Performance piece, ‘Do Naina Ek Kahani’, merges art, music and story-telling to tell Yashodhara’s story

Artists, musicians and storytellers join hands to tell the story of Yashodhara in a recital

Three canvasses, each measuring six by five feet, are being filled with colours and figures in a makeshift studio in Thiruvananthapuram. All the three paintings are related to the life of Yashodhara, the wife of prince Siddarth, after he left her and their newborn son in search of enlightenment.

Artist and curator Anupama Ramachandran, Evelyn D’souza and Simi Ismail are part of a creative team that is bringing Yashodhara’s story to the stage.

“There is music, songs, story-telling and art to narrate the story of Yashodhara,” says Latha Kurien Rajeev, creative director of the show.

Yashodhara has inspired poets and writers. While he became the Buddha, Yashodara remained a single mother, bringing up their son Rahul. Hindi poet Mythili Sharan Gupt’s famous poem on Yashodhara is a sensitive take on her life.

Yashodhara has continued to be the muse of many creative people. A couple of years ago, Sandhya Syama, head of HR of an MNC in Technopark, narrated Yashodhara’s story for a Toastmaster’s programme.

Sandhya says she was always moved by the thought of the young princess and she wrote that in a jiffy. “It was what I felt about Yashodhara’s life and emotions.”

A year or so ago, she chanced upon a performance in Bengaluru that brought together music, story-telling and art on one platform. “It was captivating to watch and I wanted to do the same in Thiruvananthapuram.”