THEMES OF THE PLAY Ghashiram Kotwal by Vijay Tendulkar A digest by Student Help.

THEMES OF THE PLAY Ghashiram Kotwal by Vijay Tendulkar

A theme is the subject of (he play - the view and message that the playwright communicates. 

A play may have more than one theme and it is quite possible to have a main theme and several sub-themes that originate from it. 

What then is the main theme in Ghashiram Kotwal? 

The personality clash between the Nana and Ghashiram may appear to be the theme at the surface level but we know that Tendulkar has examined the relationship between religion, caste. sexuality and violence to expose the structures of power that maintain the status quo.

As we have noticed, Tendulkar is concerned about the politics of power and its various implications. According to Saimik Bandhopadliyay, 'In Ghashiram, power is defined 'horizontally' in terms of individuals against individuals from humiliation, to revenge in assertion, to eventual victimization.. ...' (Ghashiram Kotwal, Seagull, Calcutta, 1984, p.v.)

 Do we agree with this?

 It might seem on one level that an individual is pitted against another. However, at another level it is clear that the forces of state and society remain supreme even after individuals have perished. For example, Ghashiram, an innocent newcomer to Poona is unjustly accused of stealing and is beaten up by the Poona Brahmans. 

This incident makes Ghashiram vow to revenge himself on them. 

It is interesting that Ghashiram, himself is a Brahmin, has turned against his other brethren.

 The opportunity for getting even with the Brahmans presents itself when the lecherous Chief Minister of the Peshwa. The ageing Nana Phadnavis desires his beautiful daughter Lalita Gauri.

 Then begins the game of power in which Gauri is made a pawn and sacrificed to Nana's lust. 

In return. Ghashiram is made the Kotwal of Poona. 

This serves two purposes: 

one, it gives Ghashiram the opportunity to take his revenge and unleash terror on the people of Poona and two, it allows Nana to have his cake and eat it too.

 He has Gauri on the one hand and on the other his own tyranny is obscured by Ghashiram's cruelty.

 It is clear even at this stage that the deal is an unfair one as the benefit lies mainly on the side of Nana.

 And finally, Nana sacrifices Ghashiram to the bloodthirsty crowds without the slightest compunction or regret and at the end of the play we find that he himself continues to thrive. 

Who is really powerful; Nana or Ghashiram? 

We notice that the power is only deputed in Ghashiram who does not realize this and begins to mistake it for real power. 

When he loses Lalita Gauri and his game is up, lie realizes his error and the reality of his position.

 It isNana's misdeeds that have been "credited to his account". 

It seems then that power conceals itself behind its agents and continues to thrive unchallenged. 

Does the power rest with Nana? 

It would seem so but even Nana call be summoned at any moment by the Peshwa.

 The Peshwa himself is a symbol of power within the context of feudal society. 

Thus the power vested in him is underpinned by the social set-up which functions on the basis of maintaining the status quo. The king or the Peshwa in this case has the power by virtue of the Divine Right. His position is maintained by various state apparatuses like the army, the police, religious and social institution, etc. Here the power is delegated in the Nana who further deputes it to Ghashirarn by making him the Kotwal who then operates through a police force.

 Thus, there is a whole hierarchy of power positions.

 It seems then that it is an individual against an individual. For example, if a person is beaten up by the police. he can see the evil face of that particular policeman alone. 

He does not realize that the policeman is backed by the police force which again is maintained by a particular state.

 The state itself functions according to a certain ideology. A society structured in such a way ensures that power is maintained and supported by such hierarchies. 

The attention is focused on individuals who are passed off as culprits. 

But the real culprit, the social set-up continues unchallenged as individual is pitted against individual. And even if Ghashirams are created and destroyed, society remains unchanged. The attention is diverted from the real problem which still remains untouched. 

 And Tendulkar's play very subtly makes us think about and analyse this phenomenon. 

We have seen how power operates more overtly through violence and oppression.

 At a subtle level, it functions through such social attitudes that help in maintaining  hierarchies and hiding the real source of power which is delegated in agents such as Ghashiram who are also victims of that same power. 

Religion and sexuality are also used as the strategies of power. 

Religion

While the army and police are used by the state to maintain control within societies, there are other subtler strategies that are also used.

 For instance, religion. 

Most religions tell us to turn the other cheek if we are hit. This prevents us from reacting against tyranny and injustice.

 When we imbibe these values during childhood, first in the family. then in the school and finally in society at large, they become so deeply ingrained in us that they do not allow us to challenge or change our social situation. 

Such values are imparted to us so subtly that we do not question if they are right or wrong.

Take the case of Ghashiram Kotwal. 

The play begins with a religious hymn and the popular gods dancing on stage.

 This sets the context against which the drama unfolds itself

. The Brahmans go to Bavannakhani to see the dancing girls and say they are going 'to the temple' to give a sermon oil 'Vishwamitra and Menaka'. They justify their decadence by comparing Bavannakhani to holy Mathura. 

The 'abhanga' or devotional song is often sung with the 'lavani'or love song in his play. Scenes of violence arid cruelty are alternated with devotional songs. When Nana tries to seduce Gauri in front of the statue of the holy Ganapati, he simply dismisses her fears saying: That all holy Ganapati? The maker of Good? Look, he has two wives. One on this side, one on that side'.

 Further on in the play, when Gauri is dead and the distraught Ghashiram  confronts Nana and accuses him of his daughter's death, the latter reassures him: 'He - the Omnipresent - He makes everything happen ...... We are merely instruments .......' He then urges him to ' forget what has happened. All merges into the Ganga. 'Thou shalt not grieve over what is gone. The Vedas have said that' (P 44). "

Don't you think here is a case of the devil citing scriptures to suit his purpose?

 Religion then becomes a useful alibi in covering people's misdeeds.

 By invoking religion, all kinds of evils are glossed and even sanctified. Rituals are encouraged to fill the pockets of the greedy Brahmans. Moreover their position as the 'twice born' is reinforced by the prevalence of the caste system.

Caste

Alorigwith religion, caste is also a major factor in the play.

 Is it a comment on the decadence of the Brahmans? 

When the play was first performed it was banned for being anti-Brahman and for fear of there being a revolt in the audience. 

Is it really meant to expose Brahmans, their corruption and moral degradation? 

According to the playwright he was more interested in 'the emergence, the growth and the inevitable end of the Ghashirams ..... 

The decadence of the class in power (the Brahmans, incidentally, during the period which I had to depict) also was incidental though not accidental. 

Caste is used as an instrument of power. 

The Sutradhar reports that according to Ghashiram 'to eat with a lower caste person is a crime' (p. 26). To sleep with a 'Maliar woman' (a lower caste among the untouchables) is also considered a crime. On the other hand, the Bralimans, have no hesitation in chasing and pestering a white Sahib for money. This shows that race and colour constitute a higher position in the social hierarchy. And the white Sahib ranks higher than the privileged Brahman who is feasted and showered with gifts in the Peshwa's Poona.

Tendulkar has depicted the hypocrisy of the Brahmans, their arrogance, authoritarianism and their, debauched and adulterous behaviour. Rather than being identifiable by their good deeds and noble behaviour, the Brahmans are known by their 'shaven head', 'holy thread' and 'pious look'. It is this pious look that conceals their petty deeds. Nana himself a Brahman is marrying for the seventh time not to mention his lusting after numerous young girls, Lalita Gauri among them.

 Though full of revenge and hatred for the Brahmans, Ghashiram is himself a Brahman. 

And his conduct in bartering his daughter's virtue for the dubious distinction of becoming the Kotwal of Poona, can hardly be justified and speaks of his inhuman opportunism as well as total lack of paternal sentiment and sensitivity. The total picture of the Brahmans that emerges from this play is one of hypocrisy. double standards, self-indulgence and moral degradation. It exposes the rottenness of the caste-system that privileges a person on the basis of birth rather than merit and maintains the rigid hierarchy to control and suppress persons. 

Sexuality 

Women too, as we have seen, have become a pawn in the power game. In fact there is a close nexus between sexuality and power.

 Consider, for example, Nana's statement with reference to Lalita Gauri: 'Our grandeur's gone if she's not had' (p.20).A man's self-image, identity and machismo is definable only, it seems. in relation to the conquest and oppression of women. There is a close connection between sexuality and religion as lavanis (love song) and abhangas (devotional song) are sung at the revelries in Bavannakhani which is likened to Mathura and the erotic dances to Krishan Lila.

 The garb of religion helps to justify and whitewash the debaucheries of the Brahman men. Gulabi's tantalizing dances, the Nana's lustful pursuit of Lalita Gauri, the clandestine meeting of the Brahman wife with a Maratha lover, all serve to create an underlying strain of eroticism throughout the play. 

Violence 

Tendulkar did research on violence in India because of which he has explored its many dimensions. He is not only concerned about the violence of the State against the people but against the violence of people against other people.

 This is clear in Ghashiram's torture of innocent Brahmans and the belligerence of Gulabi's men against Ghashiram when he is forcibly divested of the necklace that Nana had given him. A stark example of this violence is the ordeal-by-fire episode. An innocent Brahman, accused of theft, unsuccessfully tries to convince Ghashiram of his innocence. Even though the evidence indicates that the Brahman has been unjust!y implicated, Ghashiram has an ordeal set up to test his innocence. The nails of the Brahman's right hand are pulled out and his fingers are washed with lemon juice and soap and then hands are sealed in a bag. Seven Rangolis are drawn on the floor and an iron ball is heated red hot. The ball is then placed forcibly on the hands of the protesting Brahman. Naturally, his hands burn and the cruel Ghashiram triumphantly proclaims that this would not have happened had he told the truth for only liars get burnt. He then urges the agonized man to 'confess' or else tlie ordeal would be repeated. Left with no choice, he falls into the trap - '1 confess that I stole'. (p.36). Instead of letting him off Ghashiram orders the soldiers to 'cut off his hands and drive him out of Poona'. (p.36). Here is an example of the extreme physical and mental violence that can be perpetrated by one human beings on another. How does this square with the so-called religious commitment of the Brahmans? In addition to this is also the more subtle violence that human beings are capable of. This is the violence of mental cruelty-the kinds we witness when Nana subdues Ghashiram's agony and anger at the death of his daughter by invoking protocol. 

But what is Tendulkar's aim in portraying this violence? According to Sudhir Sonal kar 'It [violence], has to somewhere grasp the tragic human condition, it has to have a poetic dimension to it ..... The violence of greek tragedy, moves and enriches. Tendulkar's violence shocks and even when it disturbs, the ethical question remains both untouched and unanswered'. ('Vijay Tendulkar and the Metaphor of 

violence' The Illustrated Weekly of India. Nov. 20, 1983, p.2 1). By leaving the ethical question open, Tendulkar is perhaps inviting his audience to think about the solutions for themselves. 

Is Tendulkar trying to convey a 'message'? 

As we know the function of art is not to provide answers or solution but to raise questions. If indeed it begins to have 'palpabale designs on us' as Keats would say, it becomes mere propaganda. In this play, as we can see, Tendulkar provides us with a blueprint for an unforgettable theatrical experience by satirizing the utter decadence of feudal society . By exposing the foibles and hypocrisies of Brahmans, he forces us to think about the situation of our own society. There are no easy answers. Underlying the .entertainment is a thread of seriousness and you may have felt slightly confused after completing the play. The 'end' in fact makes you think - How has Nana got I away scot free?

 How can the celebrating crowd be so oblivious to the fact that the real evil remains? And the fact that such questions come to mind proves the success of Tendulkar's enterprise