Balkrishan Sanyasi
The spotlight is on a tiny corner of the stage where a young woman is seen kneeling before a large portrait of a man in red turban, who has an illuminating smile that seems to spread positive energy. A melancholy tune is playing in the background. The young woman isreminiscing her jovial and simpleton grandfather, who is no more and is also the protagonist in the play, “Jaikara – The legend of Prajaparishad and Amarnath Vaishnavi.” She takes the audience back into her past.
In the first scene, her child self appears on the stage conversing with her grandfather while walking on a street. Somethings are confusing as she hears people address her grandpa as Jaikara and not by his original name , “Amarnath Vaishnavi”. The ten-year-old can’t figure out the reason and she inquisitively asks him , but he finds it difficult to answer her question. The play subsequently traverses almost seven decades of incidents, as narrated by the grand daughter – the narrator, a character played by Himagani Moza, and enacted by other artists. Gradually the play unravels the secret behind the word , “Jaikara” effortlessly. Vinay Pandita plays the protagonist.
The last scene is particularly emotional as the narrator expresses her struggle and agony caused by her selfless grandfather who would not listen to repeated family requests to resign from his social activism at the age of 89. Audience is spell bound and full of tears to see on one hand the resolve of the octogenarian to serve people even when his health is failing and on the other hand the grand daughter who helplessly watches him say, “The entire community is my family and they need me. I must go.”
Through the granddaughter’s narrative, the entire play unfolds the making of a man from a motherless child to a man who led the famous Praja Parishad movement from Pathankot under the leadership of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. While the play poignantly reveals the longing of a child for mother’s affection, it also gives a sneak peek into a man in the making, someone who even in his childhood couldn’t be deterred by adversities , on the contrary he would be on top of the situations with optimism. The hilarious and yet inspiring moments with his father and brother through the stories of Maharana Pratap and Shivaji, beautifully unravel how the seeds of the persona of the legendary, Pt. Amarnath Vaishnavi were sown. His fights with his elder brother who taught him math , which he dreaded and a sudden care shown by the same person at the thought of the absence of his mother was a heart touching moment.
The major wow situation in the play was when the little Amar after listening quietly to a highly enlightening but fierce discussion between his brother and father, about the greatness of the two great Kings Maharana Pratap and Shivaji, starts jumping around repeating the slogan of the great Shivaji’s army, “Har Har Mahadev.” There is suddenly darkness on the stage while the echoes of Har Har Mahadev still reverberate.
Suddenly the spotlight is at a young man of twenty-eight, addressing a large gathering. With a loud reverberating voice he says, ” Jaikara , and the stage echoes with the crowd responding with Har Har Mahadev.” This is Amarnath Vaishnavi in Pathankot , two decades later, leading The Prajaparishad movement in 1953. The movement was launched by Pt. Premnath Dogra and later led by Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee under the aegis of RSS, to integrate Jammu & Kashmir with rest of India. Back then J &K had its own, flag, constitution and Prime minister.
Next few minutes of the play enact the interesting anecdotes transporting the audience 70 years back in time . There are scenes depicting clever tactics of Amarnath Vaishnavi to trick the police, being part of the banned RSS and finally getting arrested while he was getting his shoes polished in a busy market.His bold conversations with police officers and finally the court scene where the first habeas corpus petition of India was heard, are a rich historical treat. The emotional moment with his brother, when he comes to meet him in jail and his promise that he would come back victorious is poignant.
The play then moves forward to few decades later, at the time of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus. The depiction of the displacement was a theatrical marvel . It was represented through climatic change from cold snowy mountains to scorching heat of the bright summer. The set was created as if split in two parts and each made distinct through lights and the artificial snow. Eloquent poetry by M K Koul and the melancholy music brought the audience to tears. The major historic developments such as the birth of Jammu Kashmir Sahayata Samiti, various historic decisions that led to the relief and rehabilitation of the displaced community were highlighted.
Play ends with a melodious song by lyricist Dr. Ramesh Nirash , sung by Pinna Kumari and the music by Rajesh Khar.
The play is not only a theatrical marvel that juggles between almost twenty different sets in a span of seventy-five minutes to bring alive seven decades of history,but truly speaking a refresher into the recent history of Kashmir. The originality of the real-life incidents and the dialogues was ensured by the script writer, Rohini Vaishnavi , who studied the personal diaries of Pt. Vaishnavi and recalled her own conversations and those of family members with him. She is also the granddaughter of the stalwart and an author who has edited and compiled,”The Chronicles of Kashmir”, authored by Balkrishan Sanyasi, the biography of Pandit Amarnath Vaishnavi.
Enacting seven decades of history on stage required theatrical expertise and backstage coordination which was very well executed by Vomedh Rangmanch under the guidance of its President Rohit Bhat. The transitions on stage appeared smooth as the characters stepped into distant periods of time. Ravinder Sharma’s creative depth as a director made it possible while Shazi Khan brought life into the entire saga with the magic of lights. The costumes and make up gave every character a distinct look , even when one person played multiple characters.Thanks to Suman Bhat, Bharti Koul and Manoj Damir, the make-up artist.
Depicting history through theatre is an interesting and fun way of understanding past to stay humble and rooted. It is especially a treat to all the senses when the stories are inspiring and made lively through theatrical expertise and artistic finesse. The life of the legendary octogenarian Pandit Amarnath Vaishnavi, a teacher loved by his students irrespective of religion or ethnicity, was one such inspiring story to tell.
The post Theatre brings alive history Prajaparishad & Amarnath Vaishnavi appeared first on Daily Excelsior.