The Real Ponga Pandit

THEATRE director Habib Tanvir had nothing to do with the origins of the play Ponga Pandit, yet he8217;s been targeted for performing it. A ...

THEATRE director Habib Tanvir had nothing to do with the origins of the play Ponga Pandit, yet he8217;s been targeted for performing it. A traditional story from Chattisgarh8217;s repertoire of folk tales, it was created by rural artists Sukhram and Sitaram in the mid 1930s. Nacha traditional art form performances are usually improvised, so Tanvir has never written Ponga Pandit in the form of a script.

The story revolves around a priest who dupes a village simpleton into performing various rites after his father8217;s death8212;rituals which conveniently require the services of a priest. Along the way, they meet a lower caste sweeper who ultimately makes the most important statement in the play8212;the irrelevance of an intermediary between god and a devotee. Ponga Pandit is a satire that deals with caste issues and untouchability, but extremists branded it 8216;8216;anti-Hindu8217;8217;.

After watching it for the first time in the 8216;60s, Tanvir was inspired to adopt it. 8216;8216;It8217;s a deeply spiritual play, upholding the tenets of Hinduism. Its compactness amazed me,8217;8217; he says.

From then till the 8217;90s, he faced no objection. The first time it came under attack was after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. 8216;8216;In 1993, when I presented the play at Gwalior, there was obstruction by the Sangh Parivar for the first time and stones were thrown by a few hoodlums,8217;8217; says Tanvir.

Since then, the play has been targeted wherever it has gone, including Leicester and Bradford in the UK.

Presently, Tanvir8217;s railway concessions have been curtailed and his actors harassed on countless occasions.

In 2003, during the MP and Chattisgarh state elections, he performed it along with Jis Lahore Nahi Vekhya Voh Janmya hi Nahi. Film-maker and friend Sudhanva Deshpande witnessed 25 shows in Chattisgarh and says that every performance was a sell-out. 8216;8216;But every time, the Bajrang Dal would harass us. On speaking to workers from the BJP and the RSS, I found that many of them had not even seen the play, only heard about it,8217;8217; adds Deshpande. Incidentally, the Dal never objected to Jis Lahore8230; which critiqued Muslim fundamentalism.