JAGADAMBA Play Review

What happens when the woman behind the most revered man of the nation starts talking? What does the wife of the Father of the nation have to say? Is she in awe of her Mahatma husband? Is she struggling in his shadow or is she "Jagdamba" - the mother supreme? This soliloquy attempts to bring forth the saga of Kasturba (Kastur), the Gujarati-speaking, rustic housewife of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - who learnt to handle the aura of the Mahatma.



The mono act begins with Kastur traveling back in time - when her newly-wed husband would rush home amidst much heckling from his friends - not to his new bride - as she reveals but to attend to his ailing father. However, she does allude to some delectable intimate moments of Gandhi's early life as to how he would be scared of the dark and would urge Kastur to accompany him when his father summoned him in the night!

But it's not long before Mohandas establishes himself in South Africa and forms rules about personally cleaning toilets and expects his wife to do so- much to her agony. Kastur who is brought up traditionally to believe that this menial job had to be performed by the lower caste -struggles to overcome her taboos with heavy reprimand from her barrister husband. She confesses her human foibles like her elation over the golden ornaments gifted to her at their farewell from South Africa and her subsequent frustration when Gandhi takes away and donates all those ornaments to a noble case. She then consoles herself saying, if he likes me without the ornaments - so be it!

Her apparent delight in returning to Sabarmati and then reveling in small privileges like a cup of coffee, granted to her by her husband at the ashram, are some of the pleasurable moments of her life. Hereon, she treads the thorny path chosen by her partner, and which entails spinning khadi and wearing heavy and coarse, handspun sarees, which are difficult to wash and wear. She discloses that since the khadi cloth they wove was so narrow in width, women had to sew two of them to obtain the saree width. Gandhi overcame the problem by merely donning the narrow dhoti like a loincloth!

The story of their journey together grows familiar. Kasturba marches alongside her husband, matching him step by step, teaching the tribals in Champaran and often follows him into jails. The second half of the play deals with Kasturba's struggle as a mother to her errant son Hiralal who takes to alcoholism and converts himself to Islam - how she comes to terms with her circumstances without blaming either her husband or her son - is a lesson in home management.

Despite her difficult journey with her husband, Kasturba evolves into Gandhi's able partner. She takes immense pride in his popularity and enjoys the reflected glory as his wife and dons the mantle of Jagadamba- "mother of the world" with a becoming grace and responsibility.

Written effectively by Ramdas Bhatkal in Marathi, directed by Sanjay Maggirwar and translated and performed with equal impact by Yashodhara Deshpande Maitra - the soliloquy engages the viewer all through. With minimal props like the 'charkha' and a chair and a photo backdrop of the Agha Khan Palace in Pune where Kasturba breathed her last in captivity with her husband - the director trains the focus strictly on the narrative.

Yashodhara Deshpande Maitra makes an effortless stage debut with her spontaneous performance, which was essayed by Rohini Hattangadi in the Marathi original. The writer takes a page from Indian history, which can enlighten as well as delight.

*Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. She has been an entertainment journalist for over fifteen years.