Siri Sampige & Jokumaraswamy

Jokumaraswami, a phallic god of fertility worshipped in Karnataka, is identified with Basanna, the fearless peasant protagonist who stands up to the tyrannical feudal lord with tragic consequences, reliving the myth of the god in the person of the hero.

In this secularised reworking of a religious myth, Chandrasekhar Kambar's vibrant, earthy play creatively uses the local folk theatre form of bayalaata blending worship, music, dance, song, narration, sex, death and religion to convey a powerfully contemporary anti-feudal message. Sirisampige, a philosophical play deals with the rift between the material and the spiritual, the body and the mind.

Chandrasekhar Kambar uses the traditional religious Yakshagana performance form of his native Karnataka to present a secular play, blending the ageless and the contemporary in the unique manner he has made so much his own.