''Raktakarabi'' () is a symbolic play by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. It was written at

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

in 1923/1924 (1330 BS), and was originally titled ''Yaksapuri''. It was published in the Ashwin 1331 (September/October 1924) edition of

Prabasi ''Prabasi'' () was a monthly Bengali language literary magazine edited by Ramananda Chatterjee. History and profile ''Prabasi'' was founded by Ramananda Chatterjee in 1901 and ran for over 60 years. It published many important Bengali author ...

. The play is set in a world where a greedy king forces his subjects to mine for gold. One of the main characters is Nandini, a woman whose sole ornament is jewels made from red

oleanders ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), commonly known as oleander or rosebay, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the Monotypic taxon, only species currently classifi ...

, which she wears as a tribute to Ranjan, the man she loves. In a 2016 review of a production of ''Raktakarabi'' at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, the play is called 'Tagore's finest protest against

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

'. According to writer Pratap Narayan Biswas, the story of ''Raktakarabi'' is inspired by a play by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

and the character of ''Raktakarabi'', Nandini, is similar to the character of that play. According to literary critics, Tagore expressed his socialist spirit through this play. However, according to Mazharul Haque Lipu of Bangla Tribune, it is different from the socialist concept of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. The play has been staged multiple times in India and Bangladesh as well as adapted into films and TV dramas. Shaukat Hossain Sajib, Director from Prachyanat School of Acting and Design, said about the play "...while doing the play Raktakarbi, I never felt that it was written 100 years ago, rather it felt more modern than our current thinking. Therefore, we feel that Yakshapuri is 50 years from now". Writer Syed Mujtaba Ali commented that the play was "good but complex" after hearing it from Tagore's mouth. According to Professor Fazlul Haque Saikat of Bengali Department from

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

, it is a theoretical play that highlights the conflict between agricultural and mechanized civilization. According to Sanjay Sarkar of Sampratik Deshkal, the play shows how the greed of money and wealth is destroying nature, so Tagore's thought about environment is also revealed here.

References

External links

{{Wikisource
Text of the play, translated into English at Tagore Web
1924 plays Anti-fascist plays Plays by Rabindranath Tagore Indian plays adapted into films