LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 11 : 8 August 2011
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.

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Vijay Tendulkar’s Play Kamla is a Symbol of Slavery

Pramila Pandey, M.A. (Eng. Lit.), Ph.D.

Based on Real News

Kamla by Vijay Tendulkar is a naturalistic play. It focuses on the changed role of women in society. It was inspired by a real life incident - the Indian Express exposure by Ashwin Sarin, who actually bought a girl from a rural flesh market and presented her at a press conference. But using this incident as a launching pad, Tendulkar raises certain cardinal questions regarding the value system of a modern success-oriented generation who are ready to sacrifice human value in the name of humanity itself. The playwright exposes the innate self-deception of this standpoint. It is the story of an unfortunate woman sold away in the flesh market and a so-called happy housewife married to a daring journalist, both having a revelation of finding themselves on the common platform of sexual slavery in this male-dominated world.

Investigating Flesh Trade for Gaining Popularity

Ashwin Sarin, a journalist, investigated into flesh trade in Madhya Pradesh and purchased a woman 'Kamla' for Rs. 2,300 to establish the trafficking of women, in Shivpuri village. The journalist then wrote a series of articles exposing the prostitution trade and involvement of political bigwigs and police in it on 17th, 20th & 30th April 1981 and 2nd May 1981. Mr. Vijay Tendulkar scripted a play by name 'Kamla' based totally on the Indian Express exposure and staged the play for 150 times in 32 cities and in seven languages. Journalist Ashwin Sarin and Indian Express newspaper complained that Vijay Tendulkar infringed their copyright. The Bombay High Court held that there could not be any copyright in an event that has actually taken place.

Not Just Characters in a Play

The play expresses Tendulkar's grasp of the harsh realities in our social fabric. In the words of Tenduklar, "Kamla for me is not just a character, she is a living person, and she just doesn't remain on my papers".

The play exposes a flesh trade scoop and its aftermath. It deals with the issue of buying and selling of tribal women. The theme of Kamla, a two-act play, is flesh trade, and how well-known young journalists like Jaisingh Jadhav seek to capitalize on it in order to further succeed in their careers without caring, in the least, for the victims of this immoral trade in a democratic society like India. The play offers Tendulkar enough scope to scoff at the kind of trendy journalism practiced by Jadhav, and also to strike a contrast between vernacular and English journalism.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Pramila Pandey, Ph.D.
Amarkantak Road
Chetna Nagar
Near Petrol Pump
At Post- Anuppur 484224
District- Anuppur
Madhya Pradesh
India
drpramilapandey@yahoo.com
pramila.apr@gmail.com
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