The legendry story of ‘Alha’, the Rajput General of King of Chandel, was resplendently told on stage. Adorned with the folk music and perfect light design, the play ‘Alha- Nainagarh Ki ladai’ was staged at Shaheed Bhavan on Tuesday.
The play was performed by the artists of Shruti Kirti Ballet troupe, Bhopal. The folklore of Rajput general was splendidly performed in this musical drama by the artists. The play was directed by Chandra Madhav Barik.
The play ‘Alha’ was based on a true story. The Rajput general Alha and his loyalty towards his king Paramardi Deva is still remembered by the people. The play focused on his lifespan, from his birth till his death each major incident was shown beautifully.
As it was a war genre of the play, the larger than life stage craft was used. As per the folklore of Alha, Alha and Udal were children of the Dasraj, a successful commander of the Chandel king Parmal who fought Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182 CE, immortalised in the Alha-Khand ballad.
The play used some of the poetries from Alha-Khand ballad.
The heroes Alha and Udal the generals of Parmal’s army fought in the battle of Mahoba between Prithviraj III and King Parmal in c.1182. The narration begins with the early exploits of Alha and Udal. They fought with the Karingarai and killed him to avenge the killings of their father Dasraj and uncle Baccharaj. later they fought the battle of Mahoba. According to the Bhojpuri and the Kannauji recensions, Alha married Sonvati (Sonva), the princess of Nainagarh after a war.
The folklore is sung in Bundelkhandi in various parts of the country. The play was beautifully staged leaving the audience enthralled.
