All Modern Theatrical Techniques:
Mahesh Dattani is a living playwright based in Bangalore. He is an actor, director and an eminent Indian English playwright, who has won -prestigious Sahitya Academy Award for his successful play Tara. Obviously, his plays are written for stage. So the plot of the play is constructed in such a way that the audience should be able to enjoy the play and easily understand the themes of the play. For this Dattani's play Tara makes use of all modern theatrical techniques, such as different levels of the stage, flash back, soliloquy, humour, lighting and music.
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| Presentation of Mahesh Dattani’s Play Tara As A Theatre |
Both Realistic Setting and Flash – Back:
Mahesh Dattani uses the stage at different levels. The play is, on the stage, Dan's plays. He performs like a sutradhar in traditional Indian plays. He is sitting in his room in London. He is writing play “Twinkle Tara” based on recollections of his twin sister, who expired six years back. Chandan (Dan) is away from his father Patel and family, who happen to be in Bombay. Patel wanted that his son should study abroad and follow him professionally. On the first level of the stage Chandan's bed - cum - sitting room is realistic in setting. It is decorated with portraits of famous writers, and Dan is writing on table. The other level presents flash - back or memory - lane in Bombay, Patel's house and street shown by crossing lights. Light plays a significant role in different scenes. The back - level is occupied by Dr. Thakkar, who is another important character linking the play, a sheer God - like presence, ' interviews Dan. He informs the audience about the delicate operation to separate the Siamese twins - Chandan and Tara with a common third leg fed by the blood of female child Tara.
Play ‘Twinkle Tara’ Based on the Painful Memories of Chandan's Sister:
The first Act of the play opens and Dan is sitting typing his play from his recollections of his past. He addresses the audience like a Sutradhar and in a long soliloquy and tells that the play he is writing is “Twinkle Tara” is based on the life of his twin sister, Tara.” The way we started in life two lives and one body in one comfortable womb . They were Siamese twins. Dan is in London to keep away from the past, his family in Bombay yet the past haunts him and he is writing play based on the painful memories of his sister. He thinks, recollects and tries to write about the painful events of his sister's life and family.
Shifting of the Scene Through flash back:
Through flash back the scene is shifted to the other level of the stage in Bombay. Dan's mother Bharati is watering the “Tulsi” plant showing her as a traditional Indian wife busy with her household duties and upbringing her children. Bharati belongs to Karnataka and Patel happens to be a Guajarati, so their marriage is inter - regional. Patel's family has left Patel to his wife's influential political father of Bangalore. Dan's grandfather does not appear on the stage, but the audience learns from Dr. Thakkar how he and his daughter Bharati influence the important decisions in the family. Gender prejudice in them brings about the unfortunate, unethical and unscientific operation to separate the Siamese twins. Patel knows but he cannot persuade Bharati and her father not to give the leg to the male - child. Gender prejudice and patriarchy make the family responsible for girl's misfortune. Her only fault is that she is a female.
As the children grow up, they are invalid with one natural and other artificial leg. They are weak and suffer. However Tara wants to live strong, healthy, beautiful life whereas Dan like Patel is unmindful of his disability. Tara is rebellious. Dan escapes from his family and past and moves to London.
The Social Angle and Power Equation in the Family Introduced Through Roopa:
The social angle and power equation in the family is introduced through Roopa, a vivacious young girl. She is good looking and presents the social aspect of the middle class morality. Bharati , because of her guilt in forcing the doctor to give the leg to male - child , where it had no chance to survive , felt pity for the wronged female - child . She showers extra affections upon the Tara and is always worried about her health. Guilty conscience adversely affects her health. The relations between Patel and Bharati also suffer. When Roopa looks at the wooden leg of Tara, Bharati requests her to be considerate to Tara. But Roopa informs all the girls about Tara's disability.
Bharati believes that Tara needs a career to lead a good life of self-esteem. Patel dislikes Bharati's infatuation with Tara and asks her to consult psychiatrist. Bharati tells the children that the Patels do not care for the female children and so Patel is not worried about Tara. Tara, thus, becomes the source of estrangement between Patel and Bharati. Tara feels quite unhappy with her father's approach and blames him for her misfortune. Due to her wooden leg Tara is quite upset and the world around her is a dull place and her life not worth living.
Good use of lights and music:
Dattani makes good use of lights and music in bringing about unity and highlighting important characters and for creating atmosphere. Dr. Thakkar's information is conveyed to the viewers with music associated with T.V. News to make the interview of doctor with Dan effective and thematic. Music is also used for creating atmosphere and to heighten the emotion of characters. Dan and Tara listen to musical scores of Beethoven and Brahms. Both are German musicians. Dan is fond of music of Brahms. Tara enters the room and is quite upset about her disability. She listens to music and thinks it is Beethoven. But when she learns from Dan that it was Brahms, she asks Chandan to stop it. She is quite uneasy at the behaviour of the street girls when they see her wooden leg. She is furious and feels that one day she will tell them how ugly they look. Tara likes Beethoven because Beethoven in twenties became deaf, so he created music compositions when he could not hear them. She identifies herself with a musician who created great musical compositions in spite of his disability. But when Chandan reads on the cover of Brahms concert his quality of “high tragedy and romance … of youth … A spring like freshness”, Tara asks Chandan to play it loud. So music describes the emotions of characters of the stage and point to the class. Discussion of western music informs the viewers that Chandan and Tara westernized individuals of the middle Dattani's play.
An actor plays different roles at the same stage:
Tara is a theatre. So it is not realistic and in it an actor plays different roles at the same stage. Chandan is in London as well as in Bombay, that is Chandan is present at different levels of the stage. The character on the stage in crisis continues to remember his past. Chandan in London when writing his play moves back to Chandan in Bombay when Tara undergoes kidney - transplant operation. Chandan in London tries to forget the past but even in London he is with his twin sister - Tara. Roopa meets the Patel family in Bombay, but when she learns that Bharati is Kannada she bursts into Kannada to bring Bangalore on the stage.
Revelation in another technique used for climax:
Revelation is another technique which Dattani uses for climax in the play. Patel's telling the truth to the children -Tara and Chandan, that it was Bharati and her father who, because of gender prejudice, forced Dr. Thakkar to perform the unethical operation in allowing the leg to be attached to male-child, whereas it had all the chances to survive in the female child and make her normal. This revelation completely shatters Tara, for all along; she has been considering her indifferent father to be the real culprit in her misery.
Blending of languages to create humour as well as to emphasise their middle class character:
Theatre is direct communication with the viewers: the actor on the stage is directly linked with the viewers and conveys the emotions and ideas to the audience. So language or dialogue is a very important part of the play. English play for that has a very limited scope in India. Indian culture and atmosphere is not easy to be portrayed in English, English has become today, a global language, even then a few people use English in their daily life. So that restricts both the dramatist as well as viewers. Dattani uses Indian English in Tara and so as per the requirement of theatre the language describes the character. Dr. Thakkar uses a language often spoken by a scientist. The language of Chandan is simple and expressive, whereas the conversation between Tara and Chandan is in English spoken by modem youth studying in public schools. Roopa blends her English with Kannada and so is a source of great humour. Patel's house or family is stationed in Bombay and it is a mix of Guajarati, Karnataka and children students of Bombay public schools. So Dattani blends Kannada and Bambiya Hindi in the English conversation between Chandan and Tara to create humour as well as to emphasise their middle class character.
Mahesh Dattani’s play Tara is a good theatre and perhaps the competent use of language and modern innovative theatrical technique makes it a successful play, though there is not much original in its themes.