Nagpur: Tathagat, a play based on Gautam Buddha’s life and teachings was staged at the Khasdar Sanskrutik Mahotsav on Tuesday, at Ishwar Deshmukh College of Physical Education. The play set in the Shakya Kingdom, at the foothill of the Himalayas created the perfect ensemble of actors, aesthetics, costumes, and drama.
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s narration of the incidents from Gautam Buddha’s life kept the audience’s attention on the stage and the digital screens. Inspired by the life of Buddha, the play propagated the message of peace and harmony. The play was an ideal tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary. Tuesday, marked the century of staging of the play ‘Tathagat’. Dr Ambedkar’s narration, the visual inputs, horses, and chariots gave the audience backseats to the journey of Buddha’s life.
Narrated from the day he was born to the day he renounced the comforts of the world and went in search of enlightenment was a philosophically thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating play. The tenets of Buddhism, propagated by Buddha,unfolded through the scenes. Messages of peace, harmony, non-violence, and quest for knowledge, and truth were told. The impressive fast paced arrangements, the artsy costumes, set designs, and the interactive methods were highlights of the play.
The play is written by Kiran Bagde, Produced by Mohan Madan, Directed by Shailendra Krishna Bagde, and in music is by Bhupesh Sawai. Around 200 actors were involved in this great play, which featured voice-overs of veteran actors like Kavita Krishnamurthy, Udit Narayan, Late Om Puri, and late Vikram Gokhale. Day five of central India’s most significant cultural festival began with a patriotic song performance by Shyam Deshpande’s team. The programme was moderated by Kishore Galande. Surmani Pandit Prabhakar Dhakade delivered a soulful rendition of violin tunes to the Nagpur audience.
He started the concert with Raga Yaman, a heptatonic Indian Classical Raga. The music was serene, calm, peaceful and at the same time joyful and lively. Through the language of music, he paid tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and played Bharatiya Ghatnecha Tu Shilpakar aahe’. Accompanying him were Ram Khadse on Tabla and Lakshati Kajalkar on Tanpura.
Adv Sulekha Kumbhare, Bhante Dhammodaya Mahathero, Nanabhau Shamkule, former MLA; Bhupesh Thulkar, Surmani Pandit Prabhakar Dhakade, famous violinist; Anantrao Gharad, Pramod Padole, Director, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology; Dr. Raj Gajbhiye, Dean, Government Medical College; Milind Mane, former MLA; Adv Dharampal Meshram, Arvind Gajbhiye, Sandeep Jadhav, Rajesh Hativele, and Siddharth Gaikwad were present.
