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''Ghashiram Kotwal'' is a
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1972 as a response to the rise of a local political party, in
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. The play is a political satire, written as historical drama. It is based on the life of Nana Phadnavis (1741–1800), one of the prominent ministers in the court of the
Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
of Pune and Ghashiram Kotwal, the police chief of the city. Its theme is how men in power give rise to ideologies to serve their purposes, and later destroy them when they become useless.Jayant Karve and an American professor Eleanor Zelliot jointly translated Ghashiram Kotwal from the Marathi into English (Calcutta, 1984). It was first performed on 16 December 1972, by the Progressive Dramatic Association in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
. Jabbar Patel's production of the play in 1973 is considered a classic in Modern Indian Theatre.


History

Tendulkar based his play on a 1863 story by author-historian Moroba Kanhoba who tossed together history and fiction to write ''Ghashiram Kotwal'' and saw it as something of a simple morality play''. The first performance of this play was at Bharat Natya Mandir in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
on 16 December 1972. The play initially generated a huge controversy, but has been considered a success in the following years. The play was staged at different venues during a tour of Western
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in 1980. In 1986, the play toured cities in US and Canada.In 1989, the group took the play on a tour of east European countries of
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
,
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
.


Synopsis

The play begins with an invocation to lord
Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
. Then the
Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
of
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
introduce themselves and we can see the morally corrupt state of affairs in Pune. Nana Phadnavis who is the Diwan (Chief Secretary) of
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
is also corrupt and visits the
lavani Lavani is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavani h ...
dancer. Ghashiram is working with the Lavani dancer. He is impressed by the wit of Ghashiram. Ghashiram being a Brahmin goes to collect alms at the
Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...
's festival the next day. However, he is ill-treated there and is charged with pick-pocketing and imprisoned for the offense. He then decides to take revenge. So the play continues on to reach the next part of this play. Ghashiram barters his own daughter Gauri to get the post of
Kotwal The Kotwal also spelled as Cotwal, or Kotval, was a title used in medieval and early modern period for the leader of a Kot or fort. Kotwals often controlled the fort of a major town or an area of smaller towns on behalf of another ruler. It was ...
(police chief) of Pune from Nana. Having got the post he begins to enforce strict rules in the city. He starts asking for permits for everything and starts throwing people in jail for the smallest offenses. When the commoners come to Nana with a complaint, he dismisses them & is deeply indulged with Gauri. In the meantime, Gauri becomes pregnant by Nana and dies during childbirth. Nana asks her body thrown in the river in secret. He convinces Ghashiram that the title he enjoys is only because of his patronage. The situation goes out of hand when a few brahmins visitors to the city are put in jail, and die from suffocation due to inadequate ventilation in their custody. The Brahmin of Pune then complains to the Peshwa. The Peshwa summons Nana who orders Ghashiram to be killed in the most inhumane way possible. Nana ignores his summons, the Brahmins then surround his palace protest. To save his skin Nana finally gives orders for execution of Ghashiram.


Style

The play is notable for the use of the "
Tamasha Tamasha () is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham (eds), ''The Cambr ...
" form in Marathi folk theatre. Singing and dancing are used here to good effect. "Abhangas" (devotional songs) are mixed with "Lavnis" (love songs).


Original cast and crew

* Ghashiram Savaldas: Ramesh Tilekar * Nana Phadnavis: Mohan Agashe * Sutradhar (Narrator): Shreeram Ranade * Singers: Anand Modak,
Ravindra Sathe Ravindra Sathe (born 7 February 1951) is an Indian playback singer in Marathi film industry. He was the original cast and crew member of famous Marathi theatre play '' Ghashiram Kotwal''. He had been awarded Maharashtra State Film Award for ...
, Chandrakant Kale * Music:
Bhaskar Chandavarkar Bhaskar Chandavarkar (16 March 1936 – 26 July 2009) was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol ...
* Dance: Krishndev Mulgund * Director: Jabbar Patel * Arvind Thakar


Musicians

* Music:
Bhaskar Chandavarkar Bhaskar Chandavarkar (16 March 1936 – 26 July 2009) was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol ...
*
Ravindra Sathe Ravindra Sathe (born 7 February 1951) is an Indian playback singer in Marathi film industry. He was the original cast and crew member of famous Marathi theatre play '' Ghashiram Kotwal''. He had been awarded Maharashtra State Film Award for ...
- manjiri/tal * Chandrakant Kale - Chipali * Ashok Gaikwad - Dholaki/Tabla * Prabhashankar Gaikwad - sundri * Shrikant Rajpathak - Mrudung * Shyam Bhende - Harmonium


Controversy

Like many of Tendulkar's plays, this play created a lot of controversy because it offended the Chitpavan
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
community and that it showed the statesman Nana Phadnavis in a bad light. Hence it was temporarily banned in the state.
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
leader Manohar Joshi, also a
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
, was in the forefront of the anti-Ghasiram agitation in Mumbai, and the party stopped the staging of the play in the metropolis in 1971-72. The play was based on historical facts. Ghashiram was a North Indian Brahmin, a resident of
Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...
, who was appointed as the Police prefect of Poona on 8 February 1777 and continued to hold officer till his death which took place on 31 August 1791 under violent circumstances. He had earned Nana's confidence by his faithful service during the critical times that followed the Peshwa Narayan Rao's murder. He enjoyed the full trust of Nana Phadnavis and his administration was notoriously worse than that of his predecessors. He was the man who had been appointed to watch the movements and plans of Raghunath Rao and his family and he reported to Nana whatever suited his purpose. He had under him a large body of unscrupulous spies, everyone possessing ample means of harassing people in consequence of which the word Ghashiram has become a permanent synonym for oppression and tyranny. The rule of Ghashiram was cruel and tyrannical. However, there is no historical evidence to support the portrayal of Nana Phadnavis as depicted in the play. The controversy also unfortunately undermines the crucial contribution made by Nana Phadnavis towards India's freedom movement.


Film adaptation

The play was adapted into a
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
film, '' Ghashiram Kotwal'' (1976), which was the debut film of actor
Om Puri Om Prakash Puri, (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as ind ...
. The main characters were played by Prakash Belawadi and Mohan Agashe. The film's screenplay was written by Vijay Tendulkar. The film was directed by K. Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII.


Further reading

* Ghashiram Kotwal, Vijay Tendulkar, ''Sangam Books, 1984''. . * Collected Plays in Translation: Kamala, Silence! the Court Is in Session, Sakharam Binder, the Vultures, Encounter in Umbugland, Ghashiram Kotwal, a Friend's Story, Kanyadaan. ''New Delhi, 2003, Oxford University Press.'' . * Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal: a Reader's Companion. ''M. Sarat Babu, Asia Book Club, 2003''. . * Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal: Critical Perspectives. ''Vinod Bala Sharma and M. Sarat Babu. 2005, Prestige Books, New Delhi''. . * P. Dhanavel, "Subversion of Values in Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal," Voice, Vol.3, No.3, (June 2005),pp. 84–92.


References


External links

* {{Marathi Theatre Plays by Vijay Tendulkar 1972 plays Indian plays adapted into films History of India in fiction Marathi-language plays Sangeet Natak