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"Tughlaq" at SPJIMR, Mumbai GASP, i.e., the Guild of Actors at S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research is an amateur theatre group formed under the aegis of the ADMAP (Assessment and Development of Managerial Aptitude and Potential) program conducted at SPJIMR. The idea behind forming a theatre group was to have a forum for people interested in theatre and dramatics and enrich each other with their insights and ideas. The members decided to work towards an annual production to give it a more meaningful essence. Towards the same, members sat and read through many scripts and finally boiled down to Girish Karnad's acclaimed classic "Tughlaq". Why Tughlaq? Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is known as the most cruel, cold-blooded and crazy sultan yet. At the same time, he was also brilliant, philanthropic and an endearing person. This dichotomy in his character, perhaps would be diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder today of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Whether he was a genius or a maniacal lunatic, an idealist or a visionary, a tyrant or a benevolent king, are unanswered questions. In its canvas and treatment, Tughlaq is both huge and contemporary. It is a tale of the crumbling to ashes of the dreams and aspirations of an over ambitious, yet considerably virtuous king. Contemporary, in the, sense, that one can see flashes of 'Tughlaqi' attitude - callous yet well meaning - in contemporary political structures too. This was what appealed to the management students. The issues at hand, be it decentralization of the system, i.e., moving the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad or making the value of copper coins equal to the silver dinars, the political web he spun to get his ideologies across and inspite of all this, his failure to implement his vision. It leads us to introspect and raise issues about leadership. Is foresight and vision enough to lead a nation? The play showcases the ramifications of decisions taken by Tughlaq on the proletariat. Where at one level Utopia and philosophy beckoned Tughlaq and guided and influenced his decision making, the common man was more pre-occupied with the very mundane chore of surviving. Hence, it is issues of leadership and power like these that GASP has attempted to showcase and of course in its own small way try to uncover the enigma that Muhammad Bin Tughlaq was. Play was held on Feb 20, 2004 at the Institute. Contributed by - |
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