The blood logic
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Habib Tanvir once again delighted Jamia Millia Islamia with Tagore's `Raja Rakta'.
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FIRST LOOK A scene from "Raja Rakta".
If a play spurs the audience into thought, it has to be a Habib Tanvir play. Jamia Millia Islamia was the privileged venue for Tanvir's "Raja Rakta", a play by Rabindranath Tagore. It was staged for the first time in Delhi, as part of the university's 86th Founder's Day celebrations.
When Tanvir came to Jamia, aisles and stairs became seats. When standing room was occupied, the gates were locked. The police had to turn away even fans who pleaded, "Hum to old boys hain."
Beneath the umbrella of political intrigue, the play deals with religious and social issues. Central to the plot is the moral confrontation between the King and the Purohit. A child's simple query makes the King question the validity of bloodletting. After an animal sacrifice, a young girl asks the King, "Itna khoon kyun?"
Interesting characters
The strong characterisation ensures that the characters of the King and the Purohit are strong but not rigid. The priest with long hair and sturdy body is first set up as director of the action. He convinces the King's brother Nakshatra that if he supports him, he would become King. The brother aptly portrays his pusillanimity.
The priest is arrogant about his priesthood. To him the sacred thread is a weapon, with which he wins obedience and awe. He is at first defiant towards the King, manipulative towards others and heartless with the child. However, Jai Singh's suicide at the Devi's altar destroys his sense of power and invincibility.
The Purohit's collapse from the ringmaster to a whimpering child came across powerfully. He who felt he knew the will of the goddess turned to her in a fit of rage and helplessness. "Rakshasi, andhi, bahari" he screamed in agony. He who felt that the goddess thirsted for blood, now whimpered, "Bas lauta de mere Jai Singh ko, patthar ki murti." He could not walk out unsupported. He left the stage hiding his face on Aparna's shoulder.
In Tanvir's play the audience are not mere spectators. At Jamia they voiced both appreciation and dissent. In the scene where the priest uproots the Devi statue from the temple, the audience clapped at his reformation.
The Queen was an interesting but unidimensional character. The King's attachment to the little boy Tata clearly rankles her. She sees it as a slur against her own childlessness.
Like all Tanvir's plays, "Raja Rakta" uses folk artistes, dialects and musical instruments in an organic way. Folk dancers play the role of devotees who realise through the King that sacrifices couldn't be the will of god. Devoid of ornamentation, the play was a complete and robust performance.
NANDINI NAIR
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