Silence! The court is in session...

'Silence! The court is in session'...'Shantata! Court chalu ahe'

No, i am not translating English play titles into Marathi... I do have better work ;)
This play originally written in Marathi in 1967 by Padma Bhushan awardee Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (he did win it for exemplary performances in the field of arts but it wasn't for this play!). Just to add a bit of trivia, he is the father of noted film actress Priya Tendulkar! I guess the scientifically-proven-yet-often-opposed fact that certain skills are passed on to generations through genes has been proven true yet again! Armed with this proof it is safe to assume that although I am scared stiff of silverfish, i'd sure be a firebrand with an AK-47 at war! Watch out Pakis....[my dad was an army officer!].

Anyhoo... the play is super with brilliant direction and brings to light an issue that boils my feminist blood - namely, Hypocrisy! It is about a school teacher who takes classes for 10 year old children (essentially 5th std kids, right?...well in my day and age...... ok, that's a different saga altogether...some other time!). She's a light-hearted, spirited woman who enjoys her youth and encourages laughter to lead her through life. And she is single. Oh, what a crime! Woe be this woman who has not decided to settle down... this woman who has decided to be financially independent... this woman who challenges her male colleagues everyday in a battle of intellect - and wins!

The story unfolds when the drama club she is part of (consisting of educators, lawyers, an actor etc) decides to stage a fake-show as practice before an actual theatre performance they were to hold that evening. They decide to come up with a make-believe theme and conduct a fake-play in order to practice what a courtroom session is like. They choose a judge, a prosecutor, a defendant, a couple of witnesses and needless to say, the accused is this spirited young lady. The crime decided upon is - infanticide.

The play unfurls with the 'fake-play' ending up being the exact replica of her life. The hypocrisy of these educators and actors and lawyers come to the forefront with everybody accusing her of being "loose" since she has had sex before marriage and worse still- got pregnant. Then they accuse her of infanticide in order to hide her sins... She denies it with all gusto of a woman torn... she says she wants to keep the baby growing within her. But the verdict is harsh as society shows no mercy to women with 'disputable character'... They tell her she has to quit her job as she will pollute the young minds of the innocent 10 year children, she has nothing but loved.

Absolutely typical yet totally biased was the fact that the man she was said to have slept with was not pointed fingers at! The fact that he was a married man, had committed adultery, lied to and abandoned his mistress and unborn child had no bearings in the light that this unmarried, young, Indian woman who had embraced her womanhood and fell in love with someone she worshipped for his intellect...

All in all a very well thought of script, the actors performed to perfection and stage presence was delightful...

Moral of the story (with a pun) : Never let the child in you die!!! :)