Magazine / The Hindu
Oct 12, 2003
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2003/10/12/stories/2003101200230400.htm
THEATRE
In the eye of a storm
Veteran theatre person Habib Tanvir has been at the receiving end for staging two plays that deal with issues like untouchability, casteism and communal harmony. He speaks to SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY about the controversy.
IF William Shakespeare had been a 21st Century Indian dramatist, his "Hamlet" would not have had the line, `What's in a name?' And, if the bard had persisted with it, he would have got a sharp retort: "Everything!"
At least, that is what theatre thespian Habib Tanvir would have said.
Suddenly after being on the road for 60 years, the second-generation migrant from Pakistan finds that his name has become a baggage these days. After all, how can a Muslim stage plays that laughs at the tyranny of upper caste Brahmins? So what if he has been showing "Ponga Pandit" for decades in every corner of the country, and abroad.
Tanvir admits he has been wedged in the maelstrom of politics. Touring through Madhya Pradesh with the plays, "Ponga Pandit" and "Jisse Lahore Nahin Dekhya" last month sponsored by MP Sanskriti Parishad, the 80-year-old veteran had to face the fury of militant Sangh Parivar groups for what they called "playing with religious feelings".
"The series of attacks on my plays, particularly `Ponga Pandit', have nothing to do with religious sentiment. With state elections coming, it is mere play of politics between the ruling party and the Opposition. And, I have a name that suits them," says the veteran, somewhat fractious at the way "things are becoming anti-art".
"Theatre, for that matter any art, is not just supposed to entertain but to stimulate thinking. It should ironically laugh at life, question our rituals, lacks, social evils," he says.
Art, to him, is all about asking questions. "Ponga Pandit" too asks questions. "It is a deeply religious play and shows that to reach God you do not need a via media," argues the Padma Shree dramatist.
But who would argue with a band of self-declared custodians of Hinduism swearing to "even take the bullets" to prevent the play from being performed.
Interestingly, this is not the first time Tanvir has been on the right-wingers' hit list. Soon after the Babri Masjid demolition, his plays were targeted too. "There were protests in Gwalior. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad also demonstrated in the United Kingdom when I took my plays there," he says.
This time, what upset the members of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party were scenes showing a character entering the village temple with shoes, a sweeper carrying an idol in her basket and a pundit lighting an incense stick with a bidi. But the director of the Naya Theatre argues, "The character shown entering the temple with his slippers is a village simpleton. When the priest tells him to leave his shoes outside because God lives in a temple, he asks, `does that mean God is not everywhere'.
"Also, it shows the sweeper genuinely interested in listening to the Satya Narayan Katha, but with the pandit coming in between with endless rituals, she decides not to have medium to reach God."
While the play pokes fun at upper-caste Hindus, what is not true is the Sangh Parivar's campaign that Tanvir has written the play. It was actually penned by two Dalit writers way back in 1930s, which explains the constant reference to the upper caste oppression.
"I chose `Ponga Pandit' because it speaks for social equality and justice.
"`Jisse Lahore Nahin Dekhya' is a superb play to show people the strength of communal harmony, an issue most important in present-day India, especially after the genocide in Gujarat," says Tanvir.
And therein lies another irony. "Jisse Lahore Nahin Dekhya" is fine with the right-wingers, for it shows a fanatical gang of Muslims trying to chase away Hindus from Lahore. It suits their political agenda but social evils like untouchability, caste-system and hollow rituals are shown in "Ponga Pandit", it angers them.
"It is a pity that politicians are rapidly bringing the country into a situation that do not permit art to flourish," says the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee.
Responding to the Sangh Parivar observation that he should set his eyes on Muslim religious atrocities too, Tanvir comments, "If someone does come out with a play which criticises oppression of the weak in the name of any religion, I would be the last person to protest".
He says the Valmiki Samaj performed a puja organised by the BJP to protest against his plays. "But interestingly, it was not allowed to be held inside the temple but just outside it. And, this inequality is what `Ponga Pandit' laughs at," he adds.
Though, according to a local newspaper, none of the state BJP office bearers had seen "Ponga Pandit", Tanvir says, "Two BJP MLAs turned up with a big posse of supporters at Baghpat on the Janamastami night. Since the play is basically a comedy, it has dialogues and situations, which can surely tickle your senses.
"The leaders too were seen laughing at the discourse but as they came with a decided plan of action, slogan shouting, pelting of stones and eggs soon started. After much pleading to carry on the play, both by the cast and the genuine theatregoers, we had to leave the stage fearing violence."
But none of all this actually scares Tanvir. After a brief visit to Delhi, he is eager to get back to Bhopal and hit the road with "Ponga Pandit" and "Jisse Lahore Nahin Dekhya" again.
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