Vijay Tendulkar's Play " Jaat Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki " @ Kamani Auditorium, Delhi, 28-30 May 2009, 7:00pm . For Tickets :01123383420
rohit...@aol.in
Presents
Vijay Tendulkar’s
JAAT HI
POOCHHO SADHU KI
Hindi
Translation
Vasant Dev
Light Design
Govind Yadav
Design & Direction
Rajinder Nath
PLAYWRIGHT
Vijay Tendulkar (January 6, 1928 – May 19, 2008) was a leading Indian
playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political
journalist, and social commentator who wrote primarily in Marathi. He
is best known for his plays, Shantata!
Court Chalu Ahe (1967), Ghashiram Kotwal (1972), and Sakharam Binder
(1972).Many of Tendulkar’s plays derived inspiration from real- life
incidents or social upheavals, and throw light on harsh realities. For=2
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over five decades Tendulkar has been a highly influential dramatist and
theater personality in Maharashtra.
Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was born on January 6, 1928 in a
Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmin family in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, where
his father held a clerical job and ran a small publishing business. The
literary environment at home prompted young Vijay to take up writing
and he wrote his first story at the age of six.
He grew up watching western plays, and felt inspired to write plays
himself. At the age of eleven, he wrote, directed, and acted in his
first play.
At 14, in 1942, he left his studies and participated in the Indian
freedom movement, which alienated him
from his family and friends.
Writing them became his outlet, although most of his early writings
were of a personal nature and not intended for publication.
Tendulkar began his career writing for newspapers. He had already
written a play, “Amchyavar Kon Prem Karnar” (Who will Love us?), and he
wrote the play, “Gruhastha” (The Householder), in his early 20s. The
latter did not receive much recognition from the audience and he vowed
never to write again. Breaking the vow, in 1956 he wrote Shrimant,
which established him as a good writer. Shrimant jolted the
conservative audience of the times with its radical storyline, wherein
an unmarried young woman decides to keep 20her unborn child while her
rich father tries to “buy” her a husband in an attempt to save his
social prestige.
Tendulkar’s early struggle for survival, that included living in the
chawls of Mumbai, provided him with first-hand experience about the
life of urban lower middle class. His writings rapidly changed the
storyline of modern Marathi theater in the 1950s and the 60s, with
experimental presentations by theater groups like “Rangayan” Actors in
these theater groups like Shreeram Lagoo, Mohan Agashe, and Sulabha
Deshpande, brought new authenticity and power to his stories while
introducing new sensibilities in Marathi theater.
Tendulkar wrote the play, Gidha
de (The Vultures) in 1961, but it was
not produced until 1970. The play was set in a morally collapsed family
structure and explored the theme of violence. In his later creations,
Tendulkar explored violence in its various forms: domestics, sexual,
communal, and political. Thus, Gidhade proved to be a turning point in
Tendulkar’s writings with regards to the establishment of his own
unique writing style.
Based on a 1956 short story, Die Panne (Traps) by Friedrich Durrenmatt,
Tendulkar wrote the play, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (Silence! The
Court is in Session). It was presented on the stage for the first time
in 1967, and proved to he one of his finest works. Satyadev Dubey 0D
presented it in movie from in 1971 with Tendulkar’s collaboration as
the screenplay writer [7].
In his 1972 play, Sakharam Binder (Sakharam,The Binder) Tendulkar dealt
with the topic of male domination the main character, Sakharam, is a
man devoid of ethics and morality, and professes not to believe in “
outdated” social codes and conventional marriage. He corivineantly uses
society for his own pleasure. He regularly gives “shelter” to abandoned
wives, and uses them for his sexual gratification while remaining
oblivious to the emotional and moral implications of his exploits. He
justifies all his acts through claims of modern, unconventional
thinking, and comes up
with hollow arguments to enslave women.
Paradoxically, some of the women who Sakharam had enslaved buy into his
arguments and simultaneously also want freedom from their enslavement.
In 1972, Tendulkar wrote another, even more acclaimed play, Ghashiram
Kotwal (Ghashiram, the Constable), which dealt with political violence.
The play was a political satire created as a musical drama set in 18th
century Pune. It combines traditional Marathi folk music and drama with
contemporary theater techniques, creating a new paradigm for Marathi
theater. The play demonstrated Tendulkar’s deep study of group
psychology, and brought him a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (1974-75) for
a project titled, “A Enquiry 20into the Pattern of Growing Violence in
Society original and translated versions, Ghashiram Kotwal remains one
of the longest-running plays in the history of Indian theater.
Tendulkar wrote screenplays for which the movies Nishant (1974), Akrosh
( The Cry) (1980), and Ardh Satya (The Half-Truth) (1984), established
him as an important “Chronicler of Violence” of the present times. He
has written eleven movies in Hindi and eight movies in Marathi. The
latter include Samana (Confrontation 1975), Simhaasan (Throne 1979),
and Umbartha (The Threshold 1981). The last one is a groundbreaking
feature film on women’s activism in India. It was directed by jabber
Patel and stars Smita Patil
and Girish Karnad.
In 1991, Tendulkar wrote a metaphorical play, Safar, which was followed
by the Masseur in 2007 and two novels, Kadambari: Ek and Kadambari:
Don, about sexual fantasies of an aging man. In 2004, he wrote a
single-act play, His Fifth woman-his first play in the English
language- as a sequel to his earlier exploration of the plight of women
in Sakharam Binder This play was first performed at the Vijay Tendulkar
Festival in New York in October 2004.
In 1990s, Tendulkar wrote an acclaimed TV series, Swayam Siddha, in
which his daughter, Priya Tendulkar, performed in the lead role.
His son Raja and wife Nirmala both died in 2001 and were shortly
followed by 20his daughter, noted actress Priya Tendulkar, in 2002.
Vijay Tendulkar died in Pune on May 19, 2008, after five weeks at the
Prayag Hospital battling the effects of myasthenia gravis.
His remarks in the aftermath the post-Godhra communal carnage in
Gujarat that if he had a pistol, he would shoot Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi, evoked mixed reactions, with Modi supporters burning his
effigies and others lauding him for the anti- Modi tirade.
Later, when asked if it was not strange that someone known for his
strong views against death penalty had a death wish for Modi, Tendulkar
had said that “it was a genuine and spontaneous anger, which I never
see as a solution for 20anything. Anger doesn’t solve problems.”
In his writing career spanning more than five decades, Tendulkar wrote
27 full-length plays and 25 one-act plays, several of which have proven
to be Marathi theatre classics. His plays have been translated into and
performed in many Indian languages.
By providing insight into major social events and political upheavals
during his adult life, Tendulkar became one of the strongest and most
radical political voices in Maharashtra in recent times. While
contemporary writers were cautiously exploring the limits of social
realism, he jumped into the cauldron of political radicalism and
courageously exposed political hegemony of the powerful and the
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Ahypocrisies in the Indian social mindset.
Many of Tendulkar’s plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents
or social upheavals. Thus, the rise of the Siv Sena in Maharashtra in
the 1970s was reflected in Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal; the true story
of a journalist who purchased of a woman from the rural sex industry in
order to reveal police and political involvement in this trade, only to
abandon her once he had no further need for her, is detailed in Kamala
and the real-life story of an actress whose acting career got ruined
after her same-sex affair became public knowledge inspired him to write
Mitrachi Goshta.
Tendulkar’s also translated nine novels, two biogr
aphies, and five
plays by other authors into Marathi.
His oeuvre includes a biography; two novels; two novels; five
anthologies of short stories; 16 plays for children, including Bale
Miltat (1960) and Patlachya Poriche Lagin (1965); and five volumes of
literary essays and social criticism, including Ratrani (1971), Kowali
Unhe and Phuge Sobanche (1974).
In 2005, a documentary titled Tendulkar Ani Himsa:Kal Ani Aj (Tendulkar
and violence: Then and Now)with English subtitles (produced by
California Arts Association-CalAA-directed by Atul Pethe)was relesed.
In 2007, a short film about Tendulkar, Ankahin (Director Santosh
Ayachit), was released.
Amongst the several awards received by Tendulkar, are=2
0included the
Maharashtra State Government Awards in 1956, 1969 and 1972; the
Maharashtra Akademi’s Puraskar in 1999 , the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s
Award in 1970, and again in 1998 with the Akademi’s highest award for
Lifetime Contribution, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (Ratna
Sadasya). In 1984, he received the Padma Bhushan from the government of
India for his literary accomplishments.
THE DIRECTOR
Rajinder Nath began his career as a lecturer of English. He taught
English literature at various colleges of Delhi University from 1961 to
1994. As a matter of conviction he has produced only Indian plays. His
major productions include plays by Vijay T
endulkar,CT Khonolkar, JP
Despande, Debasis Majumdar, Manoj Mitra, Madshu Rai, Mohan Rakesh,
Bhishmma Sahni, Girish Karad, Satish Kannad And Mohit Chatterjee
A Fonder Member Of ‘Abhiyan’ Rajinder Nath Is Now Its Director. He Was
Also The Director Of Shri Ram Center For Art Culture From 1976 To 1981
And From 1983 To 1989. He Is The Founder Editor Of Theater India
(1998-2003) And Is The Recipient Of Many National Awards Including The
Sangeet Natak Akademi In 1977.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
More than 30 years ago, on October 13, 1978, to the precise, this play
saw the light in the Basement Theatre at the Shri Ram Centre.
It was kept alive=2
0for almost 10 years and ’perhaps” has the distinction
of having the longest run and highest number of shows for a play in
Delhi. It was revived in 1996, briefly, because some of the lead actors
left Delhi in 1997. After 25 years the production was revived again for
the Sangeet Natak Akademi Festival in October 2003, with the same lead
players.
Of all the plays (comedies) written in any Indian language I know of, I
consider Jaat Hi Poochho Sadhu Ki the best.
Despite having a simple plot its bitting satire is all pervasive. The
play questions our many topsy-turvy values, institutions and priorities.
And it delights one and all.
SYNOPSIS
The play opens with a long narrative by Mahipat, who gives a hilarious
biographical sketch of his life. His only aim is to become an M.A.
Before Bidding Good Bye To this World. He Encounters Countless
Classifying Rejection, Spends Some Time Indulges in an Analysis Spree
Ultimately Starts His Study of Sifarishim (Nepotism), Which He Believe
Is The Best Weapon Available today. He becomes a lecturer with Swargia
Matajee Gaya Bai Sootram Kala Bigyan Nahavidhyalay, without any use of
influence simply because he is the only candidate and the institution
is located in a remote area. By the end of the play he is back in his
old position, that of an educated unemployed young man, but not before =0
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his feathers have been plucked by Nalini, her uncle and the staff of
the college as well as the errant students whom he he had subdued and
befriended in the beginning.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Mohammad Abdul Kadir Shah Was Born On 1st April, 1973 At Hiyanthang,
Tarahir Konjil, Imphal. Before Joining Theater As A Career, He Learned
Martial Arts, Modern Movements And Dance. After Year Intensive Course
In Theater From The Institute Of Performing Arts, Imphal In 1989, He
Joined ‘Manipur Ensemble’ An Experimental Theater Group And Worked With
The Group For More Than Ten Year. In The Meantime He Also Worked As A
Light Designer For May Theater Production, Music Concert 20And Fashion.
In 2001 He Joined The National School Of Drama And Completed His
Diploma In Acting In 2004. He Is Now A Artist In The NSD Repertory
Company.
PLEASE NOTE : Apart from the subject timings the play will also be
staged at 3:30 pm on 30th May 2009 .
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