Characterization - not as in a realistic play:
Mahesh Dattani's characterization is not as in a realistic play. In Tara there is no hero or heroine in the traditional sense of drama. The characters present the class and power - relations in a family. Family, for the playwright, is middle class society. So the characters ' relationship represents the vacuum in middle class individuals, their dissatisfaction with sexual fulfilment and their hollow morality. They long to live a secure life and so hug tradition, gender discrimination and patriarchal system. The past and father - image haunt them. They fail to live a natural free life according to their instinct and nature. Women struggle to recognize their entity and so lead a rebellious and more meaningful existence. Considering the stage , the action takes place in the back level , whereas characters occupy fore level . An actor plays two characters on the stage and ' absent characters ' represent the outside world: Climax is worked out in the back level action.
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| Characterization in the Play Tara by Mahesh Dattani |
Dan or Chandan:
In Tara Dan is an older version of Chandan. Dan is sitting in his bed sitter and he is typing his play Twinkle Tara. His soliloquy begins the play and thus it is projected that it is Dan's play. Dan is older version of Chandan and his room's setting in London is realistic. In the play, on the other level of the stage he is in Patel's house in Bombay and he acts as Chandan. Dan is a character who suffers in the play and apologizes to his poor twin sister, Tara, “Forgive me, Tara. Forgive me for making it my tragedy.” He is invalid . He has come to London to put distance between him and his past. He is not so furious as Tara. He knows that because of his maleness his twin sister had to suffer on account of gender prejudice in the traditional middle class family in India. He accepts the misfortune. Tara's character attracts viewers’ sympathy. But regarding Chandan Dattani says, “... these people have their battles and they are fighting them and Chandan fought by withdrawing into his music, into his own world and later on he fights by again withdrawing, by going into another space entirely. So these ... are ways of fighting his battles and again I didn't want this entire nation of sympathy for them.” Though the play is Dan's play yet he is not the hero, but he is only a normal character of urban middle class in India. Roopa's sexual advances also make no effect on him and he prefers to be a “freak”. His life is influenced by other's decisions and values of the society. He suffers by the sins of his father and maternal grandfather. He loves his sister. Tara, and in the lastscene in the play he is shown embracing his sister, Tara in the other world.
Tara:
Tara—twin sister of Chandan is the main character of the play. She is a victim of gender prejudice and patriarchy in urban middle class. Her tragedy is that she is born a female , a Siamese twin with the other being a male - child ; She could not live a normal happy , beautiful life because the third leg fed by her blood was given to her brother by the decision of her gender conscious mother and her dominating rich influential father . Her grandfather bribes Dr. Thakkar to take professionally unethical course in performing the operation to separate the infants, when they were three months old. The operation is successful but the leg given to the male child could not survive and after two days becomes life - less. So nature makes both the twins invalid and weak in health.
Female characters in the play are moving and rebellious. They want to live and lead happy middle class extrovert life. They fight and also protest against the morality of the middle class. Tara is angry with her fate. She wants to live a happy, healthy, beautiful life. She dislikes her father, Patel for his indifference and acceptance of middle class morality, gender discrimination and patriarchy. She loves her mother, for she cares for her career for self - esteem. Her mother's ill health and quarrel with her father is due to her guilty conscience. She knows her role in her daughter's miserable life. Her care for her health is at once atonement for her guilt and a kind of protest against her husband, Patel, who knew and who could assert to avoid the tragedy. But he quietly accepts the patriarchal system. He is not happy with Tara's grandfather’s decision - making role in the family, his influence over his daughter and Bharti's dominating position in the family. He resents Bharati's over attachment with his daughter Tara, and is aware that Bharati's nervousness is becoming alarming every day. Tara's unhealthy life has a role in her mother's ill health. He resents his wife's decision to donate her kidney to Tara to atone for her guilt, when arrangement of alternate kidney has been found. Tara does not like her father. She is annoyed with herself and middle class society introduced in the play by the character of Roopa and other girls. Prema, Nalini and Patel's brother Praful in London, who is entrusted with the care of Chandan. These characters do not come on the stage, but represent the society outside Tara's family. Though the action takes place in family, yet the family in the play is the battlefield of middleclass morality and its power - politics. Tara is a rebellious victim, who is angry with her misfortune, middle class society with its corruption and moral values, but she cannot escape.
Tara in the play is the victim of gender - prejudice and patriarchy. She has been made a handicapped child by the gender conscious society. Dattani explains his role in the play as a fighting rebellious character. In several scenes in the play she is shown as an angry person and how she fights her battles, " ... when she talks about how she blackmailed her classmate into doing her homework for her ... shows up Rupa for her malapropism, her lack of usage of certain idioms ... and then when she finally confronts Rupa and says: how it feels having one bit smaller than the other and let me see how it feels, you know when other people stare at you. You know the way they stare at my leg.” So these are the places where we get some insight into Tara's inner life and her anger. This generates sympathy for her. Sympathy is another way of polarizing as well.
Tara is depressed by her handicapped condition and is indifferent to her well - being. She refuses to go for kidney transplant or is not even willing to pursue her studies in college. However she loves Chandan and is furious with middle class society. She finds no solace in the society for a disabled person. Nature is also not helpful. She is unhealthy and suffers another set - back when her kidneys are damaged. She likes her mother, Bharati's concern for her health. But she is completely destroyed when her father, Patel tells her how her mother and grandfather took the wrong decision to give the third leg to the male - child and they prevailed upon Dr. Thakkar to commit a professional and unethical act to ruin the life of the Siamese twins. Patel could not change their decision because of his father - in - law. He was the real patriarch because his family had disowned him because of inter caste and inter - regional marriage. He had to fall back on his father - in - law's support. The revelation shatters Tara's spirit. Her mother's donation of kidney to revive her fails, and the poor girl dies an unfortunate victim of gender - prejudice, patriarchy and immoral decision of Dr. Thakkar. She is alone in middle class society longing for her security. However the end of the play shows Dan and Tara hugging each other with normal legs showing Dattani's pessimistic view that the middle class is not going to change and the poor victims unite in love after their death in spirits.
Bharati:
Bharati is other Kannada female character representing a middle class house - wife. She is introduced worshipping “Tulsi” and attending to house hold duties: She is a traditional middle class woman with gender - prejudice and takes decision in the family on account of her father's position. Patel is unhappy with her for her father's dominating position, but he is helpless. Bharati under her father's influence is instrumental in making Dr. Thakkarto take a wrong decision to give the leg to male child, thereby wrecking the life of her daughter. Tara and also her son, Chandan, who, too, becomes handicapped for the leg does not survive. Chandan is a boy and looked after by his father and grandfather. Bharati feels pity for her children, but she feels guilty on looking at her daughter, Tara. She is conscious that her decision has ruined her daughter's life . The leg could survive with her, and she could lead a healthy beautiful life. Her suffering makes are sick and over - careful for her daughter's health. She is unhappy with her husband for his indifference to a girl - child, knowing well that the Patels have a tradition of killing their girls in infancy in milk. She threatens her husband that she will reveal the secret to the children. However Patel would like the secret to be revealed to the children himself.
Bharati is anxious to make Tara a healthy child with happy life in spite of her handicap. She requests Roopa to be more considerate towards Tara, thereby trying to assure her unfortunate daughter from the indifference of middle class society. She is badly moved by her guilt and is out to reform. All along she is acting in the play as a character nervous, sick and compassionate. Her decision to donate her kidney for Tara is her greatest act of compassion to atone for her guilt, even though alternate kidney has been arranged. But nature is equally cruel to her daughter Tara who dies in the process.
Six years after Bharati also passes away. Dan receives a phone call from Patel and a request to come to India. He refuses and asks his father to come to London when Bharati and Tara are no more in this world. Dattani again impresses the viewers that as far as the middle class is concerned, there is no hope that it can reform and can give freedom to the individuals to develop according to their instinct , nature or inclination .
Roopa:
Roopa is young adolescent girl, normal and eager to spend her life as she desires. The moment she learns that in the Patel family Bharati is from Karnataka, she gets involved in the family. She provides humour in the play and speaks bad English and equally poor Kannada. She is a counterpart to Tara and Chandan in the play. She is a mean, corrupt, offensive and comic character. Her language and behaviour make people laugh. She is a good looking girl who exploits Bharati's extra - concerns for Tara. When she tries to entertain love for Chandan she provides a lot of fun for the audience.
Roopa represents ever interfering middle class family. She is one of the girls who come to know about Tara's artificial leg. Bharati requests her to help. Tara, But she tells all her friends about the plight of Tara. Tara is annoyed with her and in some scenes furious with her. Tara scoffs at her for bad English, poor Kannada and mean habits. She describes her as ' ugly’. Roopa remains normal and a source of comic element in the play. The playwright deliberately makes her character funny and her actions source of laughter in the play to balance the characters in the play Tara:
Patel:
Patel is a Guajarati, married to Bharati, a Karnataka girl. His parents disapprove of his inter - caste and inter - regional marriage, so they disown their son. Patel is forced to fall back upon the goodwill of his influential politician father - in - law from Bangalore. His wife, Bharati becomes the decision - maker in the family. Patel resents her importance on account of her father's position but accepts his fate with no resistance. His character is like other middle class patriarch interested in sons following father's profession. So he brings up his son, Chandan and sends him to London for higher education. He knows how the gender - conscious mother and her father have bribed Dr. Thakkar to perform an unethical operation in separating his Siamese twins, a male - Chandan and a female - Tara and thereby ruined the life of the poor female child for no fault of her. However he is a traditional father, a Guajarati, who have a tradition of killing their daughters in infancy. Bharati knows this secret and so is quite unhappy with Patel's indifference towards Tara. The relation between the husband and wife become cool. The tension in the two affects the children too. Tara equates Chandan with his father and feels that the major decisions in the family depend on patriarchs. Patel is normal and considers it a right of the father to guide the children in carving out their lives. In the play, he represents middle class morality and prejudices.
Bharati's father and Dr. Thakkar:
Bharati's father and Dr. Thakkar are two important characters who control the action in the play. One is absent from the stage, yet he wields great influence on the characters and action. Bharati's father is the real influence connected with the main themes of the play. He is a patriarch who represents gender - prejudice and patriarchal family system. His impact on his daughter's gender discrimination persuades Dr. Thakkar to go against science and perform the operation to separate the Siamese twins - Chandan and Tara as per society's gender discrimination. That leads to the action of Dr. Thakkar on the back level of the stage to give the leg to male - child and thereby begins the tragedy which influences the power relations in the family and creates tensions. In middle class science and morality are controlled by social prejudices and the freedom of individual is a mockery Dr. Thakkar knows that the leg attached to male - child would not survive and so the life of Tara would be endangered without benefit to Chandan . So he should have performed the operation as per medical requirement and therewas no need to consult the parents. But Bharati father’s political influence forces him to unethical decision to give the leg to Chandan. After two days the successful operations leads to the death of the leg and devastation of the female - child Tara, for no fault other than being a female in birth.
Dr. Thakkar's role in tragedy is both powerful and cruel: Yet Dattani places Dr. Thakkar in back level to indicate that he plays no role in the emotional conflict in the family. The middle class morality accepts his treachery as a natural part of the gender prejudice of the society. The revelation by Patel to his children places the blame on three - Bharati's father, the mother Bharati and his own passive role and inability to protest and change the decision. After all he is the father of Siamese twins and convinced that the leg fed by female child's blood has no chance to survive and the unfortunate female child will come to grief for a natural process beyond the control of the society. So the real hero in the play Tara is patriarchy and gender prejudice of middle class.
The characters in Dattani's plays are common people and their emotional relations including parents love for children is conditioned by social taboos or values. An individual member of such a society is an isolated human being searching for his identity and freedom. The portrayal of urban middle class in India, no doubt a very small minority in vast population of more than a hundred crore souls, is pessimistic and beyond repair. Both Chandan and Tara get relief only after they are dead and attain love and affection as spirits, which they experienced in the comfortable womb of their mother. In fact, that the life of members of the presumed middle class in urban India is really so grim seems to be an exaggeration or too fictitious to be real.