Krishna: Arrested and Prosecuted!

Radha Magistrate, Krishna Mudala!

After reading my previous blog on Punjabi Tappe, Ashutosh Meher, a poet and author from Odisha observed: Similar folk songs are popular in tribal cultures of Odisha where young adults form separate teams of boys and girls and exchange taunts and jibes known as hurling tappas (tappa marba).

I retrieved from my personal library 'Paschim Odishara Loka Sahitya Sampada', a book gifted to me sometime ago by the author Padmashri Narasingha Prasad Guru of Bolangir. An excellent book with a rich collection of Dhaga-Dhamali, Prabachana, Tapa, Daeka, Chhatka, Prabada, Maichia Dhaga, Bakhani and Rudhi Prayog commonly used in folk songs and idioms of western Odisha. Daeka, possibly derived from Sanskrit dahika meaning incendiary, is a taunt capable of scalding the target, explains Shri Guru in his book.

A quick search led me to several such songs on You Tube – Radha-Krushna Tapa-Daeka, Odia Dhaga Dhamali, Kela Keluni, and other songs. The testy exchange between Lakshmi and Jagannatha in Balaram Das’s Lakshmi Purana has unmistakable elements of Tapa-Daeka. Subhash Khuntia, a friend, sent me a link for Ganakabi Baishnaba Pani’s Kela-Keluni Suanga, a composition in similar vein.

Another friend, Prof. Kalidas Mishra asked me to check out ‘Radha Magistrate, Krishna Mudala’ album on YouTube, which I did. A Sambalpuri album with a unique flavour, as the creators describe their presentation. I enjoyed the video as it brought back memories of Krishna Leela which I had seen as a child in my village in the early sixties. Then, folk-theatre was robust and a much-loved entertainment in the village.

The Album

Composed by Bharat Mishra with music by Murali Dhari Pati, this album has been produced by a talented team including singers-dancers-actors, choreographers, costume designers, and other technical support persons. Uploaded a few months ago, it has been seen by more than 80k viewers. What a pity that such a lovely album is not already viral! If you love Sambalpuri folk songs and folk theatre, you may enjoy this video.

The album title is amazingly cosmopolitan, and indeed global: Krishna and Radha from Indian mythology, ‘magistrate’ an English word of Latin origin, and ‘mudala’ (abbreviation of mudda’ aa- ‘alaihim) meaning accused and defendant is Arabic! The album is an imaginative fusion of devotional literature and ancient myth with British and Arabic jurisprudence and the Indian Constitution (there is a reference to the Constitution’s Fundamental Right to Equality - Article 15 and prohibition of discrimination based on caste!).

Plot

The venue is Kunjabana, the enchanting bowers of Vrindavan which was the secret venue for Krishna’s romantic dalliance with Radha and the gopis.

Radha is distraught since Krishna has reneged on his promise to be with her here. She devises a scheme. I will hold court here and try Krishna for his many offences, she tells her ashta sakhis- eight sahelis (Krishna was Devaki’s eighth child, and years later, would have ashta patnis or eight principal wives!); issues summons which Vishakha serves on Krishna, arrests him, and handcuffing him with a garland of flowers presents him before Radha, the Magistrate.

Radha’s sakhis act as muddei and present the charges. Purnamasi, Krishna’s confident, able, and eloquent counsel, defends him and effortlessly demolishes all the five charges one by one.

Radha can no longer see her lover prosecuted, persecuted, humiliated, and tormented. She pleads with her sakhis to end the trial. I devised this scheme to permanently lodge Krishna in the jail of my heart, she confesses. Krishna is magnanimous. I, too, played along; this is also part of my Leela, he says; and the play ends with a joyous group chorus and dance, euphoric and devotional. The Leela is fun, but essentially devotional. Odia Bhagabata in Rasa Panchdhyayi, the five chapters of the epic dealing with the erotic yet divine love between Radha and Krishna celebrates the supremacy of prema bhakti for attainment of Krishna.

IPC

The story is presented as a courtroom drama. Krishna is summoned and charged with five offences under the Indian Penal Code. In their cute, playful songs the prosecutors quote the IPC sections under which Krishna is charged, and Purnamasi - Krishna’s counsel swiftly demolishes all the charges with irrefutable logic. The author has spiced his songs with reference to the IPC sections, but the audience need no legal knowledge to appreciate and enjoy this drama.

Which are the offences levelled against Krishna? Five charges are pressed by the prosecution, each punishable under the IPC:

Section 302: murder of Putana. Though a rakshashi, she came in guise of a human female, hence IPC would apply!

Section 457: ‘lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night’ to steal butter and curd from houses of gopis.

Section 294: obscene acts and songs in or near any public place (Yamuna, Kunjabana), to the annoyance of others (Radha and her sahelis).

Section 323: voluntarily causing hurt to another person- Kaliya may be a snake, but is treated here as a person, and Krishna’s dance on his head nearly killing the snake is an offence (Animal lovers would love that!).

Section 379: theft, which is defined as dishonestly taking away any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person's consent. Vastra haran – the stealing of gopis’ clothes when they were taking a dip in Yamuna. The punishment for this offence is imprisonment for up to three years, or a fine, or both. Luckily for Krishna, the prosecution did not frame charges for ‘outraging the modesty of women’ for which more stringent punishment is provided!

Folk-theatre

The album presents holistic Sangeet, defined by Natya Shastra as comprising song, music, and dance coupled with bhava and abhinaya. The drama is a fusion of Krishna Leela and Danda nacha performances, with sutradharas ushering in the theme, followed by the five Acts in this mini-play or short film– Radha’s scheme to try Krishna in her Court, Krishna summoned and arrested, Prosecution levels charges, Defence rebuts and refutes the charges, Radha ends the mock-trial by absolving Krishna of all alleged offences and there is a happy resolution with Radha and Krishna joyfully united.

Folk Songs and Music

The album presents a medley of the major varieties of Sambalpuri folk songs – Dalkhai, Rasarkeli, Jaiphula re, Sajani Go, Maela Jada, Mor Muralidhara Go; and has echoes from several hugely popular Sambalpuri songs of yester years – Hae Krushna Hae Krushna boli jau mor jeevana ga, jhum Jhum baje mor jhumka paenri, phatai khaili bela Kukila re, etc. The songs and the music deftly convey the shifting moods and emotions in the play.

End of an era?

Is folk theatre-song-culture dead or dying? Far from it; several individuals and groups have revived, reimagined, and reinterpreted these iconic elements of our folk culture, and several present practitioners and ambassadors continue to do so of whom I have come across the works of a few notable ones – Padmashri Haldhar Nag, The Loo Theatre group by Kesha Ranjan Pradhan, Purna Chandra Behera (a series of Odia Dhaga-Dhamali Geeta videos created in his modest studio in a village!), and a few groups from Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sonepur and other places. As I explore more, I hope to find many more talented and dedicated creative persons and groups championing the cause of folk culture.

Every year during Nuakhai, Dalkhai performances are hosted all over India by the local Sambalpuri community. I came across a video of a dance group performing Dalkhai in front of Eiffel Towers, Paris!

Rangabati, a super hit love song is loved by non-Sambalpuri and non-Odia audience transcending language barrier and has more than a million views on You Tube. Old Sambalpuri folk songs like jhum jhum baje mor jhumka paenri and Hae Krushna Hae Krushna boli jau mor jeevana ga are still very popular.

Danda nacha – Shaivaite dance performances sponsored by the Somavanshi rulers of Sonepur to counter the Buddhist religion dominant in adjacent Boudh, evolved to become devotional as well as secular theatre. Krishna Leela and Ram Leela are still performed by local groups in remote villages of Odisha.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Bill recently passed by both houses of Parliament, after the assent of the President of India has replaced the Indian Penal Code. The Sections quoted in this album are now outdated, but the divine love between Radha and Krishna, and the devotional fervour that inspires folk songs and theatre would continue for ever.

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Resources

1. Radha Magistrate, Krishna Mudala: https://youtu.be/OI1sxzHinWE?si=S5J4bu-km8JadiFc

2. Paschim Odishara Loka Sahitya Sampada – by Padmashri Narasingha Prasad Guru.

3. Sambalpur Bhasha Sahitya Sanskruti, 2003, published by Sambalpur University. It has several excellent articles including ‘Paschim Odishara Dhaga-Dhamali: Eka Parikrama’ by Dr. Manindra Mohanty.

4. Kela-Keluni Suanga by Ganakabi Baishnaba Pani (1882-1956): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xT6rA4UOG1ugEXggIrx43i0RE7_1E9QC/view?usp=drive_open

5. Radha Krushnar Tapa Daeka: https://youtu.be/8AcTmjkXSos?si=K-ca-8mHY0W07tbG

6. Dhaga-Dhamali: Odia Lokagita by Purna Chandra Behera: https://youtu.be/ZjTCFh9BkbE?si=gE8gy9xwp0rD1GUG

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Prasanna Dash