Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre: 'Plays keep us away from suicide'

On March 5 2005 29yearold cotton grower Rajkumar Tangdersquos Jalnabased troupe performed the Marathi play Aaakda at Mumbairsquos Sahitya Sangh in Girgaum The play was presented in the dim light of a hurricane lantern mdash a dramatic device to highlight the plight of debtridden farmers who steal electricity to water their crops In the chat that followed Tangdersquos repertory clarified that Aakda was not a justification for power theft nor was it a case for a loan waiver The troupe had sold nine quintals of cotton to fund the trip and also convinced the village talathi revenue clerk to accompany them and speak for the villageA 40yearold cotton grower from Jalna Rajkumar Tangde left has taken to playwriting and acting as a coping mechanism He is seen here with fellow actor Kailash Waghmare PicShadab Khan Asked about their familiesrsquo reactions to the lsquoembraceMumbairsquo assignment they laughed and said their search for likeminded theatre people here was seen as ldquowaste of money and timerdquoldquoWe want to be heard and we want a nationwide audience for our storyrdquo said TangdeTangdersquos mission seems to have succeeded Early this month the 40yearold was in Mumbai to speak to technicians and videographers who will work with him on a film to be shot in rural Jalna This film project runs parallel to his new play Tisare Paul mdash currently being rehearsed at his farm mdash to be presented in Mumbai after the first monsoon showers It is an allegory in which the members of a Pashu Sabha Animal Assembly play out the caste and religion politics of MaharashtraTangde is also prepping up for a special Shivaji Underground show in Mumbai for which he received the Maharashtra Foundation Award in 2014 dedicated to the family of a fellow performer who is no moreReferences also come in the form of collaborative work Mentionable is Dalpat Singh Yeti Gava Dalpat Singh Comes to Village in which the troupe dealt with the Right to Information Act Similarly Tangde has clicked well with film director Jaypraad Desai who then decided to cast him in the awardwinning NagrikRajkumarrsquos trajectory has seen special turns Despite repeatedly failing in the X and XII board exams in the early 90s he continued to clear the successive exams as an outofturn independent student He secured his Masters last year at the age of 39 Interestingly Aakda was part of the postgraduate syllabus in Marathwada University way before he graduated Rajkumarrsquos philosophy of theatre is straight and simple ldquoPlays are like seeds They sow good thoughts and keep us away from suiciderdquoExcerpts from an interviewQ How does it feel to be writing acting and touring India with Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla while your family grows cotton in distant Jamb SamarthA I have been writing and performing since I was in Class 8 Our village has had a long theatre tradition People of all backgrounds come together to watch plays during Ram Navami Republic Day and Ganeshotsav Even today a play remains the easiest way to reach out to 3500 villagersI always felt plays should mirror reality So when it was my time to say what I felt as a student who hated school or as a smallscale farmer who did not earn well I thought I should write on poor transport and drought My first play was based on the death of a girl in the neighbourhood in a case of dowry harassment It was received with warmth in all the adjoining villages and ever since I have enjoyed encouragement for my writing While I am writing a part of me is sowing moogand jowarQ Your village is the birthplace of 17th century saint Samarth Ramdas who influenced Shivaji Isnrsquot that dramaticA There is a lot of unintentional drama in this legend but the reality is that it is a village where 70 per cent of the 4000 acre agricultural land lies mortgaged with banks or moneylenders Except for the Hanuman temple each land holding is a pawn and each farmer has a debt on his head a handful earn R10000 per month The per quintal production cost R3500 of cotton matches its sale value R3800 per quintal giving the farmer a ridiculously small profit margin Every year at least two farmers commit suicide and their relatives havenrsquot been successful in lsquovalidatingrsquo the deaths as stemming from an agrarian crisis Poor road connectivity and lack of good schools necessitate rented homes in nearby Partur What is laughable is that politicians whom we have elected three as chief ministers squabble over our woes and ask for funds that ultimately donrsquot benefit the region Some legislators get wild while arguing in favour of separate statehood for Marathwada But we want to know what difference will that make to our lives Our village does not have a river to boast of or squabble over and our regionrsquos development backlog makes international newsQ Is it cathartic to enact the life of a dispossessed person Rajkumar has also acted in films such as Mhadu Shwet Angar Nagrik and Bombay SnowA The act of being on stage or facing the camera becomes a release of emotion The lines in my play Aakda 2003 are the real lines of farmers who lost their lives while adjusting the hook on overhead electric wires The tragicomic situation in the play Hitshatru 2007 deals with the village politics of family planning policies particularly the twochild election criteria Whenever I have to play the underdog I recall the uncertainty of my life Recently I played a beggar in Jaypraad Desairsquos upcoming short film Cinemaa It was enjoyable to play a lsquopapabeggarrsquo who has two sets of attires mdash one as pauper for the morning begging session and one as a dandy guy for evening movie timeQ Does theatre give you the opportunity to speak your mind in real termsA It has blessed me with a precious sense of identity as writerperformer and repertory manager More than any other play Shivajihellip has given me a sense of purpose the ability to rise above everyday logistics Director Nandu Madhav has honed us well in this defining piece on Shivajirsquos secular philosophy It is rewarding that there is a robust audience for a play which is not typical The play it crossed the 470show mark though wordofmouth publicity has been performed in all districts of Maharashtra as well as Goa and Karnataka It was also staged at the National School of Dramarsquos Bharat Rang Mahotsav in 2013Q How has your group Rangmala retained its core members for two and a half decadesA When we started in the 90s only two types of people were allowed entry mdash the school drop out and the bachelor because they would come for nighttime rehearsals after a dayrsquos work at the farm We were young people with no great earnings but plenty of ideas Of course times have changed New people have joined us But I have been lucky to get people like Kailash Waghmare and Sambhaji Tangde Our group is like Indiarsquos Rajya Sabha mdash the quorum doesnrsquot disintegrateSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext