GIRISH KARNAD’S TUGHLAQ

A PLAY IN THIRTEEN SCEENS

Girish Karnad

Introduction• Born at Matheran in 1938.• Childhood in Sirsi Karnataka a small town• His father was physician in Sasoon hospital

Pune.• Regularly seen the plays of Balgandharva in

Marathi.• He read Marathi books.• Plays roles in performances of school.

• His father was ardent lover of Indian Folklore.• Narrated stories to Karnad about myths

legends and ghosts.• Family shifted from Sirsi to Dharwar where

Marathi playes used to performed.• Karnad acted in the plays of P.L.Deshpande,

Sharda and Amaldar.• Completed his graduation in Dharwad.

• Family shifted Dharwar to Mumbai.• Selected as Rhodes scholar University of

Oxford.• Returned to Mumbai and introduced to Hindi

great producer, director and actor Satyadev Dubey.

• Interested in Marathi, Hindi,and English as well as classical Sanskrit plays.

• Read the Shankutal by Kalidas.• Successful career as actor, director and

producer.• Worked as Asst.Manager of Oxford University

press at Chennai.• Appointed as Director of Film and Television

Institute of India at Pune.• Developed interested in hindi film and played

roles in few.

His major plays

• Tughlaq• Hayavadana• Yayati• Nagmandala• Tale Dandi• The fire and the Rain.

Influences

• Indian Culture folklore, folktales legends, myths and vedas, purans.

• Borrowed material from indian mythology folklore and ancient indian theatrical examples especially sanskrit.

• Indian history handled the subjects like caste, heredity, religion and gender.

History and Politics

• Famous for mingling history and politics.• History is major subject as well as source of

dramatic action.• Uses ancient and medieval historical legends.• History as background • Religion and politics are also intermixed in

most of his plays.

Brief introduction to Tughlaq.

• Instant success on stage both in Kannada and Hindi.

• Resemblances with Nehruvian regime.• Nehrus commitment to ideal socialism.• National integration find allegorical

representation in Tughlaqs idealism.• The play is about a medieval kind and total

transformation.

Tughlaq

• Try to attend the communal harmony. •But opposed by the

religious, political as well as courtly and even public

Major characters

• Tughlaq-King of Delhi,protagonist,ambitious, active, shifts capitol to Daulatabad, city of Hindus, introduces copper currency, to achieve communal harmony, bond between Hindus-Muslims, symbol of transformation, abolishes Jijiya tax, gives justice to his subjects, spends time for knowledge and wisdom, hopeful for ideal kingdom, try converts his subject into land of peace, prosperity and progress.

Shihab-ud-din

• Advises king not to shift the capital.• Nobel man, as an able administrator.• A good statesman of virtue and honesty.• Victim of kings conspiracy and murdered.• Guides king to protect his own religious group.• King opens him in the royal court. nobody

support him in court.• Trusted man of kings mother.

Shaikh Imam-ud-din

• Strong dramatic presence influential character.• Holy man with authority among the muslims.• Crucial between the king Ain-ul-mulk-conflict.• King kills his father at ime of prayer(Namaj).• Belives that abolishment-tax is against islam.• Publically criticizes king, address the publics.• King pushes him into the war to kill.

Barani

• Historian of the royal court who records event.• He receives respect, honor from king.• His relation with king is baffled, confused.• He knows many secrets of king.• Loyal to the king sincerer to his efforts.• Fears to the influence of Najib on king.• Step-mother adds fuel to fire.

Najib

• Najib represents the archetypal of confidence.• His duty is to advice king in imp matters.• A supreme politician of the kingdom.• Najib upsets because of Shaikhs blames king.• He is the honest prime minister of king.• kings mother envies of his position and

trusted servant of king. She manages to get him killed.

Minor characters

• 1) Aziz-• 2) Aazam• 3) Step-mother• 4) Shaikh Shams-ud-din Tajuddarfim• 5)Ghiyas-ud-din Abbasid• 6)Sardar Ratansingh.

Scene-I

• Opens in the year 1327 AD.• Depict the yard in front of chief court of justice

in Delhi.• Crowd seen largely Muslims and Hindus.• Common people as chorus.• The first important decision to shift the capital

from Delhi to Daulatabad.• To strengthen the bond between Muslim and

Hindus.

• Introduction of the first shrewd common man Aziz who plans to exploit the masses and disguises as Brahmin Vishnu Prasad.

• Equality to both the religious groups by justice is the message by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.

• Young generation is optimistic and old pessimistic.

Scene-II

• Introduction of three imp characters Tughlaqs Step- mother,Najib as Prime minister guide and advisor of king a trusted man of king, Barani the court historian honest to king, eye witness of court.

• Dramatic tension-Ain-Ul-Mulk a childhood companion of king revolted against the ruler.

• Marching towards Delhi.

• Tughlaqs craving for an ideal state. Wants to change history but obstacles by his own people and court men.

• Guided by the Najib to stop the storm of Ain-Ul –Mulk with the help of Sheikh Imamuddin.

• Step-mother distrust in Najib fear to close of king.

• Try to confidence the historian Barani a simple man.

Scene-III

• Full with dramatic action.• First encounter between Sheikh Imamuddin

and the king Tughlaq.• Sheikh as holly man, religious personality.

Dedicated to Islam, believes in the philosophy of Islam.

• Knows about the king –powerful, learned and intelligent , to create heaven on the earth.

• King invited him for the public address to convince.

• King tries to trap sheikh and sent his guard to prevent the masses from the public speech of sheikh.

• Nobody attend the public address king defeats the sheikh who is fooled by the king.

• The Sheikh has lost his faith among the masses.

Scene-IV

• The dramatic tension is built up initiated in the third scene.

• Sheikh Shihabuddin has been invited to look after in absence of king.

• King is busy in fighting with Aain Ul-Mulk.• Ratansingh brings the sad news of death of

sheikh Imamuddin to queen.• The king return affected by the death of

sheikh.

• Ain ul-Mulk is defeated in the battle restore to him ruler of Avadh.

• Only the Najib understands the motive of king.

• Ratansingh informs to sheikh that the nobels and Amirs hold a secret meeting to discuss the imp matters.

Scene-V

• Extraordinary example of courtly intrigue.• Under the leadership of Sheikh Shamsuddin

the meeting held with Amirs of Tughlaq and Sayyids in remote house in Delhi.

• Holy man believes that the King eliminiting reliogious leaders.

• Discussed the treatment to Amirs and other nobels in the court.

• Most of them are in prison.• All convince the Sheikh that the

king is enemy of Islam who opposes his own people.• Shihabuddin joins the conspiracy

to assassinate the king.

Scene-VI

• Silence , the king is restless pacing up and down in Darbae-e Khas.

• All Amirs are gathered in the court.• King announces the introduction of copper

currency and shift of capital to Daulatabad.• Prayer time all gathered for the holy prayer

and all amir pull out dragger to kill the king.• But king guard behind appeared on the stage.

Daulatabad fort.

Daulatabad fort gate

Daulatabad fort

A book on Delhi sultanate

Sultans territory

• Surround the king and killed all the Amirs at the time nobody left .

• Tughlaq stabs Shihabuddin to death.• Ratansingh his adopted brother betrayed

them all.• Declaration of royal order to shift the capital

to Daulatabad immediately.• Shrewd nature of Tughlaq is seen in this scene.• Shihabuddin is martyr.

Scene-VII

• Portrays the woes, suffering of citizen.• Vacate the capital forcibly.• The road from Delhi to Daulatabad is crowded

and full with corpses, sickness, and diseases.• Azam and Aziz civil servant exploit the poor

people with the help of thieve on the name of king.

• Azam and Aziz decide to produce counterfiet counterfeit coins.

Scene-VIII

• Five year later the scene is in Daulatabad in the fort.

• The scene is full with pathos and irony.• Disillusioned and disappointment of Tughlaq.• Lost the sense of direction and purpose.• Two people is to be trusted Ain-Ul-Mulk and

Shihabuddins father.• King feels lonely and isolated subject suspect his

sanity his deputy Najib is killed.

Scene-IX

• Two scoundrels Aziz and Azam in controled.• They hide in a small cave in hill where set the

mint to produce counterfeit coins.• Azam tires of stealing.• Talk about the inversion of anarchy and misrule

of king.• Aziz total inversion of moral virtue. Aziz and

Azam loote the holyman Ghiyas-uddin Abbasidss.

Scene-X

• This scene charged with dramatic tension.• Najib is killed Tughlaq is alone.• Treasury is full with counterfiet currency

economy is in bad shape.• Queen is worried about miserable conditionof

state and king.• Queen knows that ulemas and nobel men are

against the king.

• In depression queen tells the truth that she is responsible for the death of Najib.

• Tughlaq shocked to know that his step mother cheated him.

• Orders to stones the queen to death.• Feels absolutely lonely he collapse in pain and

agony.• Seeks mercy from the god divine help alone on

this vast cosmos.s

Scene-XI

• Dramatic chorus .• King received the Ghiyasuddin the holy man

the heir of Khalifs. • Decided to devote to religious rituals• Ordes to restart the holy prayer which was

stopped for five years.• People are sick and starving not needed

prayer but food.

• Tughlaq welcome the holy man with dignity and honor.• Believes in certain change in the

situation.• Masses agitate against he king as

killer.• Masses are angry, restless.

Scene-XII

• Aziz and Azam appeared on stage Azam is nervous seen the king is in garden in frenzy mood moving.

• Aziz tries to calm him down fear that he guard may spy on them.

• He decides to leave.

Scene-XIII

• Barani the last man to be believed but has decided to leave the king. Gave sound reason to leave-mothers illness.must attend funeral.

• Aziz confesses that he is belong to the Dhobi community from shiknar.

• But true follower of the king Barani demands the punishment to scoundrel.

• King pardons and appoints Aziz as an officer of state. The cycle is complete.

Climax

• The play ends with the loneliness of king.• This a historical play with allegory of Tughlaq.• Tragic irony is the message of the play.• The play can be compared with Hamlet.

Power point presentation

By MR.SANJAY PANDIT KAMBLE ASSISTANT-PROFESSOR, YASHWANTRAO CHAVAN(KMC) COLLEGE,KOLHAPUR 9766208849 kamble.sanjay77@gmail.com

THANK YOU