| Andha Yug | |
|---|---|
 A 2010 production of the play atThe Doon School, Dehradun | |
| Written by | Dharamvir Bharati |
| Characters | Kauravas Pandavas Krishna Ashwatthama |
| Date premiered | 1962, written 1954[1] |
| Place premiered | Mumbai by Theatre Unit, theatre group |
| Original language | Hindi |
| Subject | anti-war |
| Genre | historical play |
| Setting | Last day of theMahabharat war |
Andha Yug (Hindi: अंधा युग,The Age of Blindness orThe Blind Age) is a1953verse play written inHindi, by renowned novelist, poet, and playwrightDharamvir Bharati (1926–1997). Set in the last day of the GreatMahabharat war, the five-acttragedy was written in the years following the 1947partition of India atrocities, asallegory to its destruction of human lives and ethical values. It is a metaphoric meditation on the politics of violence and aggressive selfhood and that war dehumanized individuals and society. Thus both the victor and the vanquished lose eventually.[2]
Theanti-war play first created sensation as a radio play atAllahabadAll India Radio.[3] This led to its production by Mumbai-based theatre director,Satyadev Dubey (1962), and subsequent famous production by theatre doyenEbrahim Alkazi against the backdrop of historical monuments in Delhi (likeFeroz Shah Kotla andPurana Qila). It became "a national theatrical event"; his 1963 production was seen by then Prime Minister,Jawaharlal Nehru.[4] It was subsequently staged by numerous directors and in many Indian languages.[3]
As part of the "theatre of the roots" movement which started inIndian theatre in the 1950s, which tried to look into Indian epics and myths for form, inspiration and content,[5]Andha Yug is today recognised as the "play that heralded a new era in Indian theatre" and standard repertoire ofHindi theatre.[6] Dharamvir Bharati wrote only this one play during his career[2] and was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Award in Playwriting (Hindi) in 1988, given bySangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama.[7]
"When will this bloodbath end?
Oh what a war which no one wins
and loses both foe and friend.."
Andha Yug is based on the ancientSanskrit epic,Mahabharata written byVed Vyasa. The play begins on the eighteenth and last day of the Great Mahabharata War, which devastated the kingdom ofKauravas, the feuding cousins ofPandavas, their capital the once-magnificentHastinapur lay burning, in ruins, the battlefield ofKurukshetra was strewn with corpses, and skies filled with vultures and death laments. Fatalities were on both sides as cousins killed each other. The survivors were left grieving and enraged as they continued to blame each other for the destruction. No one was willing to view it as a consequence of their own moral choices.
Ashwatthama, son of guruDronacharya, in one last-ditch act of revenge against the Pandavas, releases the ultimate weapon of destruction — theBrahmastra, which promises to annihilate the world. No one comes forward to condemn it: Ethics and humanity have been the first casualties of the war.
Krishna who mediated between the cousins before war, remains the moral centre of the play. Even in his failure he presents options that are ethical and just and reminds us that a higher or sacred way is always accessible to human beings even in the worst of times. The play ends with the death of Krishna.[2][9]
Bharati constructed the play using western drama tradition and early Indian drama, found in Sanskrit drama.[2]
Andha Yug highlights the perils of self-enchantment in an anti-war allegory. It explores human capacity for moral action, reconciliation, and goodness in times of atrocity and reveals what happens when individuals succumb to the cruelty and cynicism of a blind, dispirited age.
When a ruler, epitomized by a blindDhritarashtra (physically and also by his ambition for his sonDuryodhana), in an equally blind society fail its own side and that of their loved ones. It elaborates on the consequences, when a society fails to stop a cycle of revenge and instead choose a redemptive path, which is always available even in worst of scenarios. This is shown by Krishna's presence amid the mindlessness of fellow human beings. It was only when they collectively reject the voice of wisdom that denigration of war step upon them, leading to wide-scale bloodshed.
The story hints at the perils that await a society that turns away from its wisdom culture and instead succumb to the logic of the moment that can be easily swayed by emotions. Bharati uses the war of Mahabharat to make an anti-war statement and raises questions regarding moral uprightness in the wake of Partition-related atrocities, loss of faith and national identity.[2][3]
Some directors have used it to bring out contemporary issues like the role of diplomacy of the world.[10]
I suddenly understood
as if in a flash of revelation
that when a man
surrenders his selfhood
and challenges history
he can change the course
of the stars.
The lines of fate
are not carved in stone.
They can be drawn and redrawn
at every moment of time
by the will of man.
Dharamvir Bharati (1926–1997), was a renowned Hindi novelist, poet, and playwright. His novels,Gunahon Ka Devta (The God of Sins, 1949) andSuraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (The Seventh Horse of the Sun, 1952), are classics ofHindi literature. The latter was adapted intoa film byShyam Benegal in 1992.
Originally written as aradio play, the play was first broadcast by theAll India Radio (public radio) and immediately drew attention.[3]
Playwright and theatre directorSatyadev Dubey heard of the play and met Bharati when the latter had dropped in to see Dubey's Hindi adaptation ofAlbert Camus'sCross Purposes, asSapne. Recognizing its potential, Dubey walked around with the script for nearly 10 years trying to get it done.[11] Dubey had been running 'Theatre Unit' (a theatre group started byEbrahim Alkazi who moved to Delhi in 1962 as director ofNational School of Drama, Delhi), After staging it himself in 1962, Dubey sent the script to Alkazi. Though many found the play lacking action, Alkazi believed, "action is not rushing around. It’s inward growth."[12]
Alkazi's production made history in modernIndian theatre, when he staged firstAndha Yug in 1963, first amidst the backdrop of the ruins ofFeroz Shah Kotla, Delhi and thenPurana Quila's tiered steps in the 70s.[13] It brought in a new paradigm in Indian theatres.[6][14] The music for this production was given by noted composerVanraj Bhatia.[15]
In the coming years, the play attracted many directors and was staged across the country,[2] includingMohan Maharishi,Ram Gopal Bajaj, andBhanu Bharti.M.K. Raina staged the play in Berlin and the Festival of India in the USSR in 1987,Ratan Thiyam staged it in an open-air performance in Tonga, Japan, on 5 August 1994, a day before the 49th anniversary ofatomic bombing of Hiroshima.[16] Other noted productions have been by directorsArvind Gaur,Girish Tiwari (Girda), and Bijon Mondal (2010), who gave it a contemporary twist, accompanied by fusion band.[17] A notable production in 2010 at Feroze Shah Kotla ruins included a cast of Ashish Vidyarthi (Ashwatthama), Uttara Baokar (Gandhari), Mohan Maharishi (Dhritrashtra), Vasant Josalkar (Vidur), Ravi Jhankal (Vriddha Yachak), Om Puri (Krishna), Govind Namdev (Vyas).[18]
