Story of a warrior princess told in a new-age set up

Deeply inspired by the character of Chitra from Tagore’s Chitrangada, acclaimed fusion singer Isheeta Ganguly has written a play titled Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali. The play will be staged today at ITC Grand Chola.

Chitra and Chaitali have a lot in common, yet are alter-egos of each other. Each one wishes she could be like the other. The lives of the two women unfold with a surprise twist in 2018, set against Arjuna’s and Chitra’s classic tale. 

“Chitra is a warrior princess  from Manipur who is trying to win the love of Arjun. But she is spurned by him because she was not beautiful. Sad by her plight, Chitra prays to a goddess to make her transform into an ethereal princess so that she could get Arjun’s attention. 

When the goddess grants her wish, Arjun falls madly in love with her. Soon, Chitra gets tired of the frivolousness of trying to be something that she is not and reveals herself to Arjun,” says Isheeta, who also doubles up as the director.

Chaitali is the after version of Chitra and on Sundays, Chitra meets her alter-ego Chaitali over a coffee. “I have brought that classic tale into in a dialogue between two women who are alter egos of each other. 

The scenes are very much interwoven with each other. The character of Chitrangada always intrigues me. She is bold, self-reliant and I could easily relate with her,” explains the singer about the 1.30 hours play.

The music is composed by Pritam and Romita Roy is in charge of the audio-visual department. The four actors of Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali are Smita Bhattacharya, wife of Pritam, who plays the role of Chitrangada, Prerna Talwar (Chaitali), Gunjan Saini (modern-day Chitra) and Tushar Kawale (Arjun).

The play is part of ITC Hotels’ endeavour of Welcom Theatre.