songs. Prabhas brings the star power. Mohanlal's cameo as Avadhoota and Akshay Kumar's brief role as Shiva add gravitas to the spiritual scenes. What Doesn't Work for Kannappa First things first, the movie is too long and should have been atleast 40 minutes shorter if not more. The first half drags with a sluggish pace and unnecessary subplots and it is towards the ending of the second half that the pace gets better. The conflict between Thinnadu and Mahadeva Shastri feels repetitive and lacks depth. The romantic track between Thinnadu and Nemali is sweet but underdeveloped. It lacks emotional impact. The visual effects, especially in action sequences, often appear unpolished and artificial. Action scenes feel chaotic, with them lacking sharp choreography. This in turn, dilutes the impact of even the important scenes. Watch the Kannappa Trailer Performances in Kannappa Vishnu Manchu's performance as Thinnadu is adequate but lacks depth in early scenes. He luckily manages to pull it together, to an extent, in the emotional climax. Mohan Babu is commanding as Shastri, but his role feels one-note. Prabhas, as Rudra, brings calm wisdom but is severely underused. Preity Mukhundhan is earnest as Nemali, but her character lacks substance. Mohanlal and Akshay Kumar shine in their brief roles. However, their short presence on the screen, won't give the fans a bang for their buck. Final Verdict of Kannappa Kannappa has heart but that's not enough. The devotional tale has a stirring climax but is hampered by a slow first half, weak visual effects, and uneven storytelling. It shall appeal to Shiva devotees but the lacklustre pacing and the shallow subplots will not let the content fly beyond its limited target audience.
