The very mention of Pu La is enough to ignite fond memories in the hearts of the Marathi theatre- going audience and those who appreciate Marathi Literature. So it's not surprising that Mahesh Manjrekar's production team which has put together VYAKTI ANI VALLI was to have a sold-out show. The humid weather and the Sunday siesta notwithstanding, hundreds of Pu La's fans had gathered at the Yeshwant Natya Mandir to watch this new production of a classic work by Pu La.
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (or Pu La as he is affectionately referred to), a doyen of Marathi literature, originally wrote a book of the same name, compiled by him over nearly twenty years from 1944 onwards. It won the Sahitya Akademi Puraskar in 1965.
Converted into a play by Ratnakar Matkari, the protagonist was played by Pu La himself when the play was first produced and soon went on to become very popular, along with others written by Pu La such as TI PHULRANI ( an adaptation of PYGMALION) and BATATYACHI CHAL. It is my misfortune that I was not one of the lucky ones to have watched Pu La perform live as a theatre artist. But I could sense the nostalgia by the excited murmurs in the audience that day as nearly half the audience seemed old enough to have seen the original play.
Without much ado, (mercifully the political personage gracing the event kept his presence low-key, perhaps realising that the evening belonged to Pu La), the play commenced on time and soon ushered us into the home, world and indeed the life of the writer-protagonist and his characters.
We soon accompanied the general factotum Narayan, as he rushed around bringing order to the chaos surrounding some wedding arrangements; we marvelled at his expertise, smiled at his hair-splitting attention to detail and felt a twinge of guilt when he dozed off at the end of the day, unnoticed and unappreciated.
Old Antu Barva made us laugh and chuckle at his acerbic wit and sarcasm, but also made us pity his loneliness. Gampu, the ever helpful go-to guy reminded us of someone we would like to have known, while Natha Kamat, the practised flirt and eternal bachelor, perhaps, reminded us of someone we did know!
Other memorable characters included Bapu Kane, the secretary-of-all-things with his relentless lobbying for his social work; Namu Parit, the laundry man who is equally open and unashamed about filching clothes as he is about his bigamy; Babdu (played by Mahesh Manjrekar with an applauded stage entry) is the arrogant classroom dud turned unapologetic criminal, and who wins us over with his recounting of a miserable childhood.
The most popular Vyakti of the day was, however, Shakharam Gatne, a young book-worm, who is a fan cum acolyte of the protagonist. His devoted devouring of literature and faithful regurgitation of the matter thus ingested, had us all in splits. Pu La thus cautions us that mere reading and throwing up bombastic words is no substitute for experiencing life to its fullest.
Like a numismatist collecting rare coins from various sources and then polishing them to a shine, Pu La has showcased people that he was acquainted with and was fascinated by. These are simple people; many unappreciated, some misunderstood and a few unsung heroes of our everyday world. They are given a few moments in the limelight due to the genius of a perceptive pen; a pen that seems to sympathise with the underdog, but also understands the bully. It describes the dilemmas of old age with the same panache as the flirtatious tendencies of youth. It feels remorse at a tragedy and the tickle of humour with equal sincerity. It is the genius of Pu La that he sees his characters' eccentricities and unique traits, where we would otherwise see only an ordinary person.
While the hero of this play is the playwright, this production deserves kudos for the performances. Directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, the actors Anand Ingle (as the protagonist), Sunil Barve (Natha Kamat), Vaibhav Mangle (Antu Barva) were very good.
''जुन्यात आपण रंगतो... स्मृतीची पाने उलटायला बोटांना डोळ्यातलं पाणी लागते. मग त्या स्मृती सुखाच्या असोत वा दु:खाच्या!'' - PL Deshpande
Translated this means, ''Nostalgia always enthralls us... But to turn the pages of the book of our memories- bitter or sweet, our fingers need the moisture of our tears.
That afternoon, many of us were transported into the magical world which Pu La had created years ago. As the rasik prekshak (discerning audience) left that day, the genius of one man's pen either had old memories stirred or new ones created- all to be carefully cherished.
*Ujwala Karmakar is an Anaesthesiologist by profession. She likes to watch plays, read, and listen to music among other things. Ujwala has also been writing on women's issues, parenting, travel, etc.
Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (or Pu La as he is affectionately referred to), a doyen of Marathi literature, originally wrote a book of the same name, compiled by him over nearly twenty years from 1944 onwards. It won the Sahitya Akademi Puraskar in 1965.
