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theeditorreads 's review for:
Tara: A Stage Play
by Mahesh Dattani
Synopsis:
Dan decides to write the story of his life. It is his life as much as his twin sister's. Tara, who is now dead. He once was Chandan, a conjoined twin to Tara. To write her story, rather lessen his guilt, he starts reminiscing about their past, from when they were fourteen.
Review:
Chandan and Tara were Siamese twins, conjoined from the chest down, who were operated upon when they were three months old by Dr Umakant Thakkar. Dan imagines himself interviewing Dr Thakkar about themselves, the Patel twins, whom he thinks of as a 'freak among freaks' since their case is very, very rare.
After their surgery, where they both lost a limb each, the two-act play follows what all they faced in their lives, the discrimination, the sidelong glances, the awful words they had to hear, and the way Tara took it all in her stride with a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of humour.
[a:Mahesh Dattani|318337|Mahesh Dattani|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] credits this play's commercial success to Alyque Padamsee and Lillette Dubey. If you are familiar with the Indian theatre scene, you cannot not have heard this trio's names. Starting from the Preface, Dattani's writing has a sense of the real world, a world I know and inhabit. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he is ahead of his times, introducing and writing about things and presenting them in a country where it was unheard of or hushed up in embarrassing silences.
A Note on the text prepares us for what we're about to read or rather visualize. Erin Mee, a theatre director, points out:
I wonder how nice it would have been to include a trip to see the play that we study as a part of our syllabus. One instance I can think of is the overlapping scenes (if I am interpreting it correctly) where two simultaneous actions are being carried out. It is as surreal as it is magical, and something I haven't observed in any other play before.
Tara is such a dynamic play, where more than reality what we get to see is the play of memory and flashback, with so many themes brought together succinctly. From the stereotypical gender roles to family conflict, from dealing with disability and its consequences to the sick hilarity the neighbour's children find in the Patel family. Theirs is a marriage of cultures, Gujarati weds Kannada. And as they settle down in Bombay, their neighbour's language, the funny accents or the misspoken and mispronounced words, there is such a flavour of Indianness in all of it. And when the prejudicial jokes are cracked, it gives us food for thought. Then there is a dark secret that the parents are harbouring, something to do with Chandan and Tara's present condition.
I particularly like how Dattani incorporated movies and music into the play. Especially the music which blended in beautifully with the narrative.
It is a poignant play about what life could have been. There is an element of suspense too, surrounding the Patel couple. And the revelation, after going through the entire play, left me with a thousand different feelings.
I look forward to reading all of his works now. Even if I don't know how and when I will get to see them on stage.
P.S. Listening to Brahms Concerto will enhance the reading experience, especially if you are unable to watch it.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
Dan decides to write the story of his life. It is his life as much as his twin sister's. Tara, who is now dead. He once was Chandan, a conjoined twin to Tara. To write her story, rather lessen his guilt, he starts reminiscing about their past, from when they were fourteen.
Review:
Chandan and Tara were Siamese twins, conjoined from the chest down, who were operated upon when they were three months old by Dr Umakant Thakkar. Dan imagines himself interviewing Dr Thakkar about themselves, the Patel twins, whom he thinks of as a 'freak among freaks' since their case is very, very rare.
After their surgery, where they both lost a limb each, the two-act play follows what all they faced in their lives, the discrimination, the sidelong glances, the awful words they had to hear, and the way Tara took it all in her stride with a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of humour.
[a:Mahesh Dattani|318337|Mahesh Dattani|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] credits this play's commercial success to Alyque Padamsee and Lillette Dubey. If you are familiar with the Indian theatre scene, you cannot not have heard this trio's names. Starting from the Preface, Dattani's writing has a sense of the real world, a world I know and inhabit. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he is ahead of his times, introducing and writing about things and presenting them in a country where it was unheard of or hushed up in embarrassing silences.
I am hugely excited and curious to know what the future holds for me and my art in the new millennium in a country that has myriad challenges to face politically, socially, artistically and culturally. Where does one begin? By ending this preface and carrying on with the business of holding a mirror up to society.
A Note on the text prepares us for what we're about to read or rather visualize. Erin Mee, a theatre director, points out:
... Dattani writes plays to be seen and heard, not literature to be read.
I wonder how nice it would have been to include a trip to see the play that we study as a part of our syllabus. One instance I can think of is the overlapping scenes (if I am interpreting it correctly) where two simultaneous actions are being carried out. It is as surreal as it is magical, and something I haven't observed in any other play before.
Tara is such a dynamic play, where more than reality what we get to see is the play of memory and flashback, with so many themes brought together succinctly. From the stereotypical gender roles to family conflict, from dealing with disability and its consequences to the sick hilarity the neighbour's children find in the Patel family. Theirs is a marriage of cultures, Gujarati weds Kannada. And as they settle down in Bombay, their neighbour's language, the funny accents or the misspoken and mispronounced words, there is such a flavour of Indianness in all of it. And when the prejudicial jokes are cracked, it gives us food for thought. Then there is a dark secret that the parents are harbouring, something to do with Chandan and Tara's present condition.
I particularly like how Dattani incorporated movies and music into the play. Especially the music which blended in beautifully with the narrative.
... Brahms. It has his quality of high tragedy and romance—of youth bursting forth in the world with all its claims. A spring-like freshness . . .
It is a poignant play about what life could have been. There is an element of suspense too, surrounding the Patel couple. And the revelation, after going through the entire play, left me with a thousand different feelings.
Those who survive are those who do not defy the gravity of others. And those who desire even a moment of freedom, find themselves hurled into space, doomed to crash with some unknown force.
I look forward to reading all of his works now. Even if I don't know how and when I will get to see them on stage.
P.S. Listening to Brahms Concerto will enhance the reading experience, especially if you are unable to watch it.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings