Flying under the radar for so-called crossover audiences, who are often more insular than clued-in, is a veritable juggernaut. In just under five months, Marathi drama Sangeet Devbabhali directed by Prajakt Deshmukh has already performed 75 odd shows (mostly in Mumbai, Pune and Nasik), and has etched its mark on the cultural landscape by sweeping awards season this year. The abhangas of Tukaram provides Sangeet Devbabhali its musical texture, even as it focuses on his wife, Avali (Shubhangi Sadavarte), by imagining an extended encounter between her and Rakumai (Manasi Joshi), the consort of Vitthal of Pandharpur, the eternal object of Tukaram’s devotion.
Avali, or Jijabai, was Tukaram’s second wife, and has often been at the receiving end of unsympathetic portrayals in popular culture, although Radhika Apte’s recent turn in Chandrakant Kulkarni’s Tukaram (2012) certainly brought out her resilience. A woman of the world, given to straightforward pragmatism, Avali couldn’t fully fathom the depths of her husband’s spiritual quest, but nonetheless kept the wheels of both his life’s calling and his household spinning with her tireless ministrations.
Much more than just a virago, Avali was an individual shrouded in moral ambivalence about her place in the world of a man effectively betrothed elsewhere.
The premise is set up fairly simply. Each afternoon, Avali, armed with lunch, spends hours searching for Tukaram in the hills near Dehu. On one occasion, her foot is pierced by a thorn. It is Vitthal who takes it out as she lies unconscious, she being the wife of his foremost devotee. This, in turn, piques the curiosity and initial chagrin of Rakumai, who assumes the guise of a stranger, Lakhubai, to learn more about the ordinary woman whose feet had been touched by God himself. In a household that is a shrine to Vitthal, Rakumai discovers her husband anew.
The music by Anand Oak features historical abhangas as well as fresh ones written by playwright and director Deshmukh, who replicated lyrical patterns distinct to Tukaram’s oeuvre. “It is a matter of pride that even my abhangas are considered part of the traditional repertoire by audiences,” he says. A theatre veteran of 15 years, Sangeet Devbabhali is Deshmukh’s first commercial outing. This does not allude to the sensibility of presentation, which is minimalist and nuanced and almost literary in its scope, but to the fact that Marathi theatre powerhouse Bhadrakali Productions have propelled it into larger venues accompanied by bigger paydays.
Ultimately, it is the story of two women, marginalised in their own lives, who find succour in each other’s circumstances. This is not likely to be a tale of feminine self-actualisation — the men are still centre stage in all respects, and paragons at that, who must be looked upon almost unquestioningly. Yet, these situations have not yet been relegated to distant times, but persist in contemporary society, which is why the work of Sadavarte and Joshi, both seasoned performers, have struck such a note with audiences, who see them as extensions of themselves, rather than as archetypes of classic drama.
Sangeet Devbabhali will be staged at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan, Thane on May 10, Shivaji Mandir at Dadar on May 11, and at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Natya Griha Hall on May 14; more details bookmyshow
