Hyderabad: Unheard women often remain this way for generations, in and out of epics. Their names are revealed, their lives move the story forward, but they are rarely allowed to speak. Dushala, the only daughter of Dhrutarashtra and Gandhari in the Mahabharata, belongs to this group.
Actor and dancer Dr. Alekhya Punjala chose to bring her voice center stage with a theater performance directed by Sutradhar’s Vinay Varma. Alekhya describes this as “a challenge that I wanted to take on because dancers don’t use voice” and says this change is crucial to the story he wants to tell.
He explains that Dushala stands in the Mahabharata as the only sister of the Kauravas, that is, a daughter who grew up unseen. “He feels neglected by his mother, who always focuses on her sons,” says Alekhya. “Sometimes he wonders if his mother accepts his physical presence.” The memory of getting married also haunts Dushala. Alekhya recalls a line from the script: “My brothers had so many swayamvars. Why didn’t anyone think of one for me?”
Alekhya says Dushala wants her son to understand the cost of conflict and stay away from it. “He said he didn’t want to cause any more bloodshed,” he notes. “He raised him that way – but what did the Mahabharata call him? They named him after him.” what’s up Because he refused to fight.”
She describes Dushala as a reflection of the silence that surrounds most women, both in the epic and in real life. Alekhya points out that “except for Draupadi, who expressed her agony, other women never expressed their suffering.” This silence still feels familiar, he says. “We think things have changed in cities, but this mentality is still present in many places.”
According to Alekhya, the story also tells about how girls are raised and how boys learn to perceive women. “If a mother starts teaching her child certain values early in life, we can hope that change will happen,” he says.
Alekhya has spent most of his artistic life in dance, but felt this story required a different medium. “As dancers, we are comfortable with the body and expression,” she says. “We need to use sound here too. This is an experiment.”
‘Dushala: Her Untold Story’ will be performed at Ravindra Bharathi on November 19 at 19:00. The 90-minute Hindi monologue will include elements of Kuchipudi and folk movements. The production is a collaborative effort between Trishna Kuchipudi Dance Academy, Sutradhar and the government’s language and culture department.
