Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre: Hushed prayers

In 2003 C P Deshpandersquos play Dhol Tashe received the Maharahstra Foundation award for playwriting Now Punebased director Mohit Takalkar right has launched its Kannada version titled Beediyolagondu Maneya Maadi Having Built a House on the Street PICMANDAR TANNUShiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray was seated in the first row at Dadarrsquos Shivaji Mandir to watch C P Deshpandersquos Champra iconic play Dhol Tashe in June 2000 As director Vijay Kenkre invited dignitaries and press backstage for the customary batata wada and cutting chai during the interval Thackeray said he appreciated the commonsensical point made by the play mdash devotion towards Lord Ganesh or any God can be expressed without generating loud beats of the dhol drum tashe kettle drum and other percussion instruments God appreciates serene prayers over uncontrolled festive revelry He said if the play was ldquosimplifiedrdquo it could be mounted at Mumbairsquos Shiv Sena shakhasThe cast was happy to hear Thackerayrsquos proposal to use Dhol Tashe as an educational tool although he did not specify what exactly he wanted to simplify and what as per his perception was complex in the peace teachings of 17th century Bhakti movement poetsaint Tukaram that formed the basis of the 120minute long playBangalorersquos Rangashankra theatre has planned a monthlong tour of the play in adjoining villagesNeither Champra nor director Kenkre pursued the matter as Thackeray got busy on the family front In 2006 after a noisy dispute with his uncle he left the Sena and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena He presented an alternative blueprint for Mumbairsquos progress which unfortunately did not offer much on ways to curb noise pollution It is another matter that his new Sena united with the Shiv Sena in their belief in conducting highdecibel religiouscultural jamborees in the silence zone of Shivaji Park Shiv Senarsquos annual Dussehra rally repeatedly flouted Supreme Court guidelines Raj Thackerayrsquos Maharashtrarsquos New Year Gudi Padwa rally touched a deafening 1194 decibels Thackeray has gone on record stating that Hindus should not shy away from celebrating their festivals When Raj Thackeray was with the Shiv Sena he had justified the Mahaaartis prayers in public as a means for people to vent their emotions after a bomb blastThe intervening years have witnessed grand rockconcertscale socioreligious commemorations across religions in most metros and there has been an uproar of ensuing litigation over the noise they breed And Dhol Tashe ideologically against the noise culture also has had a colourful trajectory ever since it was mounted by the reputable theatre group Awishkar on September 11 1999 at Mumbairsquos National Centre for the Performing Arts Awishkarrsquos seasoned cast Ajit Bhure Aditi Deshpade Prema Sakhardande Rekha Bade Hemu Adhikari Arun Kakde and Kenkre himself drew packed houses right up to the last 87th show In 2003 it received the Maharahstra Foundation award for playwriting The play toured extensively in and out of Maharashtra solidifying Champrarsquos identity as a playwrightideologue who later wrote cerebral plays the most prominent being Davedaar underlining limitations of leftleaning intellectuals Dhol Tashe was published as a book in 2008 it was prescribed in the Mumbai Universityrsquos Masterrsquos course for Marathi literature It was performed by other groups including Indian Peoplersquos Theatre Association and one in America It was launched on Marathi commercial stage in January 2016 by a theatre company Bhadrakali ProductionsThe 120minutelong play first staged in 1999 by Vijay Kenkre cites the teachings of 17th century poetsaint Tukaram and other saints The play starred Hemu Adhikari Prema Sakhardande and Aditi Deshpande among othersKenkre now trying hard to resuscitate the team says ldquoItrsquos not always easy to get actors who espouse the central idea of the play The Awishkar team used to take ownership of each word Champra wroterdquoFor a play that speaks against matters of religious faith a play that quotes the saints of Maharashtra to counter the popular view on Hindu rituals annual festivals and the need for a public display of religious beliefs Dhol Tashe has shown extraordinary staying power Never have its shows been disrupted not even in Pune which is the microcosm of the playThe play is set in Laxmi Road Pune which falls on the immersion route of a celebrated Ganpati idol for whose auspicious darshan devotees come from faroff places naturally bringing extraordinary importance to houses which are situated on the route Dhol Tashersquos lead pair lives in one such home with a portico where relatives and neighbours flock and squabble to get a prime view of the procession which continues amid blaring Bollywood music The megasize Ganpati idol becomes the centre of attraction throughout the 11day festival people queue up for hours to seek the blessings of the Lord politicians sponsor a variety of entertainment events police protection is required to rein in peoplersquos frenzy the immersion ritual takes around 36 hours creating traffic bottlenecks in the city Dhol Tashersquos hero is opposed to the mass hysteria over the Ganesh festival He labels it a cruel wastage of work hours As his wife does not subscribe to his views they arrive at a democratic arrangement mdash one year he has his way and in the following year his wife keeps the doors open to relatives vying for the balcony view The tacit arrangement is thrown out of the windows when an old aunt lands in their house and tries to bully plead trick and blackmail him into opening the balcony In the 120minute scintillating repartee between the two Champra raises existential issues particularly the transformation of religion into an entertainment device and devotees seeking momentary solace by tying themselves to an annual festival calendarDhol Tashe reiterates Saint Tukaramrsquos teachings ldquoTuka Mhane Amha Bramhand Pandharirdquo which translates to For Tukaram the entire universe is Lord Vithalrsquos abode leaving no room for a gradation of auspiciousness also ldquoDev Ahe Antaryami Vyarth Hinde Tirthgramirdquo can be read as When God resides in a serene human mind why chase pilgrim spots or worship select idolsMany in Maharashtra chant these dictums out of political correctness It is the same political correctness due to which Dhol Tashersquos logic is accepted by the audience It has been scientifically proven that noise pollution affects hearing causes mental flux and prompts sleep disorders due to which it becomes imperative on the part of the educated intelligentsia to safely agree with the moot point made by the play against religious fervourAs Kenkre says ldquoNo one supports noise pollution or religious hysteria on record which is why they declare their admiration for Dhol Tashe People at least care not to be on the wrong side of the debate Of course one knows that it takes time for a piece of theatre to dissuade people from flashy loud celebrations Going by the number of shows we have succeeded in making a small dentrdquoPunebased director Mohit Takalkar who has launched Dhol Tashersquos Kannada version Beediyolagondu Maneya Maadi Having Built a House on the Street with the 20odd repertory artistes of Rangashankra theatre in Bangalore on November 1 feels the play makes more than a dent in the contemporary disorderly times ldquoWhile rehearsing I realised how much the sarvajanik Ganesh mandals and dandiya dances have mushroomed in Karnataka too The taller the idol the greater the status of the organisers thatrsquos the logic Thatrsquos why Rangashankra plans a monthlong tour of the play in adjoining villages where the issue in aliverdquo Takalkar says Dhol Tashe is relevant for many reasons ndash the most interesting being its ability to unite a Punebased director with Bangalorebound actors who communicated in English and Hindi over a Marathi script that was ultimately recreated in the dialect of Davanagere Kannada That calls for a celebrationhellip within decibel limitSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikargmailcom