Abhijnyanashakuntalam

Inspired by Poet Kalidas’s original work in Sanskrit, the narrative weaves around King Dushyanta’s expedition into a forest, his chase of a deer and his chance meeting of the beautiful maiden, Shakuntala. The drama further delves into the inevitable love that unfolds between these two lovers, the tragedy that follows, the acidic test that love goes through and the subsequent repentance by the King.

Abhijnyanashakuntalam was first staged in 1993 at Kolkata.

Mayar Khela

Maya, the illusion. The great poet Rabindranath Tagore, in the year 1888, wrote an intriguing play about love, heartbreak, misconceptions, apologies and reunion - embodiment of all things representing Maya.

Mayar Khela was first staged in 2012 at Kolkata to mark 25th year of Gurukul.

Mahishasurmardinee

The often repeated and perhaps the most dominant narrative in the Indian mythology, especially in and around Bengal, this exposition is a celebration of Devi Chandi, appraising the supremacy of good over evil. The presentation is resplendent in its use of other dance forms like Chhau.

Mahishashurmardinee was first telecast in 2000 in DD National and DD, Kolkata.

Rajnartaki

Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s celebrated dance drama, Shyama, Rajnartaki is a deliberation in love and ensuing tragedy. Vajrasena, a horse dealer, arrives in Varanasi but by some turn of event, falls into trouble. Shyama, the female protagonist, pulls him out of his predicament and in the course of time they fall in love. However, destiny intervenes and Vajrasena forsakes Shyama.

Rajnartaki was first staged in 2000 at Kolkata.

Rupantarer Khela

An iconic instance of evolution in art, Sutapa Talukdar was deeply inspired by the great poet, Rabindranath Tagore’s penchant towards creating a new mould by adopting from other resources and seamlessly blending them to fashion a magical new creation. Indigenous and world music alike, the poet was inspired by all genres and this gets profusely reflected in his work.

Rupantarer Khela was first staged in 1997, in USA.

Anand Tarang

The entire universe with man in the midst of the wonders of nature becomes the fountainhead of music and dance. Everything in this world created by the supreme deity Brahma, from the forces of nature to the melody and meaning of life itself, creates the desire for self-expression through dance, culminating in the Guru-shishya tradition.

Anand Tarang was first staged in the year- 1998

Krishnabhavamadhuri

Krishna Lila.The innumerable divine play of the Lord Krishna.Sometimes mischievous, sometimes preaching, again at times indulging in love notes with his beloved Radha or delivering sermons, this dance ballet captures the various plays of the Lord. The ballet chronologically captures antiques of Baal Gopal as he steals butter and troubles his mother with his pranks,as Kishore Krishna who is always the centre of attraction of the Gopis, as Krishna the brave who kills many demons, as the young Lover Krishna engrossed in his love of Radha, and finally as the Diplomat Krishna who is the guiding force behind the Pandavasand as the slayer of Jarasandha. The ballet is based on the ancient palm leaf manuscripts found with Dhanurdhar Reddy, a gifted ‘khol’ player and a resident of the Ganjam district of Odisha.

Krishnabhavamadhuri, telecast in four episodes in DD National (Doordarshan, the Public broadcasting channel of India), in 1998.

Kwanatnupura

In our mythology, there is no love greater than that of Lord Shiva and Lady Parvati. But even the greatest of the love stories are laced with tragedy. Kwanatnupura is a story of Lord Shiva’s rage at losing Sati, his first wife, on his slaying of Madan, on Parvati’s remorse at Madan’s death and Lord Siva’s acquiescence to Parvati.

The production saw participation from 21 Creative Wing talents.

Kwanatnupura, was first staged in 2013.

AnandaTumi Swami

A chronicle of the great mind, Swami Vivekananda, in this choreography SutapaTalukdar brings alive the transformation ofNarenendranathDutta into Swami Vivekananda with the use of mellifluous lyrics and soulful music.

AnandaTumi Swami was first staged in Kolkata on 21st August, 2014.

Parjanya Devata - The Rain God

A seamless blend of Odissa and western classical dance, Parjanya Devata - The Rain God is an exposition into the character of Rain God, equally potent as the protector and the destroyer of mankind.

Parjanya devata was first staged in the year - 2017.

Vahana

The Indian dance space is abundant in its depiction of the gods and goddesses, with innumerable delineations of mythology and countless portrayal of the deities in their varied forms. However, there is none that delves into the discourse on their ‘Vahanas’ or mascots. Why did they need them? Divine attributes made the gods and goddesses capable enough to travel anywhere on their own. Then what was the purpose of the Vahanas? Sutapa Talukdar explores this yet-unexplored facet of Indian mythology and brings alive her exposition through a blend of creative dance style, music and innovative stage representation.

Vahana was first staged in the year- 2018.

Nivedita of RKV

‘Nivedita of RKV’ is one of the landmark dance productions of South Gurukul Society, featuring the life and philosophy of Sister Nivedita, Swami Vivekananda’s worthy disciple. Gurukul holds the production near to its heart as it was created on the insistence of Sri Vamananandaji of Baranagar Ramkrishna Math, to commemorate her 150th birth anniversary. Our past production on the life and philosophy of Swamiji was quite helpful to conceptualising ‘Nivedita of RKV’. An interesting fact about the production is that although we depicted life of Sisiter Nivedita, the cast included all males.

Nivedita was first staged in the year- 2018.