The silence has been broken....

21 May 2008

1

Vijay Tendulkar On 19 May, the revolutionary playwright, novelist and screenplay writer Vijay Tendulkar passed away. And the silence that was observed at his death was almost an ironic one. In his lifetime, Tendulkar was one of the strongest radical voices of Indian theatre, a voice that came to be most recognised, however, in the controversial pauses that punctuated his plays.

Not only did Tendulkar, through his literary writings, question some of the most deeply embedded social practices, he brought important changes to the way plays were written and performed in Indian theatre. Short dialogues interspersed liberally with long moments of silence were made acceptable in Indian theatre in Tendulkar's plays.

Born in a middle class Brahmin family in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Tendulkar wrote his first story at the age of six and his first play at the age of eleven. He also directed this play and acted in it himself. Deeply inspired by the freedom movement, Tendulkar gave up his studies to participate in it in 1942. This simultaneous engagement with the literary and the political became a way of life for Tendulkar ever since.

In his early career, Tendulkar wrote for newspapers. His two early plays 'Amchyavar Kon Prem Karnar'  and 'Gruhastha' did not receive much attention. Almost 10 years later he wrote another play 'Shrimant', story of an unmarried girl who decides to keep her unborn child, which shocked and stunned conservative Marathi theatre audiences of the 1950s. With this play Tendulkar gained a certain recognition and the 1950s and '60s saw some of the greatest plays by the writer. In association with theatre groups like Rangayan, actors like Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Mohan Agashe, and Sulabha Deshpande presented Tendulkar's Gidhade, Patlachya Poriche Lagin and the famous Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe.

 These plays established a tone for the social and political intervention within the literary not only within Marathi theatre but in theatre across the nation. For three decades after that Tendulkar's plays have continued to address the social question. Not compromising on its literary and artistic qualities, Tendulkar's plays have shown that political theatre is not propaganda but a vehicle for change. His relentless engagement with questions of exploitation and violence have also taken the form of short novels and screenplays. He has worked with the Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani to create the powerful  'Manthan', 'Nishant', 'Akrosh', and 'Ardh Satya'

Tendulkar was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan award by the government of India. Amongst numerous other awards, he also won the the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1970 and in 1998. His  Manthan won him the National Film Award for Best Screenplay in 1971.

So today when we mourn the loss of this great writer and revolutionary, let us hope that the silence is just momentary, that some one may follow in his footsteps and speak up.

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