Biswajit Biswas’ Hey Manush points to the constant human struggle against nature for existence. UK Banerjee reports
Andha Yug (The Blind Age, 1954) is a Hindi verse-play by the renowned novelist, poet and playwright, Dharamvir Bharati (1926-1997). Regarded as a seminal drama of the 20th century, the five-act tragedy was written in the years following the 1947 Partition atrocities: as allegory of destruction, not just of human lives, but also of ethical values, and as a metaphor on the politics of violence and aggressive selfhood, stating that war demonised both individual and society, making the victor and the vanquished equally lose at the end.
The play takes place on the 18th (and last) day of the Mahabharat war, which devastated the kingdoms of Kauravas and their feuding cousins of Pandavas, apart from burning down the once-magnificent capital-city of Hastinapur, the battlefield of Kurukshetra was strewn with corpses, and the sky filled with vultures foreboding death. Fatalities were on both sides and the survivors left grieving and enraged as they continued to blame opponents for destruction, even invoking divine will. No one was willing to view it as a consequence of their own moral choice.
Just as the bestial Ashvatthama, son of guru Dronacharya — performing one last-ditch act of revenge against the Pandavas — releases brahmastra (the ultimate weapon of destruction), presaging annihilation of the world, none comes forward to condemn it, since ethics and humanity were the first casualties of the war. Krishna, acting as mediator between the cousins prior to war, remains the moral centre. Even in his apparent failure, he presents options that are both ethical and just, reminding one that a higher way is always accessible to human beings even in the worst of times.
The play highlights the ominous curse by Gandhari —the devastated Kaurava-mother — that Krishna would suffer the same painful, ignominious end, as she had suffered now; and Krishna graciously accepts it.
Hey Manush, presented by Santipur Rangapeeth from West Bengal at NSD’s Bharat Rang Mahotsav, is primarily based on Bharati’s Andha Yug.
Directed by Biswajit Biswas (NSD alumnus), the play expands the canvas of destruction and despair that surrounds our world. With cathartic images and booming sound-effects, the play points at the constant human struggle against nature for existence. Man discovers fire and various tools and techniques to fortify his position; he uses creativity and talent to weave good life for himself; but the humans also evince greed, lust, anger, pride and jealousy to transform themselves into cruel beings: driven by desires to control others.
The play places both Kurukshetra war (minus Gandhari’s epic curse) and World War II in this perspective, but unfortunately the huge canvas seemingly does not gel. Against the totally realistic backdrop of the evolution of life at one end and the 1945 Hiroshima nuclear bombing and the 21st century of weapons and nuclear power — invoking Chernobyl, Fukuwaka, Kalaikudam and other catastrophic focusses — the more-than-life-size events of Andha Yug appear faintly melodramatic, and costumes and accessories “out of joint with time.” Incidentally, why does one make the blind-king Dhritarashtra — wearing otherwise a grotesque mask — sit on a modern wheelchair; he was not lame after allIJ
The director says, “Since 1945, hammering matters include nuclear and atomic power, absolute destruction and demolition of the universe. Everyone knows the outcome very well, but in spite of that now, we are trying our utmost to build nuclear power stations. WhyIJ From the Mahabharata till today, human civilisation is facing this. When will it stopIJ”