META Award winner Hunkaro is back in Bengaluru

Hunkaro, a play that premiered in Bengaluru at the Staying Alive - Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival, in 2021, is back in the City on September 23. The Ujaagar Dramatic Association production that recently bagged seven awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards or META festival, 2023, is a performance piece that was designed just after the second wave of COVID-19. 

Hunkaro, a play that premiered in Bengaluru at the Staying Alive - Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival, in 2021, is back in the City on September 23. The Ujaagar Dramatic Association production that recently bagged seven awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards or META festival, 2023, is a performance piece that was designed just after the second wave of COVID-19.

The idea of the play came about with the disturbing realisation that the lockdown reduced not only the attention span of people but also the capacity and need to listen to others. Hunkaro literally means a verbal affirmation, a response from the listener to the storyteller that she or he is listening, comprehending, and travelling with the story. Since Lockdown, there has been an insatiable hunger to consume visuals and noise which leaves very little room for listening. If listening too is an art, like many other art forms, is this too losing its beauty and necessity? How can it be regained? Hunkaro is premised on these questions.

The play has three captivating tales interlacing each other to explore the transformative power of strength and hope, and their role in sustaining life. The narratives are based on works of Rajasthani writers, Arvind Charan and Chirag Khandelwal, and Vijaydan Detha. The performance places a strong emphasis on the beauty of the Rajasthani language, delving into the aesthetic value of languages in general, the significance of spoken words, and the art of attentive listening.  

Hunkaro is enriched with songs from the ancient Manganiyar tradition, refraining from the use of musical instruments, once again highlighting the power of spoken language.

This production features a cast of six skilled actors, Ipshita Chakraborty, Ajeet Singh Palawat, Puneet Mishra, Mahesh Saini, Bhakti Bharti and Bhaskar Sharma. The play predominantly incorporates Marwari, Hindi, Hariyanwi, and Awadhi languages. Manganiyar musician Hakeem Khan leads the musical aspect of this performance, while it has been crafted and directed by Mohit Takalkar. 

Speaking to The Hindu, Takalkar said during the process of making this play, just after the pandemic, he realised that hope would help everyone dream again. ‘‘Around me, I was seeing heart breaking events unfolding. During the second wave, I realised that if people had survived this far, it was only because of hope. Even dreams had died during the pandemic, but hope was alive that we will be able to dream again, so it was a very strange phenomenon.’‘

Shows of the play are at 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m., at Ranga Shankara, J.P.Nagar. Tickets for the play are available at the Ranga Shankara box-office and on BookMyShow.