MAHESH DHTTANI'S : TARA
INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY
THIS A PLAY COMPOSED BY MAHESH DHATTANI AN ACTOR,A DIRECTOR,PLAYWRIGHT AND A SCREENPLAY WRITER . DHATTANI WAS BORN IN BANGALORE ON AUGUST 1958. EDUCTED AT BALDWIN'S HIGH SCHOOL AND GRADUATED IN HISTORY ,ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM ST. Joseph's college of art and sciences. WORKED AS A COPYWRITER IN AN ADVERTISING FIRM SUBSEQUENTLY WITH HIS FATHER IN BUSINESS.DATTANI HAS WON SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD FOR HIS PLAYS.
THIS PLAY WAS FIRST PERFORMED AS TWINKLE TARA T CHOWDIAH MEMORIAL HALL BANGALORE ,ON OCTOBER 23 ,1990 BY DHATTANI'S PLAYPEN PERFORMING ARTS GROUP. IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY PERFORMED BY TARA AT SOPHIA BHABHA HALL BY THEATRE GROUP. BOMBAY ON NOVEMBER 9, 1991 AND DIECTED BY ALYUE PADAMSEE.
TARA CENTRE ON THE EMOTIONAL SEPARATION THAT GROWS BETWEEN TWO CONJOINED TWINS FOLLOWING THE DISCOVERY THAT THEIR PHYSICAL SEPARATION WAS MANIPULATED BY THEIR MOTHER AND GRANDFTHER. TO FAVOUR THE BOY CHANDAN OVER THE GIRL (TARA). TARA A FIESTY GIRL WHO ISNT GIVEN THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AS GIVEN TO HER BROTHER CHANDAN. THE PLAY WEAVES IN ITSELF THE ISSUE OF CLASS COMMUNITY ,AND THE CLASH BETWEEN MODERN AND TRADITIONAL VALUES.
CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY :
BHARATI : TARA'S MOTHER
TARA : THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST OF THE PLAY AND ONE OF THE TWO
CONJOINED TWINS
PATEL : TARA 'S FATHER
ROOPA : TARA AND CHANDANS NEW FRIEND IN THE COLONY
DR. THAKKER. THE CORRUPT DOCTOR
CHANDAN (DAN) : THE NARATTOR AND THE TWIN BROTHER OF TARA
SUMMARY OF THE PLAY
THE STORY STARTS WITH DAN TRYING TO WRITE SOMETHING ON A PIECE OF PAPER , HE NARRATES US THAT HE TRIES TO WRITE ABOUT THIS EVERYDAY BUT FAILS TO DO SO AS HE IS SCARED TO GO DOWN THE MEMORY LANE AND TRY TO RECALL WHAT HE HAS WENT THROUGH OVER THESE YEARS .
1: HE TAKES US TO HIS HOUSE WHERE TARA IS PAMPERED A BY HER MOTHER SHE CONSTANTLY ASKS TARA TO HAVE MILK AND TARA WAS DENYING TO HAVE IT THOUGH BY ASKING FOR HER BRASS TUMBLERS IN WHICH SHE HAVES HER MILK.
2: TO THIS BHARATI SAYS THAT YOUR FATHER DIDN'T ALLOWED ME TO UNPACK THE LUGGAGE WHICH WE BROUGHT WITH US WHILE SHIFTING TO OUR NEW HOUSE. THIS CLEARLY SHOWS US THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WHICH WAS NOT SO HEALTHY BETWEEN BHARATI AND PATEL.
3: AS THE STORY UNFOLDS WE GET TO KNOW THE ADHERE OF A MODERN EDUCATED FAMILY TOWARDS CONVENTIONAL ATTITUDE FAVOURING ANYTHING THAT IS MASCULINE . AND THIS PROVED WHEN ONE DAY CHANDAN HELPS HER MOTHER IN KNITTING AND HIS FATHER SAYS THAT THIS TYPE OF WORK SHOULD BE LEFT ONLY FOR WOMEN HE SHOULD NOT BE DOING THIS.
4: THEN AGAIN HIS FATHER ASKS HIM TO COME ALONG WITH HIM IN THE OFFICE TO UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF DOING A BUSINESS IN REPLY TO THIS CHANDAN SAYS THAT YOU CAN TAKE TARA FOR THIS WORK AS SHE WOULD BE A GREAT BUSINESS WOMEN. TO THIS PATEL REFUSES AND EVEN GETS ANGRY ON HIM AND SAYS YOU ARE COMING WITH ME TO THE OFFICE AND THERE SHOULD BE NO ARGUMENTS ABOUT THIS ANYMORE.
5: ANOTHER SUCH INSTANCE GETS HIGHLIGHTED DURING THIS SCENE WHEN PATEL SAYS THAT HE IS SAVING MONEY FOR CHANDAN TO EXPENSE HIS FOREIGN EDUCATION AND CHANDAN SAYS THAT HE WANTS TO BE A WRITER AND YOU CAN SEND TARA INSPITE OF SENDING HIM TO ABROAD FOR FURTHER STUDIES. WHEN THE STORY FURTHER UNFOLDS WE GET TO KNOW THAT BHARATI TARA'S MOTHER BRIBES ROOPA FOR PLAYING A MOVIE IN THEIR VC ON A CONDITION TO BE FRIENDS WITH TARA AS SHE DOESN'T HAVE FRIENDS AS SUCH IN THEIR LOCALITY. FURTHER WE GET TO KNIW THAT TARA NEEDS TO GO THROUGH A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT SURGERY.
6: TO THIS BHARATI EAGERLY WANTS TO DONATE HER KIDNEY TO TARA EVEN IF PATEL SAYS THAT A COMMERCIAL DONOR HAS BEEN ARRANGED FOR TARA YOU DON'T NEED TO DO SO AND EVEN TO THIS SHE ARGUES WITH HER HUSBAND TO DONATE HER KIDNEY TO TARA AND THIS BEHAVIOUR OF TARA MAKES US VERY SUSPICIOUS OF BHARATI ABOUT HER INTENTIONS IN DOING SO. AFTER TARA'S SUCCESSFUL KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION SURGERY
7: IN THE ACT 2 DOCTOR SAYS THAT POST SURGICAL CARE IS MUST FOR TARA. PLAY PROCEEDS FURTHER AND TARA HAD AN APPOINTMENT WITH HER PHYSIOTHERAPIST AND INSTEAD OF GOING THERE SHE GOES TO THE HOSPITAL IN WHICH BHARATI WAS ADMITTED AND SHE WAS REFUSED TO MEET HER . SHE RETURNS HOME AND NARRATES THE WHOLE INCIDENT TO CHANDAN AND ASKS HIM TO VISIT HER MOTHER IN THE HOSPITAL TOGETHER TO THIS CHANDAN AGREES AND THEN THEY BOTH ASKS FOR PERMISSION FROM PATEL TO VISIT BHARATI IN THE HOSPITAL AND OBVIOUSLY PATEL REFUSES TO GRANT PERMISSION TO THEM.
8: WHEN TARA SAYS EVEN IF HE REFUSES TO DO SO SHE WILL GO TO SEE HER MOTHER AND IN THIS THE TRUTH OUTBREAKS FROM PATEL'S MOUTH ,THE TRUTH WHICH SHATTERED NOT JUST TARA BUT CHANDAN AS WELL , HE SAYS THAT I SUPPOSE THAT WE WERE BOTH TO BLAME YOUR MOTHER AND I AND YOUR GRANDFATHER, HE SAYS HER FATHER WAS A WEALTHY MAN AN INDUSTRIALIST AND AN MLA MY PARENTS WERE MORE ORTHODOX AND DIDN'T APPROVE OF OUR MARRIAGE. I BROKE AWAY ,WE WERE ALL OVERJOYED WHEN WE CAME TO KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TWINS UNTIL CERTAIN TESTS REVEALED THE COMPLICATIONS .
9: WHEN I FIRST SAW YOU ,YOU LOOKED LIKE TWO BABIES HUGGING EACH OTHER WE WERE NOW PREPARED FOR THE WORST WE GOT TO KNOW THAT BOTH THE BABIES HAD ONE LEG IN COMMON YOUR GRANDFATHER GIT PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN OUR TALKS WITH THE DOCTOR THAKKAR AFTER SO MANY TESTS AND SCANS IT SHOWED THAT MAJOR PART OF THE BLOOD SUPPLY TO THE THIRD LEG WAS FROM THE GIRL CHANCES WERE BETTER FOR THE LEG TO SURVIVE WITH THE GIRL BUT YOUR GRANDFATHER AND MOTHER HAD PRIVATE TALKS WITH THE DOCTOR I WASN'T ASKED TO COME THE SAME DAY YOUR MOTHER TOLD ME OF HER DESCISION WHICH WAS THAT THEY WOULD RISK BOTH THE LEGS WITH THE BOY ITSELF AND FOR THIS YOUR GRANDFATHER USED HIS POLITICAL INFLUENCE AND EVEN BRIBED THE DOCTOR FOR HIS LARGE NURSING HOME IN BANGALORE.
10: THE OPERATION PROCEEDED AND THE LEG WAS GIVEN TO CHANDAN AFTER TWO DAYS DOCTORS HAD TO REMOVE THAT AS WELL BECAUSE IT WAS NIT COMPATIBLE INTO HIS BODY. TO THIS TARA REACTED IN A VERY DRASTIC MANNER SHE CUT ALL HER CONTACTS WITH CHANDAN AND LATER WE GET TO KNOW THAT SHE DIED AND NOW CHANDAN LIVES IN LONDON BY A NEW NAME 'DAN'.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STORY
1; The story shows the hipocracy and favouritism which existed into the society even in the urban modernised well educated families. When we see BHARATI exaggerating her care and affection for Tara it stinks of the fact that she is just guilty on her part of what she Did to Tara. By portraying more love and affection towards her she is not just trying to satisfy her guilt but also makes Tara dependant on her be it emotionally or mentally . Being a woman she took this step clearly shows that even if she pertained the education that most of the woman don't have access to ,the previllage that everyone girl dreams of she the idea of masculinity and suppression from patriarchal society still resides into her mind.
2; Every instace from the play attributes to the fact that once you are a boy you are favoured in every possible manner which was clearly showed up when Patel saw Chandan knitting and within a spur of the moment he became angry this clearly shows the hipocracy of Patel family
3; At I just want to say that the story exposes modern educated urban family's adherence to the conventional attitude of favouringanything that is masculine and even exposes the corruption prevalent in the bureaucratic society and the ethical deterioration of medical profession through the character of DR. THAKKAR who agreedto separate the conjoined twins on the condition of giving the leg which biologically was more compatible with Tara but have it to Chandan which shows clearly the deterioration of noble profession into a business
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LINKS & REFERENCES :
http://rukhaya.com/an-analysis-of-mahesh-dattanis-tara-the-other-side/#:~:text=Mahesh%20Dattani's%20Tara%20comes%20across,by%20the%20multi%2Dlevel%20set.
Mahesh Dattani
It's indeed useful..
ReplyDeleteTHANKS
DeleteNice work
ReplyDeleteUseful for literature students