Tughlaq

Tughlaq

Girish Karnad's play Tughlaq explores the character of one of the most fascinating kings to occupy the throne in Delhi, namely, Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq. He ruled for 26 years, a period of unparalleled cruelty and agonising existence for his subjects.

Prof. Asha Kuthari Chaudhuri then of the Gauhati University at Guwahati, has said[10] of the play: "Tughlaq is based on the life and story of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq -- the most controversial ruler of the Delhi sultanate. Tughlaq is defined as a historical play because the chief protagonist is a character taken from history and the play documents a series of past events that took place during the reign of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq. Tughlaq can also be considered as a political play as it represents the reign of a king and his various moves to unify the Hindus and Muslims, and establish a just kingdom in Delhi."

Writing in 2012, the research scholar M. Jagadeswari, argues[11]: "Girish Karnad is the foremost playwright of modern India. Tughlaq, his second play, is a historical play replete with symbolism.... In the play, the symbols have a myriad of origin as well as forms. He used symbols to represent universal thoughts and emotions. His use of various symbols in the play such as Chess, Aziz and Aazam, Prayer, Python, Daulatabad, Rose and birds like Vulture add greater emotional and associative significance."

Characters

Tughlaq

The Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq is the central figure of the play, Tughlaq. He is the protagonist/ antagonist of the play. Many of the critics are of the opinion that Karnad’s Tughlaq is caricature of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. He is very intelligent and works very hard for the people. He becomes successful to kill Sheikh Imam-ud-din and Ain-ul-Mulk in a single stroke. This double-facedness of Tughlaq can be compared with modern politicians

.

Baran

Barani plays significant part in Girish Karnad’s plays. Karnad has used historical background while writing

Tughlaq and The Dreams of Tipu Sultan.In both these plays he has used a fictional histori

an named Barani. His character is contrast to Najib who is a politician. To him history is not made only in straight crafts; its lasting results are produced in the ranks of learned

men. Like Najib, Barani is also the favourite of Sultan but unlike Najib, he is an idealist. He is a good man and sees goodness in everyone. He is a moderate and temperate. He does not want violence. He praises the Sultan’s generous and kind deeds and does not approve of his killings

and murders. He is a scholar historian standing for the virtues of life.He is a simple, good and an honest advisor to the Sultan completely unaware of intrigues and treachery.

Sheikh Imam-ud-din

He is a holy character of India who defies the Sultan and meets his death by being caught in the trap of the Sultan. He is a bold and courageous man and is a great fiery speaker. He boldly tells the people that Muhammad is a murderer of his father and brother. The Sheikh

is a man of courage and integrity. He warns Sultan against making verbal distinctions between religion and politics. But he is trapped by Muhammad in hisplan and he is killed in the battle.

The Step-mother

The Step-mother of Tughlaq is the only important female character in the play. She is worried about the health and welfare of Tughlaq. She is worried about his late nights. As she dislikes many of Tughlaq’s advisors, she requests Barani to promise her not to leave the Sultan – ever – whatever he does. She comes to the conclusion that Najib is responsible for the killings in the state. She manages the murder of Najib and for that Tughlaq gives order for her being sent to prison and stoned to death. The Sultan loses a good advisor.

Plot

By no means can the plot of Tughlaqbe called Aristotelian. The playwright has flaunted the unities of time and place. The action of the playtakes place first of all in Delhi in the year 1327,then from the road from Delhi to Daulatabad and lastly in and around the fort at Daulatabad five years later. The unity of action implies that all the episodes in the play must be knit together to form the whole. Not a single episode or incident can be removed from the structure without a loss. In Tughlaq, there are many superfluous incidents e.g. the episode of Aziz and Hindu woman and the episode of Aziz with a family containing six illegal children. Many scenes regarding bloodshed and murders are narrated and not shown directly on the stage. Only the gruesome murder of Sihab-ud-din is enacted on the stage. The stepmother of the Sultan is shown being dragged by the soldiers.In Greek plays, the episodes regarding murders, bloodshed and other horrorful actions are narrated and are not shown onthe stage. Karnad weaves the story of Aazam and Aziz with the main tragic story of Tughlaq. Karnad has become successful in creating suspense in the play by keeping in abeyance the happy fate of Aziz. Though he cheats the Sultan, instead of being killed or tortured, he is rewarded by the Sultan. Girish Karnad uses suggesting method in developing the plot of Tughlaq Karnad has skillfully woven the plot. He knits together the comic story of Aziz and the tragic tale of life of Muhammad. Many critics are of the opinion thatTughlaq is a political allegory based on Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s era and it comments directly or indirectly the plans introduced by Jawaharlal Nehru. Tughlaqdeals with the last five years of the reign of Tughlaq. And whatever else we need to know we learn from what others tell us of him.

This has been done in the interest of dramatic effectiveness. The dramatist introduces tension and conflict which are essentialfor plot, in the very beginning and all the events and actions of characters intensify conflict until it reaches the climax. The subplot related with Aziz and Aazam runs parallel to the main plot. It is employed for the purpose of burlesque. In other words it is introduced inthe way of ridicule. And in order to achieve the target it was deliberately written in the convention of the company Natak.