ATTHANNIYAAN... is Gulzaar saab's take on the poverty and life prevalent on the streets in the city of Mumbai. While tackling one of the major issues confronting the city and the country at large, the author provides us with a great blend of hard hitting poetry and wonderfully crafted stories. He takes us on a journey through the lives of three people residing on the streets and slums of Mumbai; their daily chores, concerns and worries. The author brings us in direct contact with these characters, as if plucking them from real life and placing them on the stage. He communicates their experiences with such masterful simplicity and storytelling that their tragedy numbs and saddens us.
In 'Baas', a housewife dwelling in slums talks about how things have changed since the family shifted to a one room tenement. She narrates their earlier life and moans the little things, like the courtyard in the old place where her husband and his friends gathered daily or the bitter gourd plant in her neighborhood from where she would filch a few plants and cook stealthily so that its smell did not spread. It's these simple things that gave her relief from the everyday struggles in her life. But this new arrangement, which she compares to a cage, has now cut her off from her community. Supported by a polished and lively performance by Lubna Salim, this monologue is a treat to watch.
'Jhhadi' is again a satire on the pathetic living conditions and the disaster management facilities provided by our authorities to the poor. It is portrayed through a character, which is caught in competition with the rains. While it has been raining for five days without a break, this man has been drinking incessantly. There are floods in the locality, his entire neighborhood is sinking bit by bit, but the only way he thinks he can escape is by drinking. He drinks as his house submerges under water and the floods drag away his wife and child. Again, Yashpal Sharma is brilliant with his portrayal of the character, having it to say verbally hardly anything.
'Atthanniyan' , the final short story talks about one more such individual coming from outside Mumbai, to make a living in the metropolis. He sleeps on the streets and does not have even have an Atthani to bribe a policeman to let him sleep. The story tracks the growth of this character through his relationship with the policeman. It ends abruptly with a blast and the protagonist gets caught as a hostage by the miscreant. Through this the author makes a point that the common man is already a hostage to the current political situation, a victim to the petty power games of the corrupt few.
Another important element of the play is the brilliant poetry that is intertwined between the short stories. The poetry adds a wonderful touch to the play and makes it complete. Also, the short scenes establishing the settings and the background to the story that follows, like the one where two beggars fall in love, get married on streets and faced with dilemma of where they to go for honeymoon, are depressing. Amod Bhatt's music sets the tone for the play and songs are sung and performed splendidly. The title track from a Vishal Bhardwaj album provides a perfect finale to an honestly presented journey. Though there are many new faces in the cast, most of them do well to hold the play together. Apart from a few moments in the play, which seem unnecessary, director Salim Arif has done a good job in putting together a sincere effort in capturing the unfortunate situation of this Mahanagari.
*The writer is a young theatre person with interests in other media. He has worked with Ramu Ramanathan, Chandan Roy Sanyal and has done production work for THE PROPHET by Naseeruddin Shah's theatre group Motley, amongst other things.
