When Kansa 'grilled' a Union minister

BARGARH (ODISHA): A man enacting the role of a medieval king summons a Union minister to his ‘durbar’ and orders him to explain how a planned government project in his ‘kingdom’ would help his ‘subjects’. The minister — more used to being surrounded by the modern-day equivalent of obsequious courtiers — bows his head and nods with folded hands. Welcome to Dhanu Yatra — an 11-day, open-air re-enactment of the life of Krishna that takes over the western Odisha town of Bargarh and transforms it into the mythical kingdom of Mathura. Despite being a retelling of ‘Krishna Leela’, it is his evil uncle Kansa who is the real hero of Dhanu Yatra. In fact, he is no ordinary hero; he is the agent of social change. medium Unlike Krishna Leelas elsewhere, Kansa takes centre-stage in Bargarh — known as Odisha’s rice bowl — and is portrayed as a true people’s king. Those who commit social evil face his wrath, while those who do good, earn the kingly equivalent of a pat on the back. At this year’s yatra, which began on January 11 and which will end on Pausa Purnima on January 21, Kansa weighed in on the motives of a local boy — petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan. large The minister, ordered to attend Kansa’s court on January 15, was asked to explain how an upcoming ethanol biofuel project in Bargarh would be beneficial to farmers. After explaining, he was asked by the king to ensure that his subjects got the due price for their paddy husk, a principal ingredient in the biofuel project. The minister nodded humbly. large Dhanu Yatra is the annual high on Bargarh town’s social calendar. While the western Odisha town becomes Mathura for the 11 days, nearby Ambapali village becomes Gopapur. Jira — the principal tributary of the Mahanadi passing between Bargarh and Ambapali — is Yamuna. Moving around his kingdom, Kansa punishes those violating laws. The amount charged as fine goes to the organizing committee of the spectacle. Put on display are epochal events from Krishna’s life — His birth to Kansa’s killing — but there is no doubt that the audience’s sympathies lie with the evil king. It was not just Pradhan who faced Kansa’s grilling. The king on January 16 summoned the superintending engineer of a power distributor to explain why Mathura was facing power cuts. The officer, more than a match for Kansa, explained that the situation in Mathura was better compared to that in other states and that he, in fact, had disconnected power supply to enemy Krishna’s village of Gopapur. medium Sitting atop an elephant with a crown on his head, Kansa, on January 14, even stopped a biker riding without a helmet and imposed a fine of ‘eka saha swarna mudra’ (one hundred gold coins) for the violation. The bewildered youngster handed over Rs 100 to Kansa’s courtiers and sped away. Later in the evening, the king pronounced in his ‘durbar’ that bikers without helmet would not be allowed to ride in his kingdom. Kansa weighs in on socio-political issues, from the Mahanadi dispute to the menace of polythene, from the high school-dropout rate to the shortage of doctors. This time, he opined that Chhattisgarh was trying to ruin Mathura’s economy — a reference to the river dispute; Bargarh is principally agrarian and depends on the Hirakud’s water — and sought a comprehensive plan from the district education officer to reduce school dropouts. Every evening of the 11-day festival sees Kansa summon authorities willy-nilly to his durbar. He chastises their sloppy work while simultaneously planning to kill Krishna. The durbars are serious business. In the 1990s, the then Kansa had fined chief minister Biju Patnaik for turning up late to a durbar. Sureshwar Satpathy, convenor of the organizing committee of the Dhanu Yatra, says the script is not written from before. “Depending on the authorities coming to the stage, dialogues are improvised to make it interesting and relevant.” The festival began in its current format in 1948, a year after India’s Independence. Pritish Acharya, a professor of history and a native of Bargarh district, says it is often called the world’s largest open-air theatre because the entire Bargarh town and Ambapali village — an area of 30 square km — become a stage for the 11 days of the festival. The population of Bargarh town (around one lakh), besides visitors, become a part of the interactive theatre as they play Kansa’s subjects. medium Kesha Ranjan Pradhan, a researcher on Dhanu Yatra and a retired college teacher, adds that the area where the yatra is undertaken is bigger than the Ramleela of Ramnagar. “More research should be done to establish if it is truly the world’s largest open-air theatre, though,” he says. Sociologists explain that the reason Kansa takes centre-stage is that he can be played by an actor in any manner, while any depiction of Krishna needs to follow established exegetical tradition. Acting as Kansa in the Bargarh Dhanu Yatra is no child’s play though. The man who plays Kansa, complete with a booming laugh and a handlebar moustache, achieves near-god status in this part of the state. Performances are talked about for years. medium Bhubaneswar Pradhan, who is acting as Kansa for the second year in a row, says, “People call me Kansa Maharaja throughout the year.” A native of Sarla village, 15 km from Bargarh, Bhubaneswar runs a tent-house to earn his living. He is also the president of the village development committee. medium “When the crown is on, I am the king. I am the authority. My words is law. Actually, the format of the theatre is such that all the people obey my orders. It’s fun for all of them,” says the actor. “I like the way Kansa laughs and pulls up anyone and everyone with authority,” he adds. To give a chance to new actors, the organising committee holds interviews to select Kansa every few years. Bhubaneswar had earlier acted as Kansa for two successive years in 1999 and 2000.