Ghasiram Kotwal

Vijay Tendulkars famous play Ghasiram Kotwal that was written in 1973 and was staged by Jabbar Patel for the first time in Pune, with Mohan Upreitis timeless music, still retains its original flavour and receives thunderous response wherever it is staged

Ghasiram Kotwal On his first visit to Pune to try his luck, Ghasiram, aBrahmin from Kanauj, finds himself falsely accused of theft and slighted by the Pune Brahmins. He swears revenge on the city. He snares Nana Phadnavis, the Peshwa' s chieftain and magistrate of the city using his young daughter Lalita Gauri. In return, Ghasiram demands to be appointed the kotwal and is put in charge of
1

the law and order of Pune. He now wastes no time in getting even with his former tormentors. But little does he realise that Nana is merely using him to keep the Brahmins in check; Ghasiram will become a convenient fall-guy for Nana once he has accomplished his mentor's dirty job. As Ghasiram becomes the scourge of the city Brahmins, Nana savours Gauri's innocent charms. Then Ghasiram learns one day that Gauri has died mysteriously, and Nana is marrying for the seventh time. Insane with rage, the livid father confronts Nana, only to be reminded that his daughter's life was a small price to pay for power and privilege. By this time the city Brahmins have united in a bloodthirsty demand for Ghasiram's death. Nana signs the death warrant as casually as he had granted Ghasiram the kotwali. The final scene has Ghasiram being mobbed by the irate crowd where, semi-crazed, he asks for death. As crowds gather round Ghasiram's lifeless body, Nana appears to herald the end of an age of terror and proposes festivities to mark the purging of the city. The play's title captivates its essence, much in the way of Conrad's Lord Jim. It unites the public and the private beings of a man. It is the transformation of Ghasiram, a simple unassuming man, into a hubristic power-crazy monster. He is the unsuspecting victim of a Machiavellian system embodied in the machinations of Nana. The true villain emerges unscathed from the turmoil that marked the rise and fall of Ghasiram. NSD's production of this contemporary classic tragedy uses traditional and folk devises of Marathi theatre like the Chorus (which doubles up as props on an otherwise sparse stage), twin sutradhars, the samgaan and verse. The grim and savage saga is tempered with black humour and sarcasm. The impact of narrative violence is sought to be minimised through rituals. Ghasiram Kotwal also operates at an allegorical level, commenting acerbically on the political institutions of present-day India where scores of Ghasirams are made and marred each time the political die is cast anew. SYNOPSIS--The play begins with an invocation to lord Ganesha. Then the Brahmins of Pune introduce themselves and we can see the morally corrupt state of affairs in Pune. Nana Phadnavis who is the Diwan(Chief Secretary) of Pune is also corrupt and visits the lavani dancer. Ghashiram is working with the lavani dancer. Ghashiram being a Brahmin goes to collect alms at the Peshwa's festival the next day. However he is ill-treated there and is charged with pick-pocketing and imprisoned for the offence. He then decides to take revenge.

Ghashiram barters his own daughter to get the post of Kotwal (police chief) of Pune from Nana. Having got the post he begins to enforce strict rules in the city. He starts asking for permits for everything and starts throwing people in jail for the smallest offences. In the mean time, Ghashiram's daughter is impregnated by Nana, and dies during childbirth. The situation goes out of hand when a few people in the jail die out of suffocation. The Brahmins then complain to the Peshwa. The Peshwa summons Nana who orders Ghashiram to be killed in the most derogatory way possible... Controversy-------This play caused a lot of controversy because some people believed that it hurt the feelings of the chitpavan Brahmin community and that it showed the statesman Nana Phadnavis in a bad light. Hence it was temporarily banned in the state. This is episode of land mark in stage for dramatic events in the history of India.

. Cnu.pne
3