Written by a noted Hindi novelist Vijay Tendulkar, Hindi play Kanyadaan was spectacularly staged at Shaheed Bhavan auditorium here on Wednesday.
The play revolves around a young woman from a politically active family that regards itself as progressive and liberal, decides to marry a socially inferior, but talented man. Tendulkar explores the texture of modernity and social change in India through the forces this marriage unleashes.
The play was directed by Mukesh Pachori. As the title suggests, ‘Kanyadaan’ deals with the theme of marriage. Nath Devlalikar is an MLA and his wife Seva is a social worker. Jayprakash is an M. Sc. student and Jyoti is an intelligent girl. This Brahmin family belongs to the upper-class.
Nath’s daughter Jyoti informs her parents her decision to marry Arun Athavle, a Dalit youth. Seva is shocked to know it but Nath is relaxed and happy inside because he wants to remove the class-system which is his dream. He consents Jyoti to get married with Arun.
Nath wants to experiment with this marriage, which is a sort of political act. In the second scene of the act one, Jyoti brings Arun, who is dark Dalit youth doing his B. A. Jyoti is very much interested in his poetry and his autobiography. Arun feels uncomfortable in big house and gets nervous and finally leaves home.
Later, Jyoti arrives perplexed and looking unhappy. Then Arun follows, rather drunk.
He asks for Jyoti’s forgiveness as he had beaten her. Jyoti leaves with him again. At this juncture also, Nath does not want his dream to get broken before his eyes though he’s aware of the plight of his own daughter.
The end of the drama leaves a question in the readers mind as to what is the future of Jyoti’s marriage? The mature acting skills and the strong lighting effect made the audience watch the show with rapt attention.