Adalat: A Realistic Garhwali Drama

Adalat: A Realistic Garhwali Drama

        (Review of Adalat a Garhwali Drama by Swarup Dhoundiyal)

(Garhwali Drama, Kumauni Stage Plays, Uttarakhandi Playwrights)  

                          Bhishm Kukreti

                Bhavani Datt Thapliyal initiated writing and staging Modern Garhwali drama (Prhalad and Jay-Vijay). No doubt the subject and dialogues of Prahlad are related to society but on the back the background is religious in nature. The dramas staged at government built drama building in Tihri; dramas of Ghana Nand Bahuguna, drama Vasanti by Vishwambar Datt Uniyal ,  Professor Bhagwati Prasad Panthari; or popular drama written by Jeet Singh Negi were idealistic in nature. The dramas of Lalit Mohan Thapliyal were humorous and satirical dramas with certain kind of loudness too. The dramatists entered in the Garhwali dramatic field after Lalit M Thapliyal as, Parashar Gaud, ‘Kankal’, Virendra Mohan Raturi, Kishor Ghildiyal, Damodar Thapliyal, Hari Datt Bhatt Shailesh were influenced by orthodox disciplines of Indian dramas. Or it is said that those dramas were not on the tune of realistic dramas as the general movement of realism of western countries.

               The dramas Jank Jod (1975) and Ardhgrameshwar  (1976) by Rajendra Dhashmana were nearer to realism but the drama critics as Dr. Sudha Rani did not put these dramas in the category of realistic dramas as dramas of realism movement dramatists Aleksey Pisemsky, Leo Tolstoy, Chekhov et.

Afew critics categorized dramas of Dhashmana as modern look, experimental dramas or the dramas those broke the conventional ways of stage plays of Garhwali dramas. However, there is no doubt that Dhashmana brought modernization and real subject into modern Garhwali drama.

    Influenced by the response of audience and appreciation from non Garhwali crtics about Ardhgrameshwar, Swarup Dhoundiyal a famous Hindi fiction writer of his time wrote a Garhwali drama ‘Adalat’.  Adalat was staged in Delhi first time in the year 1978. The drama was staged eight times in Delhi. The dram was also staged in Mumbai and a few places of Garhwal as Synsi.

 The drama is truly a realistic Garhwali drama.

   The story is about tension among the family members of Garhwal of sixties and self perplexity of each family member. Everybody asks justice from the society (not shown directly) as everybody feels that she or he is right on her/his part as a family member.

          Keshar Singh is a peon in Chandigarh whose parents, wife and his child are in village. Parents of Keshar singh had to sell ancestral agriculture –fields at the time of study and marriage of Keshar Singh.  His income is not much that his parents could repay the debts of Daulat Ram. Keshar Singh has come to his village from Chandigarh and wants to take his wife with him to Chandigarh. His parents don’t want that he takes his wife to Chandigarh as they are quite old. Wife of Keshar Singh is unhappy about small –small accusations from her mother in law. Other characters are there to show the tension among family members.

 The drama is having real subject of Garhwal before seventies when migrated young or older males wanted to take their families to their working places and elders of the family wanted that Bahus/daughter in laws should be in the village.

         The situation and dialogues are totally realistic and least idealism is shown in the drama.

 Swarup Dhoundiyal used daily use dialogues and the drama is the real mirror of villages of Garhwal of pre seventies.

  Swarup Dhoundiyal brought aspects of realism in Garhwali drama as true characters, dilemmas of real characters. Dhoundiyal had been successful in creating direct attention of social and psychological problems of ordinary life. Most of the scenes are true mirror of life.  Keshar Singh and his wife at different time asking judgment (from whom?) is nothing but characters unable arriving at answers to their predicaments.

  Swarup Dhoundiyal will always be remembered in Garhwali drama world for bringing realism in Garhwali drama.  History will always remember late Swarup Dhoundiyal for strengthening realism in Garhwali drama world as people remember realistic dramatists Ibsen, Chekhov, Arthur Miller, O. Neil Athol Fugard, Oriel Gray, Inez Bensusan, Oscar Kightley,  Perez Galdos, etc.

Garhwali Drama, Kumauni Stage Plays, Uttarakhandi Playwrights to be continued….

Copyright@ Bhishm Kukreti