Familial Degeneration in Vijay Tendulkar’s Gidhade (The Vultures): Prof. AJ Sebastian sdb Vulture is a bird that feeds on corpses and has come to symbolize anyone or anything that benefits from another’s sufferings. Vijay Tendulkar has very aptly entitled his play to portray familial degradation and man’s savage nature when avarice can lead to tearing one another, breaking even blood ties. Gidhade ( The Vultures 1971) has a singular place among Vijay Tendulkar’s (1828-2008) oeuvre of literary output spanning over fifty years. This article attempts to explore how avarice degrades humans to become like vultures in their excessive craving for wealth. Avarice, derived from Latin avarus, is the inordinate for.
Its special malice lies in that it makes the getting and keeping of money, possessions, and the like, a purpose in itself to live for. It does not see that these things are valuable only as instruments for the conduct of a rational and harmonious life, due regard being paid of course to the special social condition in which one is placed. It is called a capital because it has as its object that for the gaining or holding of which many other are committed (“Avarice.” ). Tendulkar has portrayed what he has observed in life and has spoken in plain truth about the consequences of excessive avarice. He has said, “I have not written about hypothetical pain or created an imaginary world of sorrow. I am from a middle class family and I have seen the brutal ways of life by keeping my eyes open. My work has come from within me, as an outcome of my observation of the world in which I live.
If they want to entertain and make merry, fine go ahead, but I can’t do it, I have to speak the truth” (Sumit. The dramatist symbolically refers to the house of Pappa to the hollow of a tree, nestling place of vultures. The events unfold to prove the characters living like vultures prying on each other. The mood is also set with the howling of a fierce wind with the screeching of vultures. The story surrounds a middle class family where two brothers, Pappa and Sakharam, with dint of hard work, establish a prosperous construction company.
In his excessive greed for money, Pappa deceives his brother and takes over the entire property. Pappa divides his wealth between his sons Ramakant and Umakant. The duo in connivance with their sister Manik, plots to squeeze out everything from their father.
Meanwhile, Manik has an affair with the Raja of Hondur, who impregnates her. The brothers attempt to blackmail the Raja, but he dies of heart attack. Desperate, they kick out the fetus growing in Manik’ s womb. Ramakat is unable to have an issue from Rama, after several years of conjugal life, devoid of love. Rama seeks emotional and physical fulfillment from Rajaninath who impregnates her.
Knowing of Rama’s pregnancy, Manik attempts by superstitious spell to gets the foetus aborted. The play is an epitome of psychological trauma the characters undergo in their undue Machiavellian pursuit of wealth. The play open in the garage of Pappa’s household where his illegitimate son Rajaninath, lives a solitary life, writing poetry. He makes his comment like an omniscient observer, interpreting the misery of Rama who is childless after twenty-two years of marriage in the midst of five ravenous vultures. They live a meaningless life “On the road to hell./ For both, their future/ Is lost, unredeemable,/ And there remains to them/ Only- death” (TV 202). He felt pity for his helpless sister-in-law who came to a home which “was not a home, but a hole in a tree/ Where vultures lived/ In the shape of men” (204).
The central motif of the play is poetically presented by the dramatist in the form of a prologue. Rajaninath felt compassion for her pathetic situation: I stood, A living corpse, a watchful stone. Like a worm, I watched and watched her. For twenty-two long years. All her hopes, her expectations Were scorched, uprooted where they grew.
But she only knew One longing. Threw of her chains in her need. The need to swell with fruit. A soft fulfillment.
Each womb-bearing woman’s right by birth. Empty of pain And empty of desires. And, on the swinging branch Of her rotten hopes, Five vultures (205-6).
The secret love relationship blooming between Rama and Rajaninath is given due attention by the dramatist to point out the only element of human sensibility in the play otherwise marred by evil machinations. The scene ends with the screeching of vultures, emphasizing the tone of the play.
Scene II begins with the morning rituals of Rama at the altar basil while the others busy themselves with their mundane preoccupations. Rama, like a typical housewife busies herself serving tea. Pappa talks aloud irritated by his sons who long for his death, “If I die, I’ll become a ghost. I’ll sit on your chest! I won’t let you enjoy a rupee of it. I earned it all” (209).
Pappa regretfully tells Ramakant how his wife died leaving such ungrateful wretches. Pappa knows that after he had shared out his property, he has become a burden to them. He recounts the way he had built up the great contracting business with Sakharam, his brother. However, he ditched his brother and took over the entire business.
Vijay Tendulkar Plays
Now, his sons are after him to take possession of everything, driving the old man keep yelling, “go ruin it, go ahead, both of you! Rub it in the dirt, you pimps, and then repent!
Airs like emperors!” (214). The greedy brothers Ramakant and Umakant discuss their sister Manik’s affair with the Raja of Hondur. Knowing her pregnancy, they plot to blackmail him to get a huge sum of money.
They also plan to stop supplying food and drink to their younger brother Rajaninath, though he never asked a share of the patrimony. Scene III introduces a late night episode where Pappa, Umakant and Ramakant are with all the paraphernalia of drinks around them. Like the absurd dramatists, Tendulkar introduces the proto-crime Pappa committed fifteen years ago swindling the entire business and pushing his brother Sakharam out. The crime is recalled dramatically introducing the corpse like drunken Sakharam lying on the sofa, and the comments made by the characters. RAMAKANT: Bosh! ( Tries shaking the body.) He’s had it!
Look at thisabs’lute corpse! ( Laughs) Uncle Sakharam’s corpse. ( Laughs) To bloody death! Drunk t’death!
( Staggers over Uncle’s body and stands by it.) Long live Uncle! UMAKANT: How’d Uncle get here, Ramya? Pappa cut his-er-throat!
Pushed him out’f business! Turned’m out of house, Fifteen years ago (217-18). The conversation further reveals how Sakharam had planned to take over the business which Pappa found out and swindled in return. Both were equal swindlers and the vulturing continued to be passed on to Pappa’s three children. They are all upset that the uncle has come to stay in the house.
Though they plan to kill him, they desist from such cruelty, being their father’s brother. They begin to suspect some fishy deal between Pappa and the uncle. As the debate goes on between the three, screeching of vultures can be heard to show the evil designs in the household. They intent to take their father for a ride and extort money by flattery. In Scene IV Rama stealthily brings early morning tea to Rajaninath in the garage.
The dramatist portrays their hidden intimacy and relationship in contrast to the five vultures. Their clandestine relationship is the only human element in the play which is one of brutal familial discord and destruction by avarice. Scene V shifts to drinking bout where the household has come to rejoice after having driven out Sakharam, their common enemy.
As they make Pappa drink more liquor, he expresses his joy almost caressing Ramakant: “ It was bloody fun today Sakharam’s gone. Gone for goodRamya my child you worked wondersOne needs cleverness. Bravo!” (225). Pappa was overjoyed having send away his brother empty handed. His children, like vultures, continue to hover around him, expecting their shares of the remaining wealth of the old man.
As they are all drunk, they huddle around Pappa, who in his drunkenness suspects them trying to murder him. He threatens to become a ghost and haunt them day and night. He refuses to give the little money left to them.
They keep harassing him to confess in which bank he has his account. Finally he confesses under duress that he has rupees seven thousand. He begs for his life, but refuses to transfer the account. But they keep forcing him to sign a cheque. He bleeds in the ensuing scuffle and keeps calling Rama to save him, “They’re killing me, they’re killing me!
Bahu!” (231). As the scene fades out to open Scene VI, Rajaninath makes his comment on the development of the story ending Pappa’s life in verse like an omniscient observer. This is the story of the venerable Father-vulture’s hallowed end. The oldest vulture, That stubborn ghost With death in his desires.
Hiding his ugly maw, Trailing a wing, Departed from the hollow of a tree Where he lived Drawing tracks of hopelessness Upon the dust, With the dragging Of his corpselike, Hideous, Dangling limbs (232). Rajaninath further comments on Pappa’s meaningless tears that never dry, unlike human tears. And his vulture-children continue to torment the innocent victim Rama, escalating her sufferings.
Act II brings together the three children further plotting to overthrow each other in the course of their card game. The two brothers plot to blackmail the raja of Hondur for having impregnated Manik. But the sudden death of Raja thwarts their plans. The brothers secure aborting the foetus in her womb by kicking her in the abdomen. The episode climaxes with Manik screaming and crawling down the stairs, one leg in plaster, as Pappa keeps laughing at the turn of events. In Act II, scene IV, Rama informs her husband about her pregnancy. A delighted Ramakant advises to take all precautions to nurse the foetus growing within her.
Ramkant tells her his difficulties in running the business. However, when Rama suggests him to give it up and take a job instead, he fumes and tells her to keep of from the world of men. In scene V the two brothers hatch their plot to divide Manik’s share between them. But their bargaining leads them to a bitter quarrel. Both want take possession of the house. Umakant strikes discord by revealing the secret love relationship between Rama and their bastard brother. “Call the brat your own, go on!
Put him on your head! Lick his piss! Let that smart-arse have fun. You be the bloody father. Not a paisa’s worth of sense. Bringing shame on all of us!” (255).
The revelation disrupts the relationship between the couple, and it eats into the psyche of Ramakant, who indulges in more and more drinks. Meanwhile the story gets a new twist when Pappa visits Rajaninath to cooperate with him to destroy the plans of his other children. PAPPA: I’m telling you. So you’re my true son.
You stayed in this garage, rotting away like a beggarI can’t endure this, Rajani. Nor would you. This must be changedBy us I have made a new willIn this will, I’ve divided the whole estate between you and Manik. So you file a suit. Say the will’s genuine. Say the deed of division of the property was got by threats.
I’m there to back you up. I’ll say it in the court.
Get it all changed! Teach those pimps a lessonDon’t say no You’re my only true son (259-60). But Rajaninath shows his disgust towards his father and tells his to get out of his sight. In the meantime, Rama is heard screaming, since Manik has done some superstitious ritual, casting spell to abort her foetus. She is herd muttering, “I’ve done it I’ve done as I planned I cut the lemon I rubbed the ash. Seven times, on my loins and stomach! It’s going to abort – sister-in-law’s baby’s going to abort – Ramya’s brat’s going to abort – it won’t live.
Captain claw save game file. It won’t live!” (260). Scene VII is a soliloquy of Ramakant in an intoxicated mood cursing his brother determined to take possession of the house.
He curses his wife having his step-brother’s kiddie. Rifle in hand he threatens to shoot. He moans in anguish: “I’m a useless fellow, brother. Absolutely bloody good-for-nothing.
A bloody bitch. Son of a swine! I – I let my wife go go” (263). He is driven mad and runs around singing and dancing and uttering that he would abort his enemy’s bloody son.
As he raves in his fury, the rain continues to rage as if in consonance with his wrecked mental condition. The scene fades out to the screeching of a single vulture as the human vulture in Ramakant has to surrender to his own evil design. The play ends with the final scene with a poetic summing up of the events like an epilogue by Rajaninath: “The tale of the five vultures/ Had this end./ The story of men accursed” (265). He speaks of their lives as utter failures with no hope as they burn in the burning ghat “Where the sinful soul/ Burns off its being” (265). They have no escape from their misery like the growing howling wind. The Vultures may be compared to Ben Johson’s Volpone which presents a satire on greed in society, built on Machiavellian principle. It is a disease which is the root of all evils.
Jonson has given names of animals and birds to his characters like in Animal Fables, to portray certain universal moral truth. Volpone in his greed pretends to be dying to attract birds of prey such as Voltore = vulture, Corbaccio = old crow, Corvino = young raven; Mosca = fly. The play is meant to entertain and instruct on the evil of greed and avarice. Volpone lives for riches as an end in itself: Dear saint, Riches, the dumb god that giv’st all men tongues; That canst do nought and yet mak’st men do all things; The price of souls; even hell, with thee to boot, Is made worth heaven. Thou art virtue, fame Honour, and all things else. Who can get thee, He shall be noble, valiant, honest, wise- ( Volpone I:21-7). Tendulkar has recourse to Realism in the play as he delves into observing facts of life, attempting to describe human behaviour and surroundings as they are.
He has also very deftly employed the language of spoken speech in the dialogues on stage, in the footsteps of the masters of realism like Henrik Ibsen. Tendulkar has successfully exposed a menace plaguing contemporary middle class society, bringing about familial degeneration. ———– Works Cited: “Avarice.” Sumit Saxena, “A Conversation with sir Vijay Tendulkar,” Passion for Cinema, 20 December, 2006.
Tendulkar, Vijay. The Vultures.
Collected Plays. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003, 199-265. Abbreviated: TV.
Vijay Tendulkar Born Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar ( 1928-01-06)6 January 1928, Died 19 May 2008 (2008-05-19) (aged 80), Nationality Awards: 1984: 1998 1977: Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in. He is best known for his plays (1967), (1972), and (1972).
Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provides clear light on harsh realities. He has provided guidance to students studying 'play writing' in US universities. For over five decades Tendulkar had been a highly influential dramatist and theatre personality in. Vijay Tendulkar in late 2007 on a visit to Princeton, New Jersey, USA Tendulkar died in on 19 May 2008, battling the effects of the rare autoimmune disease of. Tendulkar's son Raja and wife Nirmala had died in 2001; his daughter died the next year (2002) of a heart attack following a long battle with breast cancer. Comment on Godhra communal carnage Following the post-Godhra communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002, Tendulkar reacted by saying that 'If I had a pistol, I would shoot Gujarat Chief Minister '.
This reaction of Tendulkar had evoked mixed reactions, local Modi supporters burning his effigies while others lauding his remark. Later, when he was asked if it was not strange that he, who was known as a strong voice against death penalty, had a death wish for Modi, Tendulkar had said that 'it was spontaneous anger, which I never see as a solution for anything.
Anger doesn't solve problems.' Political views Literature is reflection of society. It portrays the curves of social changes.
Society and politics are strongly highlighted in Tendulkar’s plays. Tendulkar had Leftist views. In particular, he was against Hindu social groups, especially against Brahmins; most of his dramas show Brahmins in a bad light.
Legacy In his writing career spanning more than five decades, Tendulkar has written 27 full-length plays and 25 one-act plays. Several of his plays have proven to be Marathi theatre classics. His plays have been translated and performed in many Indian languages. By providing insight into major social events and political upheavals during his adult life, Tendulkar became one of the strongest radical political voices in in recent times. While contemporary writers were cautiously exploring the limits of social realism, he jumped into the cauldron of political radicalism and courageously exposed political hegemony of the powerful and the hypocrisies in the Indian social mindset.
His powerful expression of human angst has resulted in his simultaneously receiving wide public acclaim and high censure from the orthodox and the political bigwigs. Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals. Thus, the rise of in Maharashtra in the 1970s was reflected in Tendulkar's Ghāshirām Kotwāl. The true story of a journalist who purchased of a woman from the rural sex industry to reveal police and political involvement in this trade, only to abandon the woman once he had no further need for her, is detailed in Tendulkar's Kamalā. The real-life story of an actress whose acting career got ruined after her same-sex affair became public knowledge inspired Tendulkar to write Mitrāchi Goshta.
Tendulkar has translated nine novels, two biographies, and five plays by other authors into Marathi. Besides the foregoing, Tendulkar's oeuvre includes a biography; two novels; five anthologies of short stories; 16 plays for children, including Bāle Miltāt (1960) and Pātlāchyā Poriche Lagin (1965); and five volumes of literary essays and social criticism, including Ratrani (1971), Kowali Unhe (1971), and Phuge Sobānche (1974). All in all, Tendulkar's writings have contributed to a significant transformation of the modern literary landscape in Marathi and other Indian languages.
In 2005, a documentary titled Tendulkar Āni Himsā: Kāl Āni Āj ('Tendulkar and Violence: Then and Now') with English subtitles (produced by California Arts Association - CalAA - directed by Atul Pethe) was released. In 2007, a short film about Tendulkar, Ankahin, (director Santosh Ayachit) was released. Awards Tendulkar won Maharashtra State government awards in 1969 and 1972; and Mahārāshtra Gaurav Puraskār in 1999. He was honoured with the in 1970, and again in 1998 with the Academy's highest award for 'lifetime contribution', the ('Ratna Sadasya'). In 1984, he received the award from the Government of India for his literary accomplishments. In 1977, Tendulkar won the for his screenplay of 's movie, (1976).
He has written screenplays for many significant art movies, such as, and. A comprehensive list of awards is given below:. 1970. 1970 Award. 1977:. 1981:.
1981:. 1983:. 1984.
1993. 1998. 1999. 2001 Katha Chudamani Award. 2006 SALAM Award Bibliography Novels. Kādambari: Ek (Novel: One) (1996).
Kādambari: Don (Novel: Two) (2005) Short story anthologies. Dwandwa (Duel) (1961). Phulāpākhare (Butterflies) (1970) Plays. Gruhastha (Householder) (1947). Shrimant (The Rich) (1956).
Mānoos Nāwāche Bet (An Island Named 'Man') (1958). Thief!. Bāle Miltāt (1960). Gidhāde (The Vultures) (1961). Pātlāchyā Poriche Lagin (Marriage of a Village Mayor's Daughter) (1965). (Hindi: Khāmosh! Adālat Jāri Hai ) (Silence!
Retrieved 17 December 2013. 20 February 2012 at the., Dec. Retrieved 23 July 2018., 2 February 2003., 3 October 2004. on., New York Times., Vijay Tendulkar Festival, New York City, October 2004. The Times of India.
24 September 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2008. The Telegraph.
Retrieved 24 May 2008. ResearchGate, Retrieved: January 2013. ^ 1 December 2008 at the.
23 November 2007 at the. Archived from (PDF) on 15 November 2014. 1984: 16: Shri Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar. (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
Further reading. Vijay Tendulkar. New Delhi, Katha, 2001. Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal: a Reader's Companion. So wrong it right. Sarat Babu, Asia Book Club, 2003. Vijay Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal: Critical Perspectives, Vinod Bala Sharma and M.
2005, Prestige Books, New Delhi. Vijay Tendulkar's Plays: An Anthology of Recent Criticism. V M Madge, 2007, Pencraft International. External links. on. (1962). D.