A play by
Dr. Vithal Rajan
Duration - 150 Minutes
No of characters - 29
Short Synopsis
The great Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, most probably staged Shakuntala early in the 6th century, perhaps in the city of Ujjayini, the centre of the Indian empire. Shakuntala, the daughter of Rama’s sage-tutor and a heavenl...Read Full Synopsis
A play By Dr. Vithal Rajan
Synopsis
The great Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, most probably staged Shakuntala early in the 6th century, perhaps in the city of Ujjayini, the centre of the Indian empire. Shakuntala, the daughter of Rama’s sage-tutor and a heavenly nymph is brought up in an ashram, where the king of those mythical times woos her and then forgets, till his memory is jolted by the ring he gave her. India is named after their son, Bharata. Europeans in the 18th century were enraptured by translations of the play. Goethe wrote ‘Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sole name combine? I name thee, O Sakuntala! and all at once is said!’ I stage my play on Shakuntala’s premiere night, and my characters are Kalidasa’s actor-friends, though they carry the same names as in his play. The woman-philosopher of Alexandria, Hypatia, is there as well, not murdered by fundamentalist Christians, but saved by Arabs. Also there is a Chinese colleague of the traveller-historian Fa-Hsien from Nanjing. The play begins and ends in the wretched slum that Ujjain is today, the ring and the names linking the present with Kalidasa and the birth of India; caste, police, and hierarchies remaining always the same…
Duration
150 Minutes
No of characters
29