Vijay Tendulkar PDF
Vijay Tendulkar PDF
Vijay Tendulkar PDF
plays shake them out of their stupor of city. He starts asking for permits for
habitual acceptance of it and make them everything and starts throwing people in
have the shocking realisation that the jail for the smallest offences. In the mean
picture is far grim than they could have time, Ghashiram's daughter is killed by
realised. 3 Nana. The situation goes out of hand when
(Naik, M.K.:1982) a few people in the jail die out of
suffocation. The Brahmins then complain
to the Peshwa. The Peshwa summons Nana
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF who gives order to kill Ghashiram in the
SELECTED TRANSLATED PLAYS OF most derogatory way possible. Thus it
VIJAY TENDULKAR leads to Ghashi's Death. The play was a
Power doesn‟t contradict violence; on the violent and aggressive satire on the double
contrary it begets it. The social institutions standards of Peshwas and Brahmin
on which the common man depends on for community hence, it was temporarily
justice seem to be the epicentres of banned in the state but finally it acquired
burgeoning corruption and inordinate almost a global reputation. 5
violence. Tendulkar‟s play Ghashiram (Babu, M. Sarat:2001)
Kotwal shocks the puritans out of their Another gripping saga of violence is
wits .Violence forms the very part of Silence the Court is in Session ! (Shantata
human constitution in the play. It is a : Court Chaalu Aahe !) which brings into
metamorphosis or to put it more subtly, the focus the psychological torture that is
regression of a human being into a forced onto a young and independent
mindless and dehumanised form of killing woman, leeela Benare , who dared to defy
machine. The play Ghāshirām Kotwāl the patriarchal authority and institution
("Officer Ghāshirām"), deals with political thus bringing upon herself the societal
violence. Its theme is how men in power violence that destroys her at the end. The
give rise to ideologies to serve their play deals with the most controversial
purposes, and later destroy them when issue of its time- female infanticide. The
4
they become useless. story is violent and provoking since not
(Debnita Chakrabarti :2008) only it deals with the exploitation faced by
In the play, Ghashiram barters his own the female protagonist Benare by her so
daughter to get the post of Kotwal (police called beloveds but also deals with the
chief) of Pune from Nana. Having got the social awareness of the evils of female
post he begins to enforce strict rules in the infanticide.
Silence! The Court is in Session presents frustration to the women in the family.
the course of a mock trial where Benare, as Tendulkar wrote the play, "Gidhāde" (The
the accused, is tried for an imaginary crime Vultures) in 1961, but it was not produced
of infanticide. Though the trial is until 1970. The play was set in a morally
conducted in a game like and non-serious collapsed family structure and explored the
manner, it exposes the past life of Benare theme of violence. In his following
and authenticates the feeling of superiority creations, Tendulkar explored violence in
of men over women in Indian society. The its various forms: domestic, sexual,
play Silence! The court is in Session deals communal, and political. 6
with the mental state of educated woman (Duff, Grant : 1987)
in a traditionally male dominated Indian It was with the production and publication
Society. The so called social workers like of Gidhade that Tendulkar became
Kashikar and his troupe show social associated with sensationalism, sex and
concern for social reform. They are known violence. As a result, conservative section
for their double standards attitude. of Maharashtrian society were stunned by
Tendulkar has expressed his attitude the open display of illicit sexual relations
towards such people in the society. He and scenes of violence. The play is a
attacked ironically and satirically ruthless dissection of human nature
throughout the play. revealing its inherent tendencies to
In Silence! Court is in Session, he directs violence, avarice, selfishness, sensuality
his criticism against the hypocritical male and sheer wickedness. The degeneration of
attitude in Indian society where a woman human individuals belonging to a middle
is quite suppressed and any small attempt class milieu is exposed through the
by a woman for her freedom is highly interaction among the members of a
deteriorated. family. Ramakant and Umakant's greed
Another play by Tendulkar namely viciousness, their sisters Manik's gross
Vultures , is one of the most realistic sensuality all add up to naturalistic
portrayal of gender and domestic violence depiction of the baser aspects of human
that is meted out to a woman that is torn instincts.
apart between her desires and her family. In 1972, Tendulkar wrote another, even
There can hardly be a more nuanced much more acclaimed play "Sakharam
metaphor than the word vultures when it Binder" (Sakharam the Binder) in which,
comes to the description of ordinary man he dealt with the pick of domination of the
who selflessly devote his anger and male gender over the female gender. The
main character, Sakharam, is man devoid hands for his safety, after she ceases to be
of ethics and morality, and professes not to an advantage to him. Jai Singh Jadhav
believe in "outdated" social codes and exploits not only Kamla but also his wife,
conventional wives, and uses them for his Sarita. It is through Sarita Tendulkar
sexual gratification while remaining exposes the Chanvinism intrinsic in the
oblivious to the emotional and moral modern male who believes himself to be
implications of his exploits. He justifies all liberal minded. Jai Singh- through his
his acts through claims of modern, treatment of Kamla, makes Sarita realize
unconventional thinking, and comes up that she is also a slave- a mere lovely
with hollow arguments meant in fact to bonded labourer to him. 8
enslave women.7 Paradoxically, some of (P.D. Dubbe : 1993-1994)
the women which Sakharam had enslaved CONCLUSION
buy into his arguments and simultaneously Tendulkar is a creative writer with a fine
also badly want freedom from their sensibility. He exposed alienation of
enslavement. modern individual to contemporary
(Debnita Chakrabarti : 2008) politics. He also exposed men's dominance
Another play Kamla was inspired by a real over women, his portraiture of overt and
life incident - the Indian Express expose by covert violence in human-beings and
Ashwin Sarin, who actually bought a girl above all his deep and abiding
from a rural flesh market and presented at consciousness of women's vulnerability in
a press conference. The central character Indian social hierarchy. Tendulkar's central
of the play is a self-seeking journalist, Jai concern is the relationship between
Singh Jadhav, who treats the woman he individual and society. In play after play he
has purchased from the flesh market as an has made effective presentation of the
object that can procure him a promotion in latent violence and lust in middle class life,
his job and a refutation in his professional the consequent devastation and the
life. Jai Singh buys, Kamla, an Adivasi essential loneliness of man.
woman, at the flesh market of Luhardaya All of his plays have direct, one to
beyond Ranchi for two hundred and fifty one relationship with reality with an
rupees. Jai Singh's enthusiasm is directed extraordinary mixture of violence that is so
towards sheer sensationalism. He creates much omnipresent yet invisible in real
sensationalism at the express of Kamla. Jai lives of real people. Most of his plays deal
Singh Jadhav discards Kamla as an with the individual placed against the
orphanage for woman and washes off his backdrop of society and explore the
tensions between the two. His creativity 8. P.D. Dubbe : 'The Theme of Flesh
has a prismatic quality myriad potential Trade in Vijay Tendulkar's 'Kamla'
and a multitude of colors. This The Commonwealth Review
multifaceted, towering genius has explored (ISCS) vol v. No. 1, 1993-1994.
genius the potentials of the dramatic genre-
his primary area of creation. His works
will also have a massive impact on the
tender fresh minds of the world wide avid
readers.
REFERENCES
1. Vijay Tendulkar, Interview with
C.V. Naik, NDTV, 14/04/2000.
2. Bharan, N.S. : “The Plays of Vijay
Tendulkar”, Creative Books, New
Delhi, 1999.
3. Naik, M.K. : “A History of Indian
English Literature”, Sahitya
Academy, New Delhi, 1982.
4. Veena Noble Dass ' “Woman
Characters in the plays of Vijay
Tendulkar' New Directions in
Indian Drama” , New Delhi :
Prestige, 1994).
5. Babu, M. Sarat, “Vijay Tendulkar's
Ghashiram Kotwal”, Creative
Books New Delhi 2001.
6. Duff, Grant : “History of the
Marathas”, Vol. 3, MM
Publications New Delhi 1987.
7. Debnita Chakrabarti : "Ghasiram
Kotwal" India Interacts (World
Section). Jan 09, 2008.