The opening play of the 12th META Awards, lassanwala chronicles the journey of a staunch Brahmin from being an avid advocate of the caste system to eventually coming to the realisation that caste is baseless. By Team Viva
Sitting on a jute cot, Kallu, a staunch Brahmin garlic grower and seller living in the North Indian hinterland, is surrounded by the young folks of the village. They ask Kallu to sing a song to them. The play takes-off from the folk rendition of kehat kabir suno bhai saadho sung by Kallu.
lassanwala is the story of 60-year old Kallu, enacted by Himanshu Talreja. The play traces his journey from being an avid advocate of the caste system to eventually coming to the realisation that caste is baseless, while individuals, irrespective of their caste, are more important. This production by Mumbai-based group, little Creative Minds Pvt. ltd, has been directed by Hemant Pandey and written by Vidit Tripathi. The play’s theme on caste finds resonance in India even today.
With its simple yet compelling original script, honest and convincing performances by the actors, lassanwala, with its 10 member ensemble, made to the top 10 plays for the 12th META Awards. And the live music and singing add value to the production.
The beautiful folk music of Uttar Pradesh, chal gaura toku mela dekha laun haridwaar ko and the teaching and songs of Kabir, kaal khara sar ke uppar….mat kar maya ka abhimaan, kaaya kaanch se kachchi, melodiously rendered takes us to an era which we fear is fast disappearing.
Kallu, the only Brahmin amongst the otherwise lower caste folk of his village, leads the pack of singers in this entertaining two-minute piece. His societal superiority subtly comes across, with Kallu made to sit on his cot, while the others sit at his feet, on the floor. The party of excited singers comes to a premature halt, when Kallu’s daughter-in-law, Rani storms across the stage.
His family comprises his unemployed, irresponsible, ‘village idiot’ of a son, Dhaua, played by Ved Prakash. Rani, played by Namaya Saxena, is his feisty and dominating daughter-in-law. Continuing the high tenor lent by the singing, Rani makes a mark from the minute she walks onto stage, as she hurles complaints at Kallu, blaming him for the sorry state of financial affairs prevalent in the household. Semi-mocking and semi-taunting, Rani admonishes Kallu for choosing to sell garlic over all the other much more valuable crops such as cotton, tomatoes, brinjals, and basically, any edible, apart from the humble garlic. However, with his love for garlic flowing thick through his veins, Kallu, refuses to live life any other way.
Dhaua, his son is starry-eyed and wishes for a high flying, metropolitan way of life, defined by easy money, and flashy phones. Despite living in a household that has struggled to sustain itself on Kallu’s meagre earnings, Dhaua continues to spend his days in the company of his childhood friend, Vicky, essayed by Hemant Pandey, (also the director of the play). Together they indulge in mindless chatter, and about ways to get rich, much to Dhaua’s father’s disgust. Goaded on by scheming Vicky, Dhaua decides to fool his humble father, even as another Brahmin known to Kallu is indulging in trickery against him for the crop of garlic kept in trust in the man’s godown.
Eventually as things come to light to Kallu, he realises how he has been duped by his own son and the fellow Brahmin whom he trusted. He also realises how his helper — a young man from the lower caste, has been honest, and has helped him at the expense of his own safety. In this, the honest inspector and his constable are instrumental in ensuring that justice is done — a surprising and a well-considered change from the cliched portrayal of police officers.
The actors and the musicians hold the story together. The play takes the audience through a medley of emotions — from pathos, pandit pandit ko dhoka dego, to humor, sprinkling holy water on pods of garlic, to ambition, deceit, treachery, and false beliefs. A well directed play with myriad moods was a great start in the ongoing META annual weekly theatre
festival.