03 December,2020 10:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Shunashir Sen
Makarand Deshpande in Gandhi, a play that espouses the non-violent philosophy
Violence is essentially a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can manifest itself in action, such as when policemen lathi-charge protesting farmers, as is the case in North India right now. But on the other, it can also reflect in thoughts and words, which is what happens when two people with polarised views engage in a slanging match on social media, like two fighting cats meowing wildly at each other without actually lashing out with their paws.
In the play, a baahubali starts imbibing the Mahatma's teachings
But Makarand Deshpande feels that whenever there is any form of violence anywhere in the world, a bit of Mahatma Gandhi dies, by which the actor obviously doesn't mean the Mahatma's physical incarnation. He is referring to the philosophies of peace and non-violence that the Father of the Nation left behind.
Those are the thoughts that Deshpande is trying to propagate with his new play, Gandhi, which will be staged tomorrow. It's a solo act spread over 70 minutes, and the plot revolves around a baahubali - or strongman - who is the sort of person who feels disappointed when he gets into a fight with four people and ends up killing only one of them instead of all. But then this fellow meets a poet, who tries to convince him that he is the only man who can truly follow the Mahatma's path. This creates a crippling sense of conflict in the baahubali, since he feels himself changing once he starts imbibing the non-violent way of life, but can't quite let go of his aggressive side. He eventually surrenders, meaning that even though Gandhi was shot dead in 1948, in a way, he survives through this man.
"The baahubali is a metaphor for all those who are ruling with power and not with compassion," Deshpande explains, adding, "If they think that war will create peace, it will not. It will merely create another war, with peace prevailing [as an illusion] only in the intervening period while the next one is planned." He also says that violence obstructs true progress, in the way that the police put up roadblocks to try and halt the progress of the protesting farmers. And the only way forward is to thus focus on empathy and compassion because - to quote the Mahatma - an eye for an eye makes the world go blind.
On: Till December 31
Log on to: in.bookmyshow.com
Cost: Rs 943
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