If Tipu Sultan has fascinated you, you now have an opportunity to learn little known stories about him through a play, that too in the Dakhni dialect of Urdu.
The erstwhile ruler of Mysuru has remained an enigma to this day for many and has a commensurate number of admirers and detractors. It is to feed this curiosity that veteran theatre artiste Zafer Mohiuddin has translated and directed the play Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab — an adaptation of the English play by Girish Karnad called Dreams of Tipu Sultan .
Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab will be staged by the Kathputliyaan Theatre Group at Chowdiah Memorial Hall at 7 p.m. on Friday. Entry is free.
“This will be a first-of-its-kind magnum opus play in Hindustani (a mixture of Hindi and Urdu), with 25 actors on stage in period costumes, make-up and props, along with intricate live music, light and sound design,” said Mr. Mohiuddin. “To make it more realistic, I am bringing in the Dakhni dialect of Urdu spoken in Devanahalli, where Tipu was born, and the Kolar belt.”
Although the Kannada and English versions of the play have had multiple shows, it was Mr. Karnad’s encouragement that got Mr. Mohiuddin to take the plunge. “Mr. Karnad was happy with my Hindustani translation — published by the Karnataka Urdu Academy and released on Tipu Jayanti last year. He was glad that this would be the first Hindustani version in theatre. After all, Mr. Karnad brings out Tipu as a freedom fighter, the greatest Kannadiga after the Vijayanagar kings, and a visionary,” he said.
What Mr. Mohiuddin cherished about Mr. Karnad’s handling of history was his exceptional drawing of narratives that mirror Tipu in various perspectives. “I was moved to read about the helpless Tipu Sultan when his children were held hostage by the British. Tipu was the only ruler who challenged the British despite the Marathas and the Nizams not supporting him. This was not all. Had his determination not driven him to get the sericulture technology from the Chinese, the silk worm industry in the Channapatana belt would not have been there,” said Mr. Mohiuddin, who has highlighted points in the play. “The Dakhni dialect comes up in the informal family scenes and when Tipu speaks to his father, Hyder Ali, in his dreams,” he said.
The team that will present Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab has been working on it for the past six months. The costumes have been designed by G.S. Jayanthi and the music and vocals by sarangi expert Ustad Faiyaz Khan. “Ustad Faiyaz Khan has live music with alaaps, sarangi, sarod, sitar, tabla and vocals. His instinctive use of ragas for celebration and pathos is an aural value addition to the play, and blends with some imaginative lighting from Pradeep Belawadi,” Mr. Mohiuddin said.
