The indomitable spirited soul, Birubala Rabha by name, from a remote tribal village of Goalpara district fought against the all odds in her society that’s long rooted stronger creeping around some age-old myths. Dainy, the witch, is the result of one such fallacy existing in Assam. Birubala rose to the occasion at a time when the world around her was not conducive to roll her campaign on.
But unwilling to give up, the class five educated female power composed herself not only to face the challenges, but to dictate the terms in strong words. Her uncompromising attitude towards changing the society was commendable which made it worthy to work on her through theatre media.
Darpan Dance Academy run through a hybrid model on stage, perhaps for the first time in Assam, to carry the story forward with successful fusions of different forms of theatre like Body Movement, Puppetry, Story Telling and Contemporary Theatre. Again, the puppetry is used in style of the ‘sutrdhara’ form of drama introducing the characters to set the tone of the story on. Coming from such a too remote village from the district head quarter, what Birubala Rabha had done to challenge a deep rooted superstition and save the innocent victims was marvelous. But equally marvelous was what Manik Roy, the nationally acclaimed director and actor, had done in scripting, designing and directing the production at the Madhadeb International Auditorium in Sankardev Kalaskhetra, Guwahati on July 2 last.
With an unparallel concept, Dr. Anjana Moyee Saikia, an empanelled Odissi soloist of ICCR under Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi and a graded artist in both Odissi and Sattriya dance from Doordarshan, kept the full house spellbound with the lead role for the entire run with her flawless choreography. A sequential composure with use of different folk music and tribal dances took ‘Bala…a musical ballad’ close to the audience beyond the proscenium arch of theatre. It’s a pleasing resonance also to see the western music tone for a moment. Mandeep Mahanta, as music director had gone extra mile in composing the sound effect best suited in every action of the characters. The characteristic movements of the puppets with their modulating voices were touching realities while the field actors did excellent jobs in storytelling without dialogues through diverse physical skills including acrobatics and dances.
It’s not easy to make one’s life story enjoyable on stage representing it straightway. So, Darpan Dance Academy re-engineered the biopic play with an all-tribal fabric incorporating contemporary dramatic treatments, traditional ballads and poetries depicting an untold story of a fighting character to the best enlightenment of the spectators.
‘Bala… A Musical Ballad’ is not just an untold story of a fighting female character but a crusade against the evil powers of a society in this part of our country. The play in unique design looks to lead a long way with its crossbreed presentation from where Birubala Rabha, the Padmashree winner had left it.
Written by: Mrinmoy Bhuyan