Habib Tanvir's Plays Raised the Ethos of India's Diverse Culture

A volume to celebrate his life's work, edited by Anjum Katyal and Javed Malick, is a tribute to his legacy

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Habib Tanvir (1923-2009) was a renaissance man of modern Indian theatre who remained active on the stage for almost 60 years.

The recently published book, Habib Tanvir and His Legacy in Theatre: A Centennial Reappraisal, celebrates the life and work of his multifaceted personality. Edited by Anjum Katyal and Javed Malick, the volume features 13 essays by eminent scholars and artistes, including Javed Malick, Shanta Gokhale, M.K. Raina, Anjum Katyal, Sudhanva Deshpande, and others. It also includes an interview with his daughter, the renowned actor Nageen Tanvir, discussing music in his theatre.

While reading the book, I remembered the good fortune we had to celebrate his 80th birthday at JNU, where I was doing my PhD research. He arrived late at night to interact with an amateur theatre group and answered our queries and cut the cake. Later, he performed with his troupe at Open Air Theatre in JNU his famous plays Sadak and Ponga Pandit. During that time, I also had the opportunity to see Agra Bazaar and his masterpiece, Charandas Chor, in Delhi. Perhaps these were his last shows in the city.

After the tradition of Sanskrit plays (Bhasa, Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Shudraka), drama was absent in the country for about a thousand years. Sanskrit plays were associated more with the elite than with the masses. However, when Parsi theatre emerged and developed in the nineteenth century, it gained a wide support base. During the 15th and 16th centuries, folk theatre in regional languages, which combined music, dance, tradition, and local culture, flourished. The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), which celebrated 80 years of existence in 2023, played a significant role in the development of modern theatre in India. Habib Tanvir began his journey in theatre with IPTA during the 1940s.

Tanvir’s greatest contribution to Indian theatre was his use of Lok Tatva (folk elements), particularly folk music and song. In Indian literature, ‘Lok’ has a different meaning from ‘Veda’. Groups deprived of Vedic rituals, including those who did not belong to the upper castes—specifically, Shudras and sections of people from all varnas/castes—became alienated from the Vedic tradition and turned to Lokayat paths. However, this does not mean that people have been completely separated from the Vedas. Lok is considered a cultural flow consisting of Shruti and Smriti, from which the Vedas emerged. Some thinkers believe that the lyrical aspects of the folk world itself became the Vedas.

As Javed Malick notes in his essay, ‘A Jugalbandi between the Folk and Modernity’:

“If Tanvir was wary of glorifying the folk uncritically, he was equally careful not to accept the dominant versions of modernity unconditionally. This modernity, he felt, was flawed because it ignored India’s regional languages, its cultural forms and the rich multiplicity of its ‘little’ traditions.”

Charandas Chor, based on a folk tale by Rajasthani author Vijaydan Detha, is a perfect example of this jugalbandi. Its hero is a chor (thief) who believes in truth! In fact, Tanvir’s plays were meant for both urban and rural audiences, closely connecting with common people (lok) and addressing the concerns, trials, and tribulations of the masses.

In his lucidly written essay, ‘Life, Art and Activism,’ M.K. Raina rightly highlights Tanvir’s politics, which were rooted in advocacy for subaltern groups. His Naya Theatre, established in 1959, was a testament to his vision and politics, featuring Chhattisgarhi tribal artists. His plays epitomised “vernacular modernity.” Using the idioms of regional language his plays vociferously raises the ethos of Indian culture and secularism.

As Katyal writes, ‘Habib’s politics could be described as progressive, people-centric, democratic and secular…’. In the current political milieu, he is sorely missed.

Unfortunately, after his passing, Naya Theatre lost its charm. In 2016, it staged his play Kamdev Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Delhi but it failed to generate enthusiasm among theatre-goers and lacked lustre.

During the book’s release in Kolkata, the great actor Naseeruddin Shah remarked, “While in Delhi, I was amazed by Ebrahim Alkazi’s plays and his larger-than-life characters. But when I saw Habib sahab’s Agra Bazaar, mere dimaag ki nassein khul gayein. I was moved to tears.”

I greatly enjoyed reading the book but it’s not a critical appraisal of Habib sahab’s work; rather, as the title suggests, it is a tribute to his legacy. It is a treat for his admirers, however for ordinary readers, there may be too much repetition regarding his famous play, Charandas Chor.