Empowerment Through Struggles and Strifes – An Analytical Study of Mitra’s Putul Khela
SAYANTIKA GHOSH
Ph.D. Research Scholar, Rabindra Bharati University
Introduction –
Tripti Mitra, popular Indian actress, who have gained esteemed position for the actresses in theatre including herself. She was the first Bengali actress to receive the opportunity of delegation in The World Theatre Conference In Bombay. She has raised the platform for the women in theatre being the educated actresses during the time when social taboos forced women abjure from participating in Theatre.
Theatre is an art form which is the combination of voice modulation, gesture, words, expression, movements to explain and express the meaning of the enacted story. This form is an vehicle through which the message for the society could be highlighted by flourishing their responsiveness and by graving their perception from someone’s else viewpoint. Voice Modulation, Postures, Movements of body parts plays an pivotal role in theatre. The vocal tune of Tripti Mitra swears that she has control on the ‘Low Octave’, ‘Mid Octave’, and ‘High Octave’. She gave fair competition to the male actors in changing voice scale. Her performance in acting gave a new perception and switched from the heritage of acting in Bengali Theatre and encouraged other women to participate and explore their acting skills in theatre. She has put forth her hands for the other women from her family. She broke the stigma of the thought that women from the ‘Patita Palli’ participate in theatre to the women with high aesthetic appearance, good education and from good families do participate and with efforts have started winning the heart’s of the society.
In the play ‘Putul Khela’, Tripti Mitra with her performance have raised the question of empowerment in the minds of the women. It was first enacted on 12th January, 1998. Sombhu Mitra gave his own bengali touch to this play. Sombhu Mitra’s ‘Putul Khela’ is somewhat different from Ibsen’s ‘Doll’s House’. Mitra’s ‘Putul Khela’ , which in depth means “Puppet Play” or “Play with Doll”, according to him human beings are confined into unscrupulous and deteriorated society natural gestures like puppet or dolls. He also through his play highlighted on the ignorance or the institution of marriage, that is shown like marionette with full of recline and craftiness, being rolled on since ages where both the male and female partners are performing their respective characters.
The story of the play “Putul Khela” includes different characters like – Bulu, Tapan, Dr. Ray, Krishna, Kestopada are the main characters of the play.
Bulu- The lead character.
Tapan – Bulu’s Husband.
Dr.Ray – Their family physician and Tapan’s friend.
Krishna – Bulu’s friend.
Kestopada – Tapan’s office Employee.
The play starts with the view of a room, decorated with many décor items, which reflects the good choice of both husband ans wife. This shows their beautiful vision of their thought and perspective.
Highlighting on the women dramatis personae, Bulu the role played by Tripti Mitra , her character reflects a fun loving nature , not too serious about anything in life, careless too. Her soul is defined like a child who dances within herself. But if concentrated very deeply within her, there is pain , uncertainty, a fear of skepticism , a nature of consciousness. The role of middle class family women were magnified where we notice Bulu brought many stuffs from the market at very low price, which were useful or will be for utilization in the coming days. She borrows money from Tapan, her husband but he never fails to criticize her by calling her ‘Uranchandi’. By this we can assume that he believes his partner to be a child or compare her nature with a child whom he feels who can’t be patience or quite in nature or behaves maturely. This reflects the position of women how they were treated by the society. During the time period the term “Empowerment” or “Independent” were unknown to the women of the time period but somehow they managed to keep everyone pleased by performing every instruction thrown to them by society.
If seen minutely with keen interest we will get to see Tapan and Bulu shares a very healthy relationship from the outer coat but if we go through deeply we can find that Tapan has the basic characteristic of male dominating nature, he wanted Bulu to listen to every word dictated by him. He expected his wife to be totally dependent on him, also controlled the identity, self- independency of his wife. He never permitted her to express her opinion or thought instead discouraged and demotivated her.
He named his wife ‘Bulbuli’. The name Bulbuli is the name of a bird, whom we pet in our house, keep in cage, we make them chirp, dance as we want. This is how he compares his wife as a bird, who is caged in the house and wishes her to control as the human being controls the pet. This shows the relation the partners should share among themselves is lacking between them and instead of love we find the nature of predominance or the dictatorship of a husband towards his wife where he couln’t accept the independent nature of his wife.
As it is an women centric play where we see on one side she couldn’t control kestopada, the office employee of her husband who threatens her of informing Tapan about the money she has borrowed with high interest rate for Tapan’s treatment without his concern and on the other hand we find Tapan who is extremely dominating by nature always tries to control every word spoken by his wife. Women and sacrifices are somewhat interconnected. It is known to all the sacrifices made by the Goddess Sita, who by declining all convenience, glamour and her castle just to stay in expulsion along with her husband. In the time period of deportation Sita was captured by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka and prisoned her in his periphery for month in Lanka. When she wasset free from Lanka she had to prove her saintliness to her husband Lord Rama by giving fire crucible.
Sita is always known as or identified as the brave woman of remarkable artistry. She is known as the women of virtue and of immeasurable patience who has all the values that our society believed a woman should have. Similarly Bulu to save her husband borrows money cunningly with high interest rate . She took the risk for her husband without thinking twice anything about the consequences what would happen if her husband comes to know about the incident. She died every second within by thinking if her husband gets informed about the money then all her happiness will be ruined, it would shake her married life. She feared off loosing her husband as she had no one of her own except her husband and chidren after her father’s death, as it was believed a women is identified. But later when Tapan acquire the knowledge about the issue he then bursts out at his wife without letting her express her opinion or say. After knowing all the truth Tapan regerets for not believing his wife but Bulu now raises her voice by saying she wants to conclude everything as being an human being she acquires all right to live her life. Here dual side of a woman is portrayed. On one side a wife who believed that whatever the circumstances be’s her husband would trust her, would love her and would never leave her alone in any situation. The other side reflects the strength, the anger of a woman who after sacrificing mostly half the years of her life decides to find her own identity. She wants to think about only herself, to do something for herself who goes against her husband, denies to think what society will say about her. She refuses to carry anything with herself from her husband’s house as this would hurt her self-esteem. She reused her children, her marriage and wipes off her sindur – which is believed as the recognition of a married woman and leaves the house.
Conclusion –
In the Nineteenth Century, where we find women are instructed and performed as puppet in every role of life that too as a daughter, a sister or as a wife who is just like a doll cannot have their own house. The play didn’t meant to be a feminist schedule but the performance of Tripti Mitra has raised the play to the rising voice of a woman in terms of detecting her own identity.
Reference List –
- Ibsen Henrik,”A Doll’s House”,Maple Press Private Limited. ISBN:978-93-50330-68-5.
- Tripti Mitra in the Realm of Bengali Theatre: An
Interpretation of her Art and Role in Women’s Emancipation
Sujit Kumar Pal, Bengali, Vidyasagar University, India
Article Record: Received March 30 2016, Revised paper received May 20 2016, Final Acceptance June 3 2016
- TRANSLATION AS INTERVENTION: SAMBHU MITRA’S PUTUL KHELA (ADOLL’S HOUSE),Ahmed Ahsanuzzaman.
- Guriya-Ghar: Tripti Mitra’s Take on Sambhu Mitra’s Putul Khela
Ahmed Ahsanuzzaman.