Tughlaq

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The Play

Tughlaq is a play about the turbulent rule of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq. The protagonist, Mohammad bin Tughlaq, had great ideas and a grand vision, but his reign was an abject failure. Tughlaq was known for his reformist ideas, one of which was shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in order to have a capital that is in the centre of his province. This play covers the consequences that followed this decision. The play dramatically highlights the importance of credibility and authenticity for a leader.  The play outlines his clever plots to eliminate his opponents and ends with scenes of utter chaos and misery in the kingdom, and Tughlaq being left alone, having been abandoned by those who survived him.

 

Director’s Note

Tughlaq is a political play. Mohammad is more about power than about an individual. Therefore the structural difference between the individual Mohammad and the political Mohammad is crucial. When Power undergoes conflict, lying within an idealistic false consciousness, the notion of nation is abandoned. The conflict between duty and the political ambition of Mohammad makes life difficult for the masses, and the very foundations of the imagination of a nation are forsaken. The play Tughlaq, analyses the various dimensions of ‘how’ or ‘what’ a ruler should or should not be. It is this contemporarily relevant idea that we should gather from the play than mere history.

 

The Director

Dr. Samkutty Pattomkary is a freelance director, designer and technical trainer in theatre. Formerly, an executive member of the Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy, Government of Kerala. Some of his plays as a script writer include Bheemaparvam , Deepra Thamas (Illuminated Darkness),  Urubhanga Sangodom  etc. As a director, he has been associated with many plays like, Kaalam Sakshi, Andha Yug, Ghatakarpparanma, Anth Nahin, Mahachaitra, Yeshodhare, Medea etc.  He has also designed more than 350 amateur/professional theatre and dance productions in Kerala with many leading directors from Kerala and abroad. In cinema, Dr. Pattomkary has acted for the documentary film Nayanarude Katha, worked as Director for the documentary film From Hutment Colonies to Agricultural Land and as an Art Director for movies like Mankolangal and English film Tantra. Dr. Pattomkary has received many awards, some of them being, Bank men’s Art Director Award, G. Sankara Pillai Endowment Award, Thoppil Bhasi Director Award (KPAC) and School of Drama Silver Jubilee Award.

 The Playwright

Girish Raghunath Karnad (born 19 May 1938) is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language. For four decades, Karnad has been writing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. His plays have been translated into many Indian languages and directed by eminent theatre personalities like Ebrahim Alkazi, B.V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan and Amal Allana. He is active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, director, and screenwriter. He is a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

 The Group

‘Samudaya’ established in 1974, is a pioneer cultural organization. Some of its prominent proscenium plays are, Maxim Gorky’s Thayi (Mother), Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena’s Kuri, P. Lankesh’s Sankranthi , H.S. Shivaprakash’s Mahachaitra , Kattale Daari Dura an adaptation of Chekov’s ‘Ward No. 6’, Mahaswetha Devi’s Rudaali and Neeru, K.P. Poornachandra Thejaswi’s Jugari Cross, Suttikondare Sarpa a Kannada adaptation of Ibsens’ Enemy Of The People etcThe group has also produced many street plays like Patre Sangappana Kole, Kooli Thangi, Belchi, Bhanvri Devi, Tippu, Kesari Bili Hasiru, Meravanige, Dhanvantri Chikitse etc. as a cultural protest pertaining to the contemporary issues of the nation. In addition to the plays, Samudaya has been active in conducting seminars, book releases and national festivals too.

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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