ANANDOWARI (HINDI) Play Review

Lalitha Dhara	Host-A-Performance \| Schedule

Based on : Novel by D. B. Mokashi Adaptation & Direction : Gerish Khemani Hindi Translation: : Jaya Dayal Cast : Varad Salvekar, Hrishabh Kanti

ANANDOWARI (HINDI) Review

The poster for the play states:

Anandowari is the story of a search...
A man in search of his brother
A writer in search of the poet Tukaram
A devotee in search of God...

Missing in the above narrative is the anguish of a pregnant wife in search of her husband!

While the narrative might give the impression that the play is exploring three parallel threads, what unfolds in the play is the convergence of these threads -- search for Dada (read householder) Tukaram, poet Tukaram and Bhakt Tukaram - morphing into an exploration of the different facets of the larger than life persona Tukaram

Brother Tukaram fell woefully short in his duties as a householder...

Poet Tukaram wrote trail blazing poetry that questioned the in-egalitarian nature of the caste order...

Bhakt Tukaram sought an intimate, egalitarian bond with his Lord Vithal...

The play successfully captures the inner conflict and contradiction in Sant Tukaram's life journey from Dada Tukoba to keertankar Tukoba to Sant Tukaram...

All credit to the two actors, Salvekar and Kanti and their director Khemani for such a convincing and grounded portrayal of Tukaram.

What ultimately stood out in the play was the astounding relationship between Tukaram and his Lord Vithal.

Theirs is not a one-sided hierarchical relationship. It is a mutually fulfilling partnership. Each complements and completes the other. Each needs the other. Each owes their existence to the other. They are on a first name basis.

Tukoba Vitoba

Vitoba Tukoba

Mirror image...

That is the image that fills my senses and stays with me.

*Lalitha Dhara* is a retired academic and gender activist

ANANDOWARI (HINDI) Play Review

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