This term paper comprises of two sections.

While first section compares and contrasts

two plays from two different play writers, the second section explores the organizational
linkages from the elements observed in these plays.
Section 1: Compare and Contrast 2 plays
Plays chosen:
1. Tughlaq by Girish Karnad
2. On a muggy night in Mumbai by Mahesh Dattani
Tughlaq is a historical play with parallels that can be drawn to contemporary politics.
Hence Tughlaq stands as a classic. It is an extremely well knit combination of
imagination, allusion, poetic elements, disguise, parallels, irony, symbolism by Girish
Karnad.
Writing historical plays is a difficult task as the writer needs to keep the particular
atmosphere that was prevalent during the respective time. Considering this point, it is
beyond argument that Girish Karnad possesses great imagination. Tughlaq is brilliantly
written to portray how an extremely intelligent person can still be a failure. The way
historical reference was used to depict contemporary situation by Girish Karnad can be
hardly equaled by any other play writer. Below portion outlines how each of the elements
were used by Girish Karnad in making Tughlaq a classic.
 Poetic elements expressed through
o “My beloved people, you have heard the judgment of the Kazi and seen
for yourselves how justice works in my kingdom—without any
consideration of might or weakness, religion or creed. May this moment
burn bright and light up our path towards grater justice, equality, progress,
and peace—not just peace but a or purposeful life”)
o “I wanted to make for myself an image of Sadi’s poems. I wanted every
rose in it to be a poem. I wanted every thorn in it to prick and quicken the
sense. But I don’t need these airy tapings now; a funeral needs no separate
symbol
 Disguise expressed through
o Aziz’s character initially in the guise of Vishnu Prasad and later in the
guise of Ghiyasuddin Abbasid
  Parallels expressed through
o Aziz’s character – Aziz’s character was offered as a parallel to the
character of Tughlaq. Girish Karnad was extremely successful in
conveying how Tughlaq was convinced about what he was doing was not
correct through juxtaposing Aziz’s character with that of Tughlaq’s
character. In my point of view, this is the highlight of the play.
 Irony expressed through
o Tughlaq’s character – by demonstrating how an extremely intelligent
person with best of the ideals can still be a failure.
 Symbolism expressed through
o The characters of Aziz and Azam as they stand for opportunistic and
unprincipled people who take undue advantage of the liberal ideals and
welfare schemes of the democratic government and fill their own pockets.
o Chess symbolizing the whole kingdom full of complications
o Python symbolizing increased brutality and blood thirstiness and the
complete degeneration of the Sultan’s personality
o Prayer symbolizing religious idealism at one stage and prayer becoming a
mockery at an other stage
o Sleep symbolizing need for rest in human’s life at one stage and
symbolizing peace at an other stage
o Rose symbolizing poetic susceptibility at one stage and symbolizing loss
at an other stage
 Brutality expressed through
o Prayer being exploited as an instrument of murder

On a muggy night in Mumbai have social underpinnings. Mahesh Dattani’s craft in

depicting disguise, irony, symbolism, selfishness, hypocrisy, escapism, confidence,
humor, gender sensitivity while finely drawing attention to a social topic is appreciable.
Below portion outlines how each of the elements were used by Mahesh Dattani
 Disguise expressed through
o Prakash/Ed though being same person, taking the guise of Prakash at one
stage and taking the guise of Ed at an other stage
 Irony expressed through
o Kamlesh’s character as can be concluded at the end of act 1 and at the end
of act 2
 Symbolism expressed through
o The marks on the guard’s neck as an indication of homosexuality
 Selfishness expressed through
o Kiran reacting in a different way the moment she gets to know about the
homosexuality of Ed/Prakash & Kamlesh. Up until the moment of truth,
Kiran was concerned about her brother Kamlesh and the moment she got
to know about Ed and Prakash are same, the focus shifted from brother to
self.
o Prakash justifying his marriage with Kiran under the pretext of
opportunities with Kamlesh
 Hypocrisy expressed through
o Bunny’s and Ed’s characters
 Escapism expressed through
o Ranjit’s character
o Sharad escaping to prepare nimbupani leaving Kamlesh to answer Kiran
when she inquired about his relationship
 Gender sensitivity expressed through
o Deepali being depicted in a superior position in empathizing with Kiran
when she gets to know about the truth (of Ed and Prakash being same)
 Confidence expressed through
o Sharad’s and Deepali’s characters in being confident of doing the right
thing in ways suitable to them.
 Humor expressed through
o Two homosexuals having an opportunity to marry two different people of
different sex (contextual)
 Section 2: Organizational Linkages

In this section, the organizational linkages are explored by making use of the elements
that were used by play writes in the previous section. The elements under consideration
are poetic elements, disguise, irony, symbolism, parallels, brutality, selfishness,
hypocrisy, escapism, gender sensitivity, confidence, humor. Examples are provided
wherever possible while exploring organizational linkages.

 Disguise: This is one of the most familiar elements in the organizational context.
There are several people who guise as pro-boss in the presence of boss and anti-
boss in the absence of boss. The disguise is not just limited to boss’ presence but
can be extended many a time to other people as well. These are typical
opportunists who try to make best out of the situation, even at the expense of
others. This kind of people doesn’t typically have any stand and act like
chameleons. Example: Carrying discussions and opinions about boss to boss from
friends’ groups.
 Irony: This is another widely prevalent element in the organizational context.
There are a few employees who keep themselves in low profile, either
deliberately or because of lack of social or communication skills. But these people
may have good subject knowledge and given a job, they produce the best possible
results even under unfavorable circumstances. Example: In my experience, I have
noticed several employees who are technically strong but can’t communicate their
point of view strongly in a convincing manner. Without considerable time being
spent as part of a single team, there is every possibility that a supervisor may
undermine the abilities of such team members, while the irony is these are the
people who produce results when the need arises.
 Symbolism: A few people in the organizations typically display certifications that
are symbolic of their capabilities. During recruitment process, the resume
scanners are instructed to look for certifications that are symbolic of the
candidate’s capabilities.
 Parallels: Maintaining consistent performance by anyone is little far from reality
considering the practical situations. However, it’s quite natural that supervisors
tend to draw parallels with situations where an employee’s performance didn’t
meet expectations and take biased decisions that may not be in the interest of the
organization. While the appropriateness of such a decision is subjective, sufficient
care needs to be taken by supervisors so that employers are given a fair chance.
 Brutality: In my experience I have seen supervisors who settle accounts by
underrating an employee’s performance and there by making the employees lose
their growth opportunities. Example: Not communicating the job expectations
clearly but underrating the performance at the end of appraisal cycle thereby
depriving the employee of growth prospects. In my experience, I know a person
who asked his supervisor, “if my performance was so bad, why did wait until the
end of the cycle to communicate the same to me?’ Needless to say, the supervisor
didn’t have an answer as the decision of deliberate and biased.
 Selfishness: Such a nature is typically seen when employees compete for
overseas opportunities. Though they understand that rotation provides overseas
opportunities for other employees too, they try and negotiate with the client so
that they continue to work from onsite without necessarily caring for equal
opportunity for others.
 Hypocrisy: Another widely prevalent element in the context of organization. This
goes in the line of disguise.
 Escapism: This is also widely prevalent element in the context of organization. A
few employees plan leaves consistently during critical times so that they can
escape from action. Such type of people also shies away from taking
responsibility and ownership for the results. While lack of confidence can be one
of the reasons for the same, lethargy is another potential reason. While the former
can be easily identified and such type of people can be mentored, the latter are
dangerous as they lack the will.
 Gender Sensitivity: In my experience, organizations are improving on the gender
sensitivity topic. Examples can be offering “work from home” option for female
 employees, employing same gender when drawing and conveying sensitive
information (better empathy?).
 Confidence: Confidence is an important aspect that organizations look for before
offering employment to an aspirant. This is such an element that organizations
typically don’t want to compromise upon. In my experience, I learnt that
confidence and positive attitude can make up for subject matter related minor
shortcomings. There is not even an iota of doubt in saying that this is one of the
fundamental traits of a person alongside being trustworthy and committed.
 Humor: This is a technique typically used by the top level management to win
their employee confidence during open forums. This is also the technique used by
team members to ease the tension during work related discussions. Used
appropriately, humor can act as glue in binding teams so that the team’s concerted
effort is towards producing the desired result.
 Poetic elements: I equate poetic elements from plays to aphorisms in regional
languages that people use at organizations. Such an aphorism conveys a lot of
things given the situational context.