Badal Sircar - Beyond The Land of Hattamala
Badal Sircar - Beyond The Land of Hattamala
Badal Sircar - Beyond The Land of Hattamala
1
and
candal in Fairyl a nd
BADAL SIRCAR
CALCUTTA 2003
'Ir;lns l ~ ti 11 ~ I l in Lr It ·L ry 111 ~ L rial
©S a r tll oks, :al Ulla 200J
ntr d u ti n vii
amih Baud)1opadh)1ay
Scandal in Fairyland 39
(Roopkathar Kelenkari)
Introduction
Bad al Sircar (b. 15 July 1925) is one of In dia's maj or play-
wrigh ts and a pioneering figure and ideologue in what has
now co1ne to be known in this country as the Third Theatre.
By the early seventies, Sircar had given up the proscenium
theau·e, and begun acting in natural and created environ-
1nen t spaces alike, in small halls where about ten backless
benches could be arranged and rearranged in different for-
mations to define and redefine the auditori'um and the act-
ing area; and in parks and open spaces almost anywhere. He
was discovering audiences never exposed to theatre. Sircar
and his s1nall theatre group, Satabdi, keep theatre out of the
co1nmercial system by refusing to advertise in the media,
and by not charging for admission (the performers would
go out at the end of a p erformance to the audience to make
a collection, and the spectators would pay whatever they
liked, usually small su1ns). The battle against the media, and
the battle against money have been battles that Sircar and
his group of dedicated, ideologically com1nitted volunteers
have been fighting from the seven ties onwards in their ver y
experi1nentation with theau·e form and idiom, in their pas-
sion for reaching out to and going right into the audience.
Perfonning on Saturday afternoons in Curzon Park, an
apology for a p ark at the heart of the city, with all kinds of
transport from ancient u·amcars to sleek limousines raising
a m addening din all around, they n eed ed a wide enough
range of 'plays for the park' .
Roophathar Kelenhari (Scandal in Fairyland) was written
in 1974, 'for the park'; a fairly close ad ap tation of a story for
viii I bad a I sir car
fo rm an ces in th ,r m
eve r yday cloth s, wi ll · ta · i l n if in h Ki g,
th e l\tlinistcr, th f fir. t · t r ' h played
Prince T hun d erb It h ad }·, r c c ' rin figur and pres-
e n ce, but wh e n h e I ft th up, h was replaced by an
actress ''ho app eare d in salwar an d kameez, her hair tucked
unde r th e collar of the kameez, an d the tag on he r back
ide ntifying her as \ ajra kumar.
Hattam alar Opari , (Bevond the Land of H attamala) wri t-
te n in 19i7 was a take-off.from H attamalar Deshey, a n ovel by
Premendra Nlitra and Leela ~1ajumdar, serialized in the chil-
dre n 's magazine Sandesh, edite d b} ralini D as and Satyajit
Ray. T h e story, with its title , spi1it a nd main char ac ters had
been conceived by Premendra Mitra,' as Ms Maj um d ar
intr o cJu tio n I ix
thin 1 r~· ·r.narzm mul B r:harmn, are fleeing in jJan'c. They llirle in rt
·n ·1= Four villagi r enle r i11 /Jl r uil.
1 : • \ TI i h way did th y ?
TW . T h y ca1n thi way.
THREE. Are you sure?
F UR. I think they went that way.
o E. No, no, this way.
n ·o. Don 't be silly. I saw them go that way.
TH REE (spotting them). No, no. There they are.
They chase the thieves, and in the act of doing so, they f all, while
Kena and Becha slip away. They pursue them crying 'Thief! Thief!'
Then they become cows in a cowshed. Kena and Becha ru n in from
the other side.
FIVE. Death! Why are these cows lowing so at night? Here, shh!
shh! (Her eyes almost pop at seeing the two.) Th-th-thiefl
They leap to their feet, run out, and hide in a corner. The fo ur vil-
lagers come in shouting 'Thief: and go about in a cirde as if looking
for the thieves. Five has left. Kena and Becha also slip into the circle,
shouting 'Thief' in turn. After a round or two, they slip out and
escape. The other four stop, looli around a bit, and then go out, still
shouting 'Thief!' Kena and Becha come in from the other direction.
BECHA. Which way now, Dada?
KENA. That way.
They are alrerul)' running a Llw·y Lalk. Tlze;· stop, seem to arrive al
the river banh, and dive into lhe wal r. They ma fw swimmin
motion . T he /Jur uen; arrive and land al the edge of the 1iver:
NE. 1-1 rl Th r · th 'g ::i
'
TW th y finally jump l int L} n v r.
h r th y go . Th re. h , tl ey'r sinkin g.
FOU R. l , th y'v co1ne up again. There.
E. They'll drown for sure. There's no hope D r tl em.
T WO. v\Touldn't it have been better to h ave done tim e for a cou-
ple of years instead?
THREE. Easy come easy go . That's how thieves live.
FOUR. Give the devils their due . They knew how to handle their
j e1nmy all r ight. Both of the1n.
THREE. You'll not find experts like the1n around.
ONE. After all, they' re our own Hatua village boys.
T \ r\10 . Now let's say Hari for the1n and go home.
They chant 'J-lari Bol Hari, ' the usual chant that accompanies a
corpse being tahen for cremation. Then they face one another in two
rows and become the river undulating their arms like waves. Three
others join them to rnal<e the river. Kena and Becha are struggling in
the water.
KENA. Really? I'm having ... ice ... ice ... cream.
BECHA. Oh Dada! ... I'1n gone ... glug ... glug (sinl<s).
KENA. You won't believe this but ... I'm gone too ... glug-glug.
They sink. Both slowl)i sink to the ground and finall) lie down as if
at the bottom of the river. The seven members of the Chorus now stand
around and become trees. There are bird calls from the trees. Kenaram
opens his eyes first.
KENA. Where am I? (Sits up.) There's no one here. Who'll tell 1ne
where I am then? Darn it all. It's all nonsense, 'vhat the} show
you in films. (Sees Becha.) Hey! Here's Becha. (Nudcres him.)
Becha! Just look at that. Has he gone and died on n1e?
BECHA (opens his eyes). Where am I?
KENA (making fun of him). \There ain I? Think it's a film?
BECHA (rises). Oh Dada ou? n aram Dada?
KENA. No, I'm the king f th n r
BECHA ( lool~ing around) . u ... '' h r ain I?
KENA. v\Thy don't u k th la d filmmakers?
BECHA. Film? All th t-th rh r th c w hed, the dogs-don't
tell ine we aw all th t in th m vie !
BECHA. But-I can't make out where we've come. Where are we?
KENA (With a fiery glance). 1-2-3-4-5.
BECHA. What are you doing?
KENA. Counting. 6-7-8-9-10-11
BECHA. Counting? \i\That are you counting?
KENA. Nothing. Just counting. 12-13-14-15-16
BECHA. Why?
be y ond the land of h at t a m a la I 7
In ir. J\ town i.\ m ul . /n11 .~r' n 'fr rd ,u, fm ntnins, (fflfPs. Becha
mt! ~1'JW <ut1 r !hr In 011.
tri
lll 'c llt f · tty thi v s l' ke un l . s y ' re
t t."
hi ·h la s con1nan , y u ca ' t et s n
jail .
BECHA. But this is such a big town .
KEN\. Calcu tta's much bigger. Besides, there are tramcars in
Calcu tta. Have you seen any trams here?
BECHA. Ha!
KENA (annoyed). If this is Calcutta, then wher e are the p olice
Don't you know there's a cop at each street crossin cr i
Calcutta?
BECHA. That's true. But even if it's not Calcu tta, d
say there's not one policem an in su ch a lar et wn ?
KENA. They're all 'sniffers' I thin k, going ar und in
I guess they're all hig h lass th i v s h r ·111 th ~
arc only sniffcrs in th e poli e.
BECJ-IA. Th )n th is p la \ won't sui t. ns, Da la.
K JNA . Wait, let m ·ask som ·c n ·.
l ENA. 's n t . ~1 ti I , y k W. p li t-
u I lZZ 11' ll?
uzz?
1 ,N . ratl k, can y u tell m e wh re tl pris n is? The j ail?
Y. u 1n w, like a dun geon?
TH REE . Lunch eon? You wan t to eat? Just go straight on, take the
first turn left, and you '11 find the eatery.
They !,eave.
KENA. My god! We've come to a country of idiots! Why're you
stopping?
BECHA. I'm thinking.
KENA. Thinking? You? About what?
BECHA. I feel awfully faint. I think I'm hungry.
KENA. We ate only some stale rice last night. We've been on the
run since then. Let's go and see where this eatery is.
BECHA. Money?
KENA. Oh, we'll manage somehow. Like the way we did with the
green coconuts.
BECHA. As if all of them will be like that dum b old wo1nan.
KENA. Come on.
They go. Music. A kind of restaurant. Som people ar ating. Four
and Five are serving. One is supm vising. Kena and Becha arrive.
BECHA. Mmml Dada l Have you ever s1nelt such rice?
KENA. Basmati.
BECHA. How do you know? I-lave you ever eaten basmati?
1 .... / bad.JI sire.Jr
KE • . . , ut I\ · 111 1t it.
E . H .~ . nuI ~ wi h 1, h h · ls ·111 l "h;1t l ks lik Ja I· r tit
urr ·. ;
E HA. m-1 n.
. ·E. Th , don't you like chilled sweet yoghurt? Or have you got
a ore throat?
KENA. o, no, he can serve us.
They are served. One has gone in another direction. They get up and
wash their hands.
KENA. He's not looking. Let's slip out. We'll go out like the oth-
ers.
Before they can do this One has come towards them, blocking their
escape.
l at 11 ?
~, ~ HA. u in m you'r th pla ~?
N, . \1\Th , n t u t k , in ? h --y r r m th · s u th rn
- r hard.
r ·N . No-·· th y l n ' t l ok too go d- Ll s l a an a .
lffi\JA (kicks him f rom behin d). How can you tell from tasting just
one?
O NE. So eat another one.
BECHA. Can I have one too?
ONE. Yes, yes, eat. (They eat.) The best banana plantation in this
town is the southern one. Right?
KENA. Hm-how much is a dozen?
ONE. You want a dozen? Take this bunch. There are a few more
than a dozen in this one. (He gi,ves it to them. Seven enters. )
SEVEN. Hi, brother! Any lychees?
O NE. Yes, inside. Caine I'll show you.
They go inside.
KENA. Come on, let's scram.
As he is abou t to ste/J Joru)arrl, One comes bach urith a lw ~
f ruit.
ONE. Listen, broth r.
1
IlECM A. N w w " rc lo n e for.
O NE. Arc you g ing that way?
KENA . Yes. No. I mc a n-y s, th at way.
ONE. We ll , th r 's a ·Iini · a t th . n l of th at r oa l. ,an u iv
thi · j ackfr ui t to th · d octor th "n? H h ad ~o m ~ I ki n · fi r
b yo ncl t h e I J ncJ of hattama la I 1 7
NA. h bTl· kw r k IS
· n <.!Q
v
·tr n . p k r' g ing through
lik butt i.
13 • .JtA. \•Lthl
Both of them creejJ slowl) forward. Two enter from the other side. H e
sees the hole and lands sloe/ till. Then h sees the two thieves.
T\\ o . \ r\ ow how lid ) ou n1ak u h a perfect hole in a brick wall?
(Kena and Becha are stumjJed.) With only that thin stick there?
(They quickly hide their pohers behind them.) Bravo, what skill! But
what sort of a ga1ne is this, fr iends? Making h oles in walls at
night? ( They are silent.) Do tell me what you are doing.
KENA (bitterly). v\That do you think? We were testing how sound
your wall was.
TWO (with simp"le trust). Oh, then you ·must be architects.
KENA and BECHA. What ?
TWO. Experts. You go around testing the soundness of buildings,
don't you?
KENA.Look, if you're going to send us to the clink then go
ahead. There's no need to make fun of us and abuse us.
TWO. Abuse? Make fun? What's that?
KENA. You've caught us red-handed. So do what you want, but fin-
ish it, man.
BECHA. Yeah, yesterday we were almost caught. We might as well
be caught properly today.
nvo. Caught? Caught what? What are you talking about? Who's
catching what?
KENA.You're catching crooks, that's what. As if we don ' t know
that you're sniffers.
nvo. What are sniffers? They don't sound pleasant, so1nehow.
They sound insulting.
KENA. Well you called us 'narky tees'. Wasn 't that insulting?
By now two others have arrived, Three and Four.
FOUR. What's up?
TWO. Yes, with those two ticks. I n 't that fan ta tic?
FOUR. But wh) inake a hole in the wall at n1idnight?
KENA (shouting). Oh.. lau~h.Ju t b cau c yo u\ caught us red-
hancled once yo u can lau 0 h at u .
BE H \.'\'.es.
Wh don't you do what you have to do? We know all
about) our con tricks to trap runaway .
T\\O. '\t\That are you losing your tempers for?
THREE. Who are you?
KENA. v\Te're thieves, satisfied? Pokermen. I tell you a hundred
ti1nes, a thousand titnes: We're thieves. Do what you want to
us. What do we care?
TWO. Oh, now I get it, you· must be coming from Hatta1nala.
BECHA. Hattamala? vVhere 's that?
TWO. How do we kno"? But we've heard that everything is topsy
tu1=vy there.
o E (gets up) . v\Th o's th at? (Sees Kena and Becha.) Oh I know you
didn 't ) ou co1ne to the eater y this afternoon?
KE A. Yes we ate and we didn t pay. So wh at?
BECHA. Yes \\ e\e eaten lots m ore too- coconu t, j ackfrui t, the
doc tor s j ackfrui t- so "hat? v\Th at can yo u do to us? v\Te don 't
care.
o E. v\Th ~t are you talking about, pal? You've eaten. So wh at?
The others pull One to one side.
KENA. Yes. "'e needed to. v\Te needed to take those dishes of yours
too. ' Vould you gi\e them to us if we went by the front door?
1
THR · •.
11 ~ I ha l su h a r nn1 y tum . . .
K ·NA. B \ .h· ~ rs lan d ~ tl it r. T h ~ y 'r · bl kl1 ca ls!
-; HA. th fr uits 11 i ? 1 h n wh s sh p is in tl at mark t?
F R. Shop?
KENA. Yes, yes, shop. Like you have this hotel, a food shop.
ONE. But this is an eating house.
BECHA. That's what I 1neant. You sell food here, don't you?
ONE. Sell?
KENA. Don't people pay for their food?
ONE. Pay?
FOUR. I think all these words were in Grandma's stories.
KENA. Dqn 't people give anything for the food they eat? They j ust
go away after their meals?
ONE. What else should they do? They just come here to eat.
THREE. What should they give?
KENA. Then how do you manage?
ONE. Manage what?
BECHA. How do you live? Eat? Fill your sto1nachs?
ONE. Oh. I eat here.
KENA. And your fainily? Your wife and children?
ONE. The children eat at school. My wife works at th e library in
Shiulitala, so she eats there. At night we all co1ne here to eat.
24 I badal sircar
ONE. Money?
FOUR. Oh, I think the) 're talking about those ornaments-round,
flat discs-1nade of silver I think.
THREE. I think there are even some 1nade of paper, with pictures
on them.
FOUR. Oh, I ,\ish Grandn1a were alive, I could have told her.
KENA. First right. Then walk six blocks. Then left. Second house.
One. Two. Hey, this is a barber's shop.
BECHA. Did he say left or right after six blocks?
KENA. Left, I think. First left, then right.
BECHA. Let's go and see what's after the sixth house.
KENA. Ok. Five. Six. A shoe shop! (Six comes out with new shoes.)
SIX. What are you looking for, friends?
BECHA. The library.
SIX. The library? Turn right at that comer, walk three blocks, and
then turn right. It's the sixth house after that.
BECHA. Are you sure? Someone else gave us directions like that,
and we went and found a barber.
SIX. But I work in th e library. I should know.
KENA (eagerly). You wor k there? The n can you tell us wh at} ou
have in th e library ?
SIX. You don't kn ow wh at's in the library? \\'h ere do you co1ne
from? I-Iatta1nala?
28 I b a cl a l s ir ca r
SIX. '''~ keep wh atever's b autiful, fin , int resting there. Things
th at are 111ad in ou r country. Books, pict ires, trin ke ts, maps,
e1nbroidere d quilts, d olls, so many things I can't possibly tell
you about all of them . Why d on 't you come and see what we
have? vVe _open at ten.
BECHA. Will they let us enter?
SIX. Why not? It' s inean t for everyone to see and read and learn
from. Everything is arranged on open shelves.
KENA. Are there no valuable things?
SIX. Of course, there are very valuable things.
KENA. Even those are left on open shelve.s?
SIX. Are you crazy? If you leave those in the open someone migh t
pull at them carelessly and tear a corner off or something.
KENA. Tear what?
BECHA. What corner?
SIX. Why, all those thousands-of-year-old pictures, designs, maps,
scrolls, tapestry, manuscripts, books ...
. BECHA (despairingly). Books!
KENA. But someone told us that you can get gold j ewelleq fro1n
the library.
SIX. Yes, why not?
KENA. That must be locked up, I'm sure.
SIX. My goodness, no. If you locked those up, th en all ~h e locks
and keys in the country would not be enough. These ordi-
nary things are left in the open. They can be replaced any
time. We only lock up precious things, things we can never
retrieve if they break or tear.
KENA. Are there any gold orna1nents left? I suppose everyone's
borrowed everything.
b yo nd th I. n fh a · t ~ ,l a / 2
IX. Ten .
BEC HA. That la te?
SIX. Even then we've almost got to push th ose b o kw rm ut
before we can close.
KENA. Is the door closed a t night?
SIX. Oh yes, otherwise those crazy sch o lars would all tri ckle back.
KENA. Becha, all tha t work yesterday was for n othing . Bl as t! Such
a big hol e only for the d ish es. If the poker 's go o d fo r any-
thing we']] use it to br ak into the librar y.
BECHA. But what's th us ? ' can ea ily borrow the stu ff from
the librar y and n t i it back.
KENA. It's n o t that impl , p I. If ou borrowed that there '11 be
sniffers e t o n you. Th libr ry people are n o t so careless.
They lock up a t ni . ht.
BECHA. But that's becau e f th ch o lars.
KENA. Rot! Too clever by h alf, that's what these p eople are. Ge t
it? They look very simple, but these cops are sharp. How else
did they nab us last night?
BECHA. But-
KENA. Now what?
BECH...\. No, I was just thinking.
KENA. '!\That's come over you? I haven't seen you think from the
moment you were born, and here, in one day, you've thought
twice.
BECHA. No, listen. Suppose you break into the library.
30 I bada l si r car
BECHA. See?
But j ewellery? We've been all around town, bu t
KENA ( thin/ling) .
h aven' t seen a single jewellery sh op.
BECHA. We saw lots of shops with flower ornainents.
beyond the land of hattamala / 31
KENA. Don't be silly, who wants flower ornainents? Have you seen
any gold stuff anywhere?
KENA. See? They don't give those away like they do .s hoes and
u1nbrellas. Oh no , you've got to sign for those, and you can
only borrow the1n.. They even lock the library at night.
BECHA. That's true.
KENA. That's the joint we'll have to case. C01ne on. Turn right,
walk three blocks, after three blocks ... Damn. I've forgotten.
BECHA. But-
BECHA. Listen, Dada. Suppose you do steal the gold, then what?
You can't sell it.
KENA. Of course I can. What people can't get free they've got to
buy.
BECHA. What will they pa} with? Bread and rice? Shirt and dhoti?
Shoes and urnbr 11 ? · u g tal l these things free here. What
will you sell the gold fi r?
KENA (after a pause) . 't\Tell then I'll take it home.
BECHA. Home !
BECHA. They'll just take the gold from us and clap us into the
lock-up. Don't you remember we broke into the zamindar's
house?
KENA (pauses a moment and then !mrsts out angrily). We'll go to
Calcutta then. We'll go to Englandl America( Stop getting at
me, Becha. Let me think coolly. (He sits and sinks into deep
thought. Becha stares for some time.)
BECHA. Dada, oh Dada. What's the use of sitting here like this?
Let's go and see the library at least. (No response from Kena.)
32 I b d I ~ ir ar
KENA. Don't you dare touch me! I'm Kenaram the poker man.
The poker robber. No son of a fool can turn me into any-
thing else.
BECHA. Dada. Listen ...
You fink! I taught you how to handle the poker
KENA (shouting).
and now you wear borrowed gold, eat fried hilsa, see movies,
wear shoes-take your blasted shoes. Take them. Take ...
He takes off his shoes and throws them at Becha. Some people come
running.
BE .HA. u' l . ar y,
D , quit ' ri ll . Yi U h uld b p ud f doing s m ._
R. 1'111
thing w 11. I was thinking of learning ti is woncl _.rful kill fr m
) OU. Will yo u teac h me?
D W i ·. t m
R. rn l is firs ,. I n' · ·hink Im tn
v ry w 11 , a1 I.
DOCTOR. Haven't you eaten? Then let's go and get you something
to eat. Let's go home to my place. ( The)I walh on.)
BECHA. Why, '' e 've been eating free since we ca1ne here-
· then we
got free shoes, a free shave-
DOCTOR. No. It isn't really free. We all work to the best of our
abilities. That's why we get everything we need. If we didn't
work, you'd get nothing.
BECHA. But we didn't work at anything. Still we got everything
free.
DOCTOR. You didn't work today. But }OU will tomorrow. Didn't
your dada say man can t Hve without work?
KENA. But we don ' t kn ' th r ' ork except how to use the
Jem1ny.
DOCTOR. Well, that' n n II kill. It' t asy to work it well.
1
THE END