Ghashiram Kotwal

Discuss the theme of power in Ghashiram Kotwal.

Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television

writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator
primarily in Marathi. He is best known for his plays, Shatata! Court
Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghashiram Kotwal (1972), and Sakharam Binder
(1972). Many of Tendulkars plays derived inspiration from real life
incidents or social upheavals, which provide clear light on harsh
realities.

Tendulkar wrote Ghashiram Kotwal in 1972, as his response to the rise

of a local political party in Maharashtra. The play is a political satire,
written as a historical drama. Based on the life of Nana Phadnavis
(1741-1800), one of the prominent ministers in the court of Peshwa of
Pune. It was first performed on 16 December 1972, by the progressive
Drama Association in Pune. This play caused a lot of controversy
because some people believed that it hurt the feelings of the
Chitpavan Brahmin community and showed the statesman Nana
Phadnavis in a bad light. Hence it was temporarily banned in the state.

The basic theme of the play is how men in power give rise to ideologies
to serve their purposes and later destroy them when they become
useless. Tendulkar has examined the relationship between religion,
caste, sexuality and violence to expose the structure of power as the
main status quo. Tendulkar is concerned about the politics of power
and its various implications. According to Samik Bandhopadhayay in
his Introduction to the play, he says that In Ghashiram, power is
defined horizontally, in terms of individuals against individuals; from
humiliation, to revenge in assertion, to eventual victimizationon
strategies of power. On one level it does seem that one individual is
pitied against the other, but at another level it remains very clear that
the forces of state and society remain supreme even after individuals
perish. For instance, Ghashiram, an innocent newcomer to the Poona
Brahmin community is unjustly treated and falsely accused of stealing.
He is humiliated and beaten up by the Poona Brahmins. This incident
causes Ghashiram to vow revenge against the Poona Brahmins and the
corrupt city of Poona itself. When he is thrown out of the city he
declares that Youve made me an animal; Ill be a devil inside. Ill
come back like a boar and Ill make pigs of all of you. Ill make this
Poona a kingdom of pigs. Then Ill be Ghashiram again, the son of
Savaldas once more.(pg.21, act 1)

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It is interesting to note that Ghashiram himself a Brahmin turns against
his other brethren. The opportunity to get even with the Poona
Brahmins presents itself in front of Ghashi when the lecherous Chief
Minister of the Peshwa, the ageing Nana Phadnavis desires his
beautiful daughter Lalita Gauri. Then begins the game of power in
which Gauri is made a pawn and sacrificed to the Nanas lust. In return
Ghashiram is made the Kotwal of Poona. This serves two purposes,
one, it gives Ghashiram the opportunity to take his revenge and
unleash a reign of terror on the people of Poona and two, it allows the
Nana to have his cake and eat it too. The Nana has Gauri on the one
hand and on the other his own misdeeds and tyranny are obscured by
Ghashirams cruelty. Nana is aware of these benefits and ceases the
opportunity, Whatll happen is that our misdeeds will be credited to
your account. We do it; our Kotwal pays for it. The opportunity comes
in the shape of Gahshiram. And that luscious peach is at hand to be
devoured by Nana. Excellent! Yes, Ghashya, be Kotwal. This Nana
blesses you. (pg.30, act 1)

It is clear that even at this stage the deal is an unfair one and the only
one that benefits out of it is Nana. And finally, the Nana sacrifices
Ghashi to the blood thirsty crowds of the Brahmins without the
slightest of compunctions or even regret and in the end he is the one
who thrives with all the supposed power in his hands. It can be noticed
that the power is only deputed in Ghashi who does not realize this and
begins to mistake it for real power. When he loses Lalita Gauri and his
game has come to end does he realize his error and the reality of his
position. It is the Nanas misdeeds that have been credited to his
account. It then seems that power conceals itself behind agents and
continues to thrive unchallenged. It does seem that the power rests
with Nana but even he can be summoned by the Peshwa at any
moment. The Peshwa itself is a symbol of power within the context of
feudal society. Thus the power vested in Nana is underpinned by the
social set up which functions on the basis of maintaining the status
quo.

The king or the Peshwa in this case has the power by virtue of the
Divine Right. His position is maintained by various state apparatuses
like the army, the police, religious and social institutions etc. here the
power is delegated in the Nana who further delegates it to Gahshiram
by making him the Kotwal who then operates through the police force.
Thus we get to see a whole hierarchy of power positions. It seems then
that an individual is against an individual.

The state itself functions according to a certain ideology. A society

structured in such a way ensures that power is maintained and
supported by such hierarchies. The attention is focused on individuals

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who are passed off as criminals. But the real criminal that is the social
set up continues unchallenged as individuals are pitied against
individuals. Even if Ghashirams are created and destroyed, society
remains untouched and Tendulkars play subtly makes us think about it
and analyse this phenomenon.

Power operates more overtly through violence and oppression. At a

subtle level, it functions through such social attitudes that help in
maintaining hierarchies and hiding the real source of power which is
delegated in agents like Ghashiram, who are also victims of that same
power. Religion and sexuality are also used as the strategies of power.

While the army and police are used by the state to maintain control
within the society, there are other subtler strategies that are also used.
For instance, religion. The play begins with religious hymns and
popular gods dancing on stage. This sets the context against which the
drama unfolds itself. The Brahmins go to Bavannakhani to see the
dance of Gulabi and say that they are going to the temple to give a
sermon on Vishwamitra and Meneka. They justify their decadence by
comparing Bavannakhani to the holy Mathura. The Abhanga is often
sung with the Lavani or the love song in this play. Scenes of violence
and cruelty are alternated with devotional songs. When Nana tries to
reduce Gauri in front of the statue of the holy Ganapati, then he simply
dismisses her fears saying That all holy Ganapti? The maker of good?
Look, he has two wives. One on this side, one on that side. (pg22, act
1) Further on in the play when Gauri is dead and the distraught Ghashi
confronts Nana and accuses him of his daughters death, the latter
reassures him: He is the omnipresent He makes everything
happen we are merely instruments (pg51, act 2) he then urges
him to forget whats happened. All merges into Ganga. Thou shalt not
grieve over what is gone. The Vedas have said that. (pg51, act 2)
Religion then begins an alibi to cover up ones misdeeds. By invoking
religion, all kinds of evils are glossed and even sanctified. Rituals are
encouraged to fill the pockets of the greedy Brahmins. Moreover, their
position as the twice-born is reinforced by the prevalence of the caste
system.

Tendulkar has depicted the hypocrisy of the Brahmins, their arrogance,

authoritarianism and their debauched and adulterous noble behaviour.
Rather than being identifiable by their good deeds and noble behaviour
the Brahmins are identified by their haven head, holy thread and
pious looks. It is the pious looks which hide their petty deeds. The Nana
himself a Brahmin is marrying for the seventh time not to mention his
lust for numerous young girls, Lalita Gauri among them. Ghashiram
though full of revenge and hatred for the Brahmins is himself a
Brahmin. His conduct for bartering his daughters virtue for the

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dubious distinction of becoming the Kotwal of Poona can hardly be
justified and speaks of his inhuman opportunism and total lack of
paternal sentiments and sensitivity. The total picture of the Brahmins
that emerges from the play is one of hypocrisy, double standards, self-
indulgence and moral degradation. It exposes the rottenness of the
caste system that privileges a person on the basis of birth rather than
merit and maintains the rigid hierarchy of control and suppresses
persons.

Women too, as we have seen, have become a pawn in the power

game. In fact there is a close nexus between sexuality and power.
Consider for example, in Nanas statement with reference to Lalita
Gauri: Our grandeurs gone if she is not had. A mans identity, self
image and machismo is only definable only, it seems in relation to the
conquest and oppression of women. There is a close connection
between sexuality and religion as Lavanis and Abhangas are sung
at the revelries in Bavannakhani which is likened to Mathura and the
erotic dances to Krishnas Raas leela. The garb of religion helps to
justify and whitewash the debaucheries of the Brahmin men. Gulabis
tantalizing dances, the Nanas lustful pursuit of Gauri, the clandestine
meeting of the Brahmin wife with a Maratha lover all serve to create an
underlying strain of eroticism throughout the play.

In this play we can see that Tendulkar provides us with a blueprint for
an unforgettable theatrical experience by satirizing the utter
decadence of feudal society and the various power structures that
function in the feudal society.

Kshithi.