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By:

Shoma A. Chatterji

21 August 2024 at 10:49:40 am

The Pallbearer’s Tragedy

Three decades after its premiere, Rangakarmee’s Mayyat remains a searing theatrical indictment of caste. Rangakarmee is perhaps the only theatre group that has been producing and performing plays in Hindi in Kolkata for 50 years this year. Founded and headed by the late Usha Ganguly, it is still as active and dynamic in presenting Hindi plays mainly new and sometimes recreating for the new audience, old plays that are timeless in their content and their appeal. The amazing feature of Mayyat...

The Pallbearer’s Tragedy

Three decades after its premiere, Rangakarmee’s Mayyat remains a searing theatrical indictment of caste. Rangakarmee is perhaps the only theatre group that has been producing and performing plays in Hindi in Kolkata for 50 years this year. Founded and headed by the late Usha Ganguly, it is still as active and dynamic in presenting Hindi plays mainly new and sometimes recreating for the new audience, old plays that are timeless in their content and their appeal. The amazing feature of Mayyat is that it was first performed by Usha Ganguly and her troupe way back in 1997 and has already performed around 500 shows spanning 30 years and signifies the cross-generational reach and popularity of the play. We saw a group of absolutely new actors dedicated to Rangakarmee. Their performance defined the strict discipline, the constant workouts and rehearsals to keep mobile and flexible because the very big cast needed to be perfect in body, mind and spirit during each 45-minute performance. What does the word Maiyyat mean? It is said to have its roots in Arabic and literally, it translates as ‘dead body’ or ‘corpse.’ The play is rooted in the deep internalization among the low castes of their exploitation and torture by the Brahmins of their village. The Brahmins are proud in their gait, their body language and even in their pure form of dress with the holy thread of Brahminism proudly on display. The custom of the proud, arrogant and rude Brahmins is to choose at least one among the four untouchables to become the pall-bearer when someone of the upper-caste dies. Instead of feeling sad or insulted, the chosen untouchable feels blessed and proud for being allowed by this strange custom of becoming a fake “Brahmin” if even for one day. Lakku is one such untouchable who lives somewhere near Aurangabad and leads a miserable life of poverty with the burden of a mentally deranged, motherless son he takes care of. The pall is decorated heavily with flowers and instead of looking like a bourse, it is decorated with lots of flowers like a palanquin. Someone obviously among the Brahmins is dead and the other Brahmins draw lots to find out which untouchable will be chosen to offer his shoulder to the bourse. `When Lakku’s name comes up in the shuffling of the paper chips, he is thrilled that at least for one day, he will enjoy the ‘blessing’ of becoming a “Brahmin.” But forced to run through the village on an empty stomach and with a weak body, Lakku collapses and dies before the bourse can reach the crematorium. Now, the question is – who will carry his body and carry it to the cremation ground? The entire performance, with 23 theatre actors, originally scripted, designed and directed by Usha Ganguly, is now performed by a new young cast under the guidance, training and supervision of Amal Saha, Deepesh Rajak, and Anirudh Sarkar. It has been conceived and designed like a musical opera with every Brahmin member of the cast, including the young women, dressed traditionally in pristine white with lots of marigold garlands and a sandalwood tikka adorning their foreheads. Though there are dialogues in the performance, these are either among the leading and decisive members among the Brahmins or scoldings and threats from the Brahmins to the four members from the untouchable tribe, each one representing a different low caste. These four men, alongwith Lakku and his mentally retarded son, keep waiting eagerly in one corner of the proscenium for the results of the lots to be drawn. They hug each other for joy when their names are announced and Lakku specially is thrilled with the responsibility of being pallbearer and becoming a Brahmin for just one night. Whose corpse is being carried in the bourse is not important. What is important is who are the pall bearers? At least, the Brahmins are not. What one carries home after watching a performance-play like Mayyat is the marvellous synchronization of the entire female cast wandering right around the proscenium space singing songs in complete harmony with not a note of error and the Brahmin men discussing, arguing and quarrelling over not how the corpse will be cremated but which low-caste man will become the pallbearer for one night. The bottom-line is caste is a continuous, historical evil. But should it remain so? (The writer is a noted film scholar. Views personal.)

The Family Politicians

Updated: Nov 12, 2024

Nimbalkar

In the affluent western belt of Maharashtra, the erstwhile princely state town of Phaltan has seen the Nimbalkar family being split vertically. Erstwhile nobility, the two parts of the family has been engaged in a feud over establishing and retaining political supremacy in the area.


The most prominent among them is Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, a former minister who is also the former chairman of the legislative council. A post graduate in science and law, he was known to be a fine cricketer during his college days. Ramraje taught law at the ILS college in Pune but later moved to his hometown to head the Phaltan Education Society where he continued teaching law along with leading the educational institutes.


On one hand is Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar whose son Ranjeetsinh is a former BJP MP from Madha. On the other side are Ramraje and brother Sanjeevraje who heads Govind, the dairy and milk products business.


Ramraje joined politics in 1991 and became chairman of the municipal council. He then contested the assembly election and became an independent MLA in 1995. He supported the Manohar Joshi led Shiv Sena BJP government on the condition of bringing water to drought-prone areas in his district. With his efforts, he played a key role in the Krishna Valley Development Corporation which he led as the vice chairman. He later was appointed as the vice chairman of the state planning commission.


His grandfather Malojiraje Naik-Nimbalkar was the family’s first member in active politics. He was the minister in Morarji Desai’s cabinet and had the portfolios of PWD and irrigation with him. Records show that the construction work of the present day Mantralaya building was executed during Malojiraje’s tenure as the PWD minister in Maharashtra .


The family is connected to politicians by marriage as well. Ramraje’s daughter is married to Rahul Narwekar, Speaker in the Maharashtra Assembly in the outgoing legislature. He began his career as a Shiv Sena corporator from Mumbai but moved to the NCP and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Maval. He then shifted to the BJP and entered the Legislative Assembly and was appointed the speaker in 2023.


Ramraje and Sanjeevraje went with Ajit Pawar when the NCP split last year. Last month, Sanjeevraje, chairman of the NCP in Satara district, returned to Sharad Pawar while his brother has remained with Ajit but has refused to actively campaign for his party.

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