Miss Benare , one of the finest creation of Vijay Tendulkar , is without the least shade of doubt the

central figure around which action and movements in Silence ! The Court is in session (Marati Title:
Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe) is built. She is, in fact, definitely radiating through the entire play and
impregnating all the other characters with her strong hold personality. Structurally and psychologically
she is the unity of the play. Read More Drama With the towering personality of a successful teacher and
an economically independent woman, as Miss Benare is, finds a blunt criticism and sexual harassment in
the hands of middle class and hypocrite male folk. Though at the Transit point she is trapped, her
wrangling in the formulated phrase earns much sympathy and triumphantly declares a heroic fortitude.

Qui auroit detendu en lui tout imaginaire (Imaginary is not simply the opposite of real ) : In the play we
find two distinctive halves of dramatic personal in a state of collison with accepted norms . Before a
theatrical performance they begin 'a harmless game ' of mock trail. Miss Benare will be on trail. The
accusation of infanticide against Benare is based party on conjecture, partly on hearsay. Read More
Drama But rehearsal of mock trail becomes a real trail. It becomes a ' mouse trap ' for Benare. The
hypocritical middle class men like Kashikar , Sukhatme , Ponkshe and Karnik with their worthless middle
class sentiments take much fun of destitute , brutalized and humiliated Benare who is in fact a pregnant
woman fathered by an absent culprit Prof Damle . In the prison house of hypocrisy and selfishness and
male domination Benare is in agonized cry Karnik adds: ' The crime itself is imaginary ' Samant reads a
portion of a popular novel, a drawing parallel to Benare's real life story. Benare denies: “It is all lie “. But
she is in full tears what begins a time-pass, ends in hard reality.

Benare's final saying - her monologues: A teacher by profession, a village girl by root Benare is cheerful
and jolly even at the age of 34. Benare's independence and liveliness is concluded with a sense of
disgust with her companions and the city. She wants to go far away with an unknown person. She has
her will of her own. There is a hidden desire to escape from her unknown persons. AS the mock trail
becomes a real trial, the atmosphere of the place becomes gloomy and tense. While Benare is satirizing
the false pride and pretensions of the middleclass men folk, represented by her elderly colleagues.
Perhaps, Benare has in mind a particular person who has wronged her and fled away like a coward. Her
annoyance regarding the so called guardian of the society is severe. As an independent woman she
needs the full control over her personal or private life. Her personal action can never be put into
judgment by the male chauvinism. Though her view is unorthodox view of individual, and slightly
feminist's view, her social conduct or having a baby in her womb without a rightful father puts her in the
dock and becomes the target of male aggressors. But, finally, Benare speaks of her self and the dead
silence is broken by her self assertive triumphant voice. The cry of her speech is that in spite of
everything. Read More Drama She cannot fall out of love with life. As her life is denying love, marriage,
child and happiness, she bursts into the following words: “Life is very dreadful thing. Life must be
hanged.

' Na Jevana Jevanamarhati ' . Life is not worthy of life.

Hold an inquiry against life - sack it from its job ''

She is in search of purity and beauty which is infact an integrated essence of love of life. She has drunk '
the life to the less ' but unfortunately so gets the bitter cup of it too.

The end of the play records nursery rhymes in Benare's mouth. The rhyme itself contains a
parallel to Benare's story. Here the sparrow laments the loss of her nest which the crow has forcefully
stolen, how the crow shrugs off the responsibility and looks indifferent. The patriarchal society and their
voices are the proverbial crow to Benare. Benare only searches after her peaceful nest, ' a room of one's
own '. Benare sings the nursery rhymes where the parrot has lost her nest alike her:

'' Oh my dear friend, what shall I say?

Someone has stolen my nest away”

Conclusion: Ibsen’s play A Doll's House ends with the heroine leaving her home, her husband, and even
her children to go and face an uncertain future in a world about which she knows next to nothing. It has
been Nora's violent protest against the masculine supremacy in a society and the dramatist's final design
of his point of view. Benare in Tendulkar's Silence ! The Court is in session does nothing so serious but
mutely repudiates the existing social values and masculine supremacy. Indeed through Benare,
Tendulkar inspects the values of feminine self in a male - dominated society, particularly in India.

Based on Vijay Tendulkar's Marathi play, Silence! The Court is in Session is a social satire, Aimed at self-
appointed moral police of the society and extremist view on women’s freedom. The play starts on a
lighter note with some laughable characters and slowly intensifies with those characters taking shape of
real life social elements.

The lead character of the play, Benare, is a sexually abused lady. She is cast as the lead in a community
play. The character she plays in the community play has striking similarities with her own life. She breaks
down during the rehearsals, revealing her past life and plight. Then the play deals with some real life big
issues prevailing in the society, and how more often than not, the woman is held guilty. The play holds
you to your seats, and goes into serious issues slowly, making sure you are not overloaded with intense
social drama.
The play has a strong plot and the way the real life of the Benare unfolds is gripping, taking you in and
out of reality and play rehearsals. The performances by all the actors are solid with the leading lady
being stand out. Only the plight of the lady is not as strong as it could have been. You somehow don’t
strongly feel that she’s been cheated, though you do agree that she is mistreated. The lighting was also
tacky at places.

But overall, the play entertains and invokes thought effortlessly. You do come out of the theater
thinking, but you all feel entertained. If you have nothing better to do in the evening or weekends, and
this play is in you town, give it a shot.