MODERNIZATION OF BENGAL DRAMA IN THE

CONTEXT OF EVAM INDRAJIT AND ITS WESTERN

PHENOMENON
-PUJA DAS
GUEST FACULTY,
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,
KHEJURI COLLEGE.
Development of the drama in the twentieth century Bengal saw a process of
ups and downs till the final revival in the 1940s. Marx and Freud, war and
peace, economics and sociology, science and mechanism, sexuality and
morality has altered the imperialistic and tradition bound Bengal theatre by
the INDIAN PEOPLES THEATRE ASSOCIATION (IPTA), a cultural wing of the
communist party of India. This association encouraged the various
playwrights like Bijan Bhattacharya and Tulsi Lahiri to write new plays in a
realistic mode that depicted the lives of the downtrodden. This ultimately led
to the emergence of the New Drama Movement.

The way Bijan Bhattacharyas Nabanna revolutionized Bengals Theatre in

1944, Badal Sircars Evam Indrajit in a similar way, was an epoch-maker in
Bengals drama and its theatre in the 60s. In Nabanna, Bijan Bhattacharya
initiated the peoples theatre Movement and portrayed the peasants of
Bengal and struggling proletariat of the soil. Badal sircars objective was
quite different. Unlike Bhattacharya, Sircar wanted to be playwright of the
middle class:
They are the middle income group, although within that
group there is enough disparity of income. They are the intellectuals
although if they really relied on their intellect, they would die of starvation.
They are the educated minority if a degree is indeed a mark of education.
They are the elite, because they are well aware of their difference from the
rest.
[Evam
Indrajit, P-6]

The present paper is an attempt to discuss a revolutionary

paribartan(change) from the traditional Bangla Natak by following ways.
The absurd world is reborn in all its splendor and diversity.

EVAM INDRAJIT AND THE THEATRE OF ABSURD

The phrase absurd drama or The Theatre of Absurd gained currency as a
result of Martin Esslins book, THE THEATRE OF ABSURD(1961). The most
surprising thing about plays of this group is that inspite of their breaking of
the rules they are successful. There is fine description by Esslin about how
the theatre of Absurd differs from that of conventional theaterif a good play must have a cleverly constructed story, these have no story
or plot to speak of; if a good play is judged by subtlety of characterization
and motivation, these are often without recognizable characters and present
the audience with almost mechanical puppets; if a good play has to have a
fully explained theme, which is neatly exposed and finally solved, these often
have neither a beginning nor an end; if a good play is to hold the mirror up to
nature and portray the manners and mannerism of the age in finely
observed sketches, these seem often to be reflections of dreams and night
mares; if a good play relies on witty repartee and pointed dialogue, these
often consist of incoherent babblings.
In this connection 'Evam Indarjit' is in the absurdist tradition in that we do
not comprehend anything significant, meaningful and traditional in it. Neither
does it possess a logical or coherent plot. The inadequacy of language
echoes the lack of meaningful human associations. There is no realism, and
the play rather portrays a psychological realism, where external conflicts
reveal internal chaos. There is no concrete characterization. The various
characters around appear to be projection of the protagonist himself.
According to Martin Esslin, Absurdism is the inevitable devaluation of ideals,
purity and purpose. Here too the play Evam Indrajit is deduced asnothing but an expression of despair.
In the theatre of absurd, says Esslin, the dignity of man lies in his ability to
face reality in all its senselessness; to accept it freely, without fear, without
illusion- and to laugh at it. In the concluding part of Sircars Evam Indrajit,
Indrajit asks the writer, then how shall we live? The writer answers

walk! Be on the road! Go on and on! For us there is only the road. We shall
walk.[P-59]
In the modern context the answer of the question that how do we get
through life, may be by force of habit, by going on inspite of boredom and
pain. Shri Sircar speaks this sort through his protagonist, this is the keynote
of our initiation. There is no pilgrimage, just journey. No destination but only
the road which itself is our pilgrimage. Here in lies both deity and
destination.
This is all about the shatter dreams and stoic acceptance of our middle class
society.

IDENTITY CRISIS AND THE MODERN DARMA

Life is frustrated everywhere. Most of the time we attempt to alienate
ourselves from the issue and use ear-phones to pretend not to listen or to be
silent and try desperately to bring some sort of meaning into life while
silently waiting for someone or something to come and give us an answer.
We go round the prickly pear/ at five o clock in the morning/ between the
idea/ and the reality/ between the motion/ and the act [Hollow Men:
T.S.Eliot]
The quest for meaning in life and theme of identity crisis is echoed by the
very title And Indrajit. He is ..and Indrajit, a part of the whole. He is
described in terms of society and not in terms of his own existence. He
prefers to be called Amal, Kamal or Vimal and conform to the dictates of
society or the doctrine of tradition. The ideas applied t all educated modern
middle class youth, not just to Indrajit. Even if we turn to the west, there is
also the same crycall me Mary Berton, Mary Seton, Mary Charmichael or any other name you
please- it is not matter of importance. [A Room Of Ones Own, Virginia
Woolf]
The play Evam Indrajit provided a shock of recognition. It was a
theoretically effective and crystallized projection of all the prevalent
attitudes, vague feelings and undefined frustration growing at the heart of
the educated urban middle class.

ESCAPISM: A GENERAL HUMAN APPLICATION

The social reality which encompasses the characters of the drama, makes
them feel out and out unhappy. Here a boy of eight is seen with a child in
his arms/polishing shoes. on the pavement is seen a seven year old boy
with a box in his hand and a baby in his arms. there on the pavement near
him is a woman. Her name is Leela. Her husband died of T.B. Her in-laws
have thrown her out. They kept her at home for a few days. Took all the
provident fund and insurance money they could get. Took her ornaments
and threw her out [P-22]. Vimal has three unmarried sisters to look after.
Kamals father is retiring this year. Amal, Kamal, Vimal and Nirmal(Indrajit),
all of them need jobs for the families. They apply and face interviews and
finally, yes, a regret letter. This sordid reality around them makes them
angry young men. They cant put up with the prevalent social laws and rules.
They suffer from an existential despair- Im fed up with life(P-42), Im tired
of being a student(P-10), I just feel tired and exhausted(P-45). Then the
look for an El Dorado, They want to escape.

OPTIMISM
In the midst of shatter dreams we have a ray of hope through Manasi. She
puts faith in Indrajit by way of her love for him. As a common human being
she has her dreams, hopes and desires. If these are taken out of life, a life
would be a poor shrunken thing. Manasis view of life, her attitude to life,
Live! Live long!- provide a new meaning to the play. Indrajit who is
apathetic to this life, now starts believing that nothing is more valuable than
my life in this world. He concludes his search for life in this way, we have to
push the rock to the top- even if it just rolls down

CONCLUSION
Nothing important happens in the drama. There is in it no story, no message.
Besides, the play has no spectacle, n star-part, no sex. Much like Waiting For
Godot where nothing happens twice. If there is question why it has
achieved such a striking success, is not easy to answer. The main reason for
its success perhaps is that it depicts a situation which has a general human
application. What is more important? The way we actually live our life or the
way we really want to? [Rituparno Ghose, Aar Ekti Premer Galpo]. And shri

Sircar who defy orthodoxy in Bangla natak, depicts truly this dilemma of all
modern Indrajits in his play.

REFERENCES:

Dubey,Satyadev. Introduction. Evam Indrajit tr. Girish Karnad. The

modern plays O.U.P. Delhi,1994.

Sircar Badal. Evam Indrajit tr. Girish Karnad. The modern plays O.U.P.
Delhi,1994.

Becket, Samuel. Waiting For Godot, Faber and Faber. Great Britain,
1985.

Hollow Men. T.S.Eliiot.

Woolf, Virginia. 2000. A Room of Ones Own. London: Penguin. First published 1929