LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 21:8 August 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

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Bhuvaneshwar Prasad’s Tambe ke Keere (1946):
Avant-garde or the Theatre of the Absurd?

Meenakshi Pawha
Associate Professor


Courtesy: https://www.amazon.in/Tambe-Ke-Keede-Bhuvaneshwar-Asangat-ebook/dp/B08LDVGSBC

Abstract

This paper proposes to discuss eminent Hindi literary historians’ claim Tambe ke Keere as the first absurd play in the world. Bhuvaneshwar Prasad’s work predates Jean Genet (1910-1986). Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994) and Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) had not staged their plays yet. So how could he conceive a play like Tambe ke Keere? Did he encounter Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (1896), the first absurdist drama? What are the Chekhovian motifs in his plays? Or did he come across the Russian absurdists? These are the few questions that the paper proposes to explore.

Keywords: Tambe ke Keere, Avant-garde, Absurdity, The Theatre of the Absurd

Introduction

Let me begin by sharing with you the definition of the avant-garde from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, “Avant-garde ideas, styles, and methods are very original or modern in comparison to the period in which they happen”, and the well-known Absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco defines ‘absurd’ as “that which is devoid of purpose. [ . . . ] Cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless” (as cited in Esslin, 1961, p. 5). Similarly, in the context of music, “absurd” means “out of harmony” (Esslin, 1961, p. 5). David Hesla (1971) expands on this lack of harmony by saying human existence itself is absurd “because being human and existing are mutually contradictory” (p. 8). These explanations of ‘absurd’ are pretty similar as well as applicable to the characteristics of the Theatre of the Absurd, which include Verbal nonsense and devaluation of language, tempo and speedy character reactions, images which are at the same time “broadly comic and deeply tragic, “revealing of ultimate realities of the human condition, and dreamlike forms of thought” (Esslin, 1961, pp. 282-361). Absurdism in theatre was characterized by the lack of motivation in human beings, absence of moral values and a threat to their identity. The viewer is presented with a meaningless, chaotic environment; people speak in an illogical manner which is rather preposterous. Their ideas, mediation, and philosophy changed both the subject matter and the form of their plays.

When Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) wrote Ubu Roi, he was rebelling not only against the conventions of current drama but against all customs, society, and life. His intention, apparently, was to shock and provoke scandal. Ubu confronted the Parisian bourgeois with a grotesque picture of its greed, selfishness and was at the same time the personification of the grossness of human nature. Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) wrote plays that reflected the disconnectedness and inarticulacy of his characters in which people came together and parted because “people had no words or because there were no words” (Brooks, 1966, p. 25).

Bhuvaneshwar Prasad (1910-1957) had a sophisticated understanding of the realities of life from close quarters. He was born in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. His father was Onkar Baksh. Bhuvaneshwar was barely one and a half years old when his mother died. Thus, the responsibility of his upbringing came to his stepmother, Chameli Devi. It is at this juncture that his tragic journey of life started. A life full of deprivation and abject neglect in the family and trammelled by conventions thwarted his growth as an individual, which left some jagged ends in his personality. However, he got much love and affection from his paternal uncle, Mahamaya Prasad, but it was inadequate to heal his wounds. When he was fourteen years old, his uncle died due to the plague. Bhuvaneswar felt neglected in the absence of a secure family environment. Ultimately, he had to leave home. Due to a lack of family control, he became fiercely independent and somewhat wayward. For most of his life, he lived in abject penury and alcoholism. He had his formative schooling in Shahjahanpur, cleared his intermediate from Bareilly and received higher education in Allahabad. He had a keen interest in literature. Although he was a meritorious student, he could not bring himself to delve into his course textbooks. As a student, apart from Hindi, he studied English and Urdu adequately. After reading about his growing up years, one could guess that his sense of absurdity stems from his bitter life experiences.

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

Meenakshi Pawha
Associate Professor
Department of English and Modern European Languages
University of Lucknow, Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
meenakshipawha@gmail.com
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