Immerse in this lesser-known theatre production that continues to celebrate a family legacy

Some stories refuse to stay buried For Preeta Mathur Thakur the story of Rani Abbakka of Ullala was one of them Nearly a decade after the 16thcentury warrior queen first caught her attention Thakur has brought her to the stage with the play Veera Rani AbbakkandashThe Queen of the Seas The Fearless Flame of Ullala ANKrsquos new production marking the theatre grouprsquos 50th year The play premiered in Mumbai on September 18 as ANKrsquos 88th production with more performances scheduled in the weeks aheadA moment from a previous staging of the productionAbbakka ruled the coastal kingdom of Ullala in presentday Karnataka and resisted Portuguese attempts to control the regionrsquos maritime trade For Thakur what makes her story compelling is not merely that she fought the Portuguese but that she understood what their growing presence could mean for the sovereignty of her kingdom ldquoThey had come to trade and assured us that they would protect our sea routes because they were good navigators But she could gauge that today they would ask them for a tax and tomorrow tell them what to do how to trade and eventually take over the administration of their statesrdquoForgotten warriorPreeta Mathur Thakur in a scene during a staging of the playThe production draws from historical accounts as well as the oral traditions The research however was hardly straightforward The more she researched Thakur found that there were references to several queens named Abbakka with conflicting dates and accountsldquoI discovered that there were three four queens who all carried the name of Abbakka It became a house namerdquo she explains She began piecing together the story from books archival material and accounts of foreign travellers She also travelled to Mangaluru and Ullala visiting the temples and sites associated with the queen The palaces and forts connected to Abbakka have disappeared but some of the temples she visited remainThe story marks Thakurrsquos first foray as a playwrightThe research eventually became a play Mathur Thakur worked with writer Richa Sharad to develop the script with Mathur Thakur first mapping the story and its incidents before the two worked together on scenes and dialogue ldquoShe inspired me to write about her I have never written a playrdquo she admitsJoining the dotsThe play is in Hindi partly because Mathur Thakur wants to take Abbakkarsquos story to audiences who may never have encountered her In Karnataka the queenrsquos legend has lived on through Yakshagana a vibrant traditional dancedrama theatre form that originated in Karnatakrsquos coastal districts and oral storytelling The production incorporates elements of that theatrical tradition including two narrators who enter in Yakshaganainspired costumes and movement ldquoThey narrate in Hindirdquo says Mathur Thakur ldquoSometimes they take the scenes forward sometimes they explain a scene more elaboratelyrdquoWith a cast of nearly 26 actors the production brings together music movement and elaborate battle sequences But at its heart Thakur says it is about bringing back into public memory a woman whose story despite its scale has remained largely outside mainstream historical narrativesDid you knowFounded by actor director and theatremaker Dinesh Thakur inset in 1976 its early productions were staged in unconventional spaces including a Durga Puja pandal in Bandra ANK has staged 88 productions and over 7700 performances in India and abroadON September 27 7 pm onwardsAT INT Aditya Birla Theatre BabulnathLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcomENTRY Rs 800 onwardsON October 8 9 8 pmAT Prithvi Theatre JuhuLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcomENTRYRs 770 onwards