Pingala
Pingala depicts the story of a courtesan of Mithila, who transcends her worldly consciousness to a spiritual realm. The performance starts with a beautiful Pingala adorning herself like any other evening and waiting for her wealthy clients, extremely confident of her envying prowess to attract men. That night no one turns up. Her haughtiness turns to anxiety and despair. She doubts whether her beauty is fading away. Then she looks through the mirror and, again, reassures herself that she is still so attractive; when she passes by the street, people throng to glimpse her through the fluttering curtain of the palanquin. When she dances, every drop of sweat earns her wealth. She is confident that someone will come to her, no matter how late. Then the night passes, and a few more nights pass, but no one turns up.
Out of introspection, she realises she had not extended gratitude or love to any man who came to her. She ignored everyone after extracting their wealth. A thoughtful Pingala awakens from worldly thoughts, realising that external beauty is ephemeral. In the darkest moment of her grief, Pingala hears an inner voice emerging within her – the voice chanting the divine epithet of Lord Sri Rama. She pleads to Rama to save her from the pangs, like how he liberated Ahalya and Sabari from the curse. She becomes an ardent devotee of Rama and commences on her spiritual journey. Finally, she sees the aura of Rama and surrenders herself to his feet.
