It was 7 PM by the time we succeeded in reserving the tickets and prepared ourselves for the evening. We had high end tickets and the show was at 8 PM. We were advised that the taxi would not reach in time because of the evening traffic and we should take the subway. We had to agree. We ventured forward.
Unlike the subway in Europe and in the US, the system in Bangkok runs on elevated tracks. The stations are parts of shopping centers marked by pointers in Thai language. Lack of English anywhere in public places was interesting, but concerning. We had to ask every twenty steps, and bump ourselves. After numerous encounters, we reached the subway ticket booth. The system had a world of its own tucked inside the shopping center. Having made sure that we would be going in the right direction, we waited for the train.
After changing to another train, we reached the Thai Cultural Center stop, which apparently contains Museums, schools, theaters and special event venues. Our intuition that the venue of this massive 200 member-cast special show would be easy to find did not prove to be correct. Our phonetic presentation of the location was incorrect. People who seemed to understand sent us in directions that were incorrect. After several wrong moves, we did hire a taxi. The taxi-driver understood English and we did reach our destination by about 8:20 PM. We procured our tickets and entered a large theater hall. We were escorted to our "silver" seats. We settled in.
Personally I take interest in large theatrical productions that can tell a story well. The theater is a medium of visual education and unlike the movie there is an intimate association between the stage actors and the audience. The real-time experience adds a charm to the theater. One shows the pageantry and action in specially produced sets enhanced by lighting accompanied by music. Special theater stages are deep and large. They could be equipped with contraptions for special effects and artist entry. Large opera stages in the west are an innovation in themselves. I appreciated the ambience of the stage and the hall in this special show.
The show done in three acts depicts the history of Thai people as a reconstructed legend with some history. It starts with a religious view that the land was chosen by the good "celestials" to inhabit. The scenes were developed to create ballet steps of fairies, angels and celestial kings and soldiers. This act was almost concluding when we reached. The next act was the "battle" by the "civilized nobles" with the rough "natives" in the forests of the land. Use of gunfire by the "nobles" scared the "natives" and they retreated. The story appeared to have been written by the western producers to help create the myth as was tried in India. Early settlement by the traders from India must be relevant, but it did not enter the story line.
The next act went into the Buddhist influence and the formation of the Thai society. There were elaborate theatrical set up of fire and torture in "hell" due to "misconduct" in life. The misconduct scenario was taken from the Theravada Buddhist tradition. A parent disciplining a kid with a loud voice could be thundered with white noise in the hell. It would be interesting to discover how such retaliatory exercises were invented. Buddhist scholars were smart to find ways to maintain local peace. People stay in peace if they have enough to eat !
The last segment of the show was a celebration of the present day Thai society with the King and Queen adoring the stage as the protectors. People flocked in pockets and in congregations and they offered their ovation to the king. They had good dresses and they danced around in joy. Various trades were displayed and there was stagecraft simulating agriculture and industrial production. Finally small paper boats were floated in a simulated river on the stage. The boat festival in November is the major Thai festival. We have reason to believe that the festival commemorates the return of the boat to India, wishing the sailors good luck. A similar festival is held in Cuttack, Orissa, in November of which I was a part during my childhood. Research on the navigational routes and the trade are not done yet. It needs young researchers to probe.
The show ended with the masked dancers populating the audience. There was mirth and happiness all around with sweet music. I enjoyed the production and appreciated the theater. Coming out we saw the actors posing for pictures with children and mothers, well orchestrated to maintain a tradition. I hoped that new Thai historians should rewrite the script with deeper studies.
Part of my intent to visit the show was to help validate the theory that I had presented in the morning. I discovered that to gain new knowledge is not "rasa", the remnants of thoughts must pre-exist in the brain in order to trigger "rasa." "rasa" is not knowledge, but immersion in the knowledge. It is not known how deep the knowledge must be in order that we get to "rasa". "rasa" could evolve by repeated attempts of immersion. There is no quantitative theory. Studies like Ramayana might contain clues, we have to try.
We were dropped at the subway stop by a shuttle bus operated by the theater company. We thought to experiment on the street foods before returning.
