Adorned with the folk music and perfect light design, the legendary tale of ‘Alha Udal’ was resplendently told on stage. The play ‘Alha Udal’ was staged at Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD) here on Monday. The play was performed in Swang Nautanki style.
The play was performed by the students of MPSD, Bhopal. The folklore was splendidly performed in this musical drama by the artists. The play was directed by Ram Dayal Sharma.
The play ‘Alha Udal’ 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, immortalized in the 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.
It is to be noted that that folklore is sung in Bundelkhandi in various parts of the country. The play was beautifully staged leaving the audience enthralled.
