Adhe Adhure: Savitri’s Quest for a Complete Man

Adhe Adhure: Savitri’s Quest for a Complete Man

Dr. Ram Sharma , Associate Prof and head , dept of english , J.V.College , Baraut , Baghpat , U.P.

Dr. Archana Durgesh & Dr. Pooja Singh

Drama  is  a  growing  art,  and,  as  such,  Indian dramatists have been making constant experimentation with  themes  and  techniques.  There  is  an  imperative need  for  perceptive  and  mature  evaluations  on  this growing  discipline. 

Rakesh’s  plays dramatize  the  sufferings  of  men  and  woman  who  fall victims  to  socio-economic  hierarchy  and  cultural hegemony.  He  uses  historical  characters  to  project  the breakdown  of  communication  in  contemporary  life. Rakesh’s rise to fame as a dramatist of vital significance was, therefore, owing to the situation as it obtained in the  world  of  theatre  in  the  country  in  general  and  in Hindi  in  particular  rather  than  to  a  critical  recognition on  the  part  of  the  Hindi  scholars,  critics  and  readers. Rakesh  embedded  all  his  rebelliousness  in  his  short stories, novels and plays, as he tried to travel the path ‘hardly travelled’ by the earlier writers and his writings brought slings and arrows as well as praise, admiration and  applause  from  many  critics  for  breaking  the barriers.  His  play  Adhe  Adhure (Halfway  House) created  shock  waves  and  startled  even  the  die-hard critics.

 None, but Rakesh  could  have  so  meticulously  and  skillfully dramatize  man-woman  relationship  with  great  latitude and courage. The play dramatizes but does not explore, does not delve deep into human consciousness. Like  a paper  boat  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  the entire  play  encompasses  and  depicts  the  physical exteriors,  the  reality  that  lies  outside.  There is hardly any attempt to unfold the layers of the ‘psyche’ of any one of the characters except through stray comments by others.  Many biographers and critics close to Rakesh feel that he was almost obsessed with the idea of man woman relationship.  Halfway House does not tell a story in the conventional manner. It breaks new grounds, and there is more of a discussion or talking more on the pattern of a ‘discussion’ or ‘talking’ more on the pattern of Brecht or Beckett whose influence can be seen throughout the play.

The dramatist made his plays representatives of the real life and the complexities of the modern-day-living.  In  a broader sense, we can say that  Mohan  Rakesh  basically  deals  with  only  one subject  in  all  his  plays  and  it  is  man-woman relationship. This inclination starts right from the short stories and culminates in Halfway House. 

            The  play starts  with  a  prologue  by  the  man  in  a  black  suit.  It conveys that all men behave alike in a given situation, a middle-class family here.  The prologue describes Rakesh’s  chief  concerns  in  the  play depiction  of thoroughly  undefined  individuals  and  the  devastating circumstances  into  which they  are  plunged.  According to the prologue, the circumstances are beyond control; the characters have no identity, and the play itself is undefined. It is about the half and incomplete life of a middle class family. The play opens in the living room of a middle-class urban family.  The  room  is  untidy, a school  bag  lying  on  a  tea-poi;  some  clippings  of Hollywood  actresses  along  with  a  pair  of  scissors  are lying  on  the  sofa.  A pair of pajamas swings from the back of a chair. No one is seen in the room, nor is any sound is heard, indicative someone’s presence.  As the play opens we find Savitri entering the living room. The plays  centre  around  just  one  character  and  that  is Savitri, other  characters  are  like  ‘planets’  orbiting around and influencing her the play begins with her and ends with her.

             As act one begins, Savitri is seen tidying the living room.  After a few minutes Mahendranath, Savitri’s husband enters the room. They have been married twenty two years.  They have been blessed with three children, Ashok, Binni and Kinni.  Mahendranath is about fifty and he is out of work.

            He is just a nominal head of the family. Savitri doesn’t hold any respect for her husband; she is just a piece of stinking flesh. There is an occasion where she says that she wants a husband not a hanger on which clothes hangs. He is very convivial and his friends like his company.  He enters into a business with his friend, Juneja. Savitri urges him to get good furniture and other things for their house. Mahendranath has suffered serious set-backs in business and has not been able to re-establish himself. He withdraws his capital part by part, and buys all the items one after another and furnishes the house according to the taste of his wife. Rakesh has presented a picture of what a middle class family is going through in  a  changing  world,  where  industrialization  and  new economic  values  have  shaken  the  very  base  of  its existence.  The  middle-class  suffers  more  because  this class  has  gone  through  extremely  tense  situations, which  is  the  outcome  of  its  high  aspirations  and  its failure  to  be  able  to  achieve  it.  The family of Mahendranath and Savitri in the play Halfway House is economically uprooted, and has gone down from a high middle-class family to a lower income group. 

            In  modern  times,  human  life  has become  an  ocean  of  uncertain  circumstances  and individuals are victims of a general purposelessness and these  are,  precisely,  the  factors  responsible  for disintegration  of  family.  Mahendranath’s family struggles hard to cope with the contradictions within it. Savitri, his wife, is hardworking and committed to  the economic progress of the family, but she lacks integrity of  character  which  is  the  essence  of  marital  life.  The children are quarrelsome  and  Mahendranath  himself  is  an  idler, incapable  of  doing  anything,  for  him  or  for  others. Savitri takes her husband to task for not helping her in house work. She then refers to his being lazy. He admits that he has lost business as he spent his capital.  Savitri goes on nagging Mahendranath for losing business. This adds to his frustration and he takes it on his wife. Savitri finds her husband to be an idler, not even half a man, a mere stinking flesh and that she establishes connections with other men in order to discover a complete man.  Savitri absorbs patriarchal culture and observes it.  It  makes  her  think  that  man  is  a  bread earner  and  that  woman  is  a  house  keeper.  Savitri is more assertive than her husband.  Savitri has more powerful controlling authority than her husband. Mahendranath meekly yields to the demands of his wife and purchases furniture by withdrawing his share of the capital from the business.  Savitri takes up a job and feeds the family while her husband idles away without helping her in her house work. This upsets the cultural norms of patriarchy. She feels that her husband should succeed in business and earn every luxury that she dreams of having. She does not tolerate the dependence of her husband on his friend Juneja and his service to others.

            Savitri’s contempt for her husband is seen when she says, “That he’s never had any confidence in him. The test for everything in life has been you.  Whatever  you think,  want,  do,  he  too  must  think,  want  and  do. Why.......?  Because you are a man.  And he?  He is not even half a man!  If  there  is  an  unsavory  task, Mahendranath  will  do  it......  a  complicated  problem, Mahendranath will solve it....... When the press opened it  was  the  same;  in  the  case  of  the  factory,  it  was the same. To do your dusty work Mahendranath was good enough, but what happened, when it was done.......? Mahendranath has already taken his share and spent it. And what was his share?  (Points to furniture in the room) This  and  this.......  second,  third,  fourth-rate things  with  which  he  thought  he  was  making  a  home!” (p.15) She  then  accepts  the  patriarchal  concept  of  a manly  man  and  very  much  wants  her  husband  to  be manly.  When Juneja, her husband’s business-partner tries to explain to her how she has caused his downfall, she refuses to see the reason. As her husband fails to fit her image of a masculine man, Savitri runs after several men but fails to realize her dream. She does not realize her part in the failures of her husband. As he does not conform  to  her  concept  of  a  masculine  man,  she considers  him  important.  She blames first his parents and later his friends for this. She runs after several men but fails to establish a lasting relationship with any one of them. She feels greatly frustrated and takes it out on her children.  All this makes their house a veritable help. She is not satisfied with Mahendranath, and so tries to find the complete man in Singhania, Juneja, Manoj and Jagmohan. 

Savitri  is  an  independent  woman  who  has the  exposure  and  the  economic  independence  of  the modern  society,  she  gets  ample  opportunities  also. Mahendranath is more of a parasite and has no identity and self respect of his own. Savitri wants her son Ashok to settle down and invites Singhania home to introduce him to her son.  Singhania  and  Jagmohan  are  the members of the urban rich class who flaunt their riches and  high  social  status,  take  undue  advantage  of  the weaker  sections  and  exploit  women  employees  for gratifying their sexual lust and for pleasure. Singhania happens to be  Savitri’s  boss  and  has  all the  traits of  a comic figure. He is disliked not only by Mahendra who feels  bitter  about  his  frequent  visits,  he  is  equally looked  down  upon  by  Ashok  who  has  watched  his behavior  and  conduct  during  his  early  visits.  Ashok goes to the extent of making a drawing of Singhania with ass-like ears. Halfway House brings to surface the tensions of many couples, especially in educated middle-class families.  The  changing  values  and breaking  of  the  traditional  homes  have  brought  about the inner turmoil  of  modern  discontented  mind.  Binni, the elder daughter of Mahendranath and Savitri, is married to Manoj but is unable to adjust. There seems to be some sort of estrangement between Binni and her husband.  Mahendranath  is  a  failure  as  a  husband  not only  because  he  is  not  the  bread-winner  now  but  also because of his psychological dependence on others.  He is incapable of taking independent decisions about life and seeks help and guidance from others.  Savitri complains, “Ever since I have known, I have always found him living on someone or other, particularly on you. He’s ever been able to do anything without asking you. If we want to buy something, he must ask you.  If we want to go somewhere, he   must ask you.  When he wanted to marry me, he had to ask you. I cannot even breathe without asking you......... and what has been the result? That he’s never had any confidence in him.”  (pp. 68-69)

            The  play  gains  intensity  and  poignancy  from the  conflict  in  the  relationship  between  Mahendranath and  Savitri  on one  hand,  and  from  Savitri’s relationships  with  the  other  men,  namely,  Manoj, Singhania, Jagmohan  and Juneja,  on the other.  Manoj, as  we  are  told,  used  to  visit  the  house  as  Savitri’s paramour.  Singhania  is  her  boss  whom  she  seems  to oblige  to  secure  a  job  for  her  son  Ashok.  She  is enamored  of  Jagmohan  for  he  is  a  person  who,  she knows,  possesses  all  that  her  husband  lacks.  Juneja, whom she derides in her husband’s presence, was ones considered her savior in distress.  Juneja  unveils  the reality  by  discovering  the  root  of  all  the  trouble  in Savitri’s concept  of  life.  He  agrees that  Mahendranath at  times,  becomes  bad  tempered,  but  there  was  a  time when he was happy by nature he laughed from within.  It is Savitri who always makes him feel low. She  aspires  for  life  which  Mahendranath  cannot  give her,  which  no  men  can  possibly  give  her.  Juneja’s words are relevant, “The point is that if any of these men had been part of your  life  instead  of  Mahendra,  you  would  still have  felt  that  you  had  married  the  wrong  man.  You would still have encountered a Mahendra, a Juneja a Shivajeet, or a Jagmohan and thought and reacted in the same way.  Because  the  meaning  of  life  to  you  is  how many  different  things  you  can  have  and  enjoy  at  the same  time.  One man alone could never give them to you, so no matter whom you married; you would always have felt as empty and as restless as you do today.” (p.74)

The play reveals the pretentious nature of upper middle-class Indian society and women’s urge to become economically independent.  Post-independent Indian period more so the years after the sixties saw the emergence  of  career  women  who  aspired  to  take  up high  profile  jobs  through  competitions  are  through political  influence;  some  of  them started their own business  like  garment-designing,  beauty-saloons, slimming  centers  and  so  on. 

            Savitri  the  principal character  in  the  play,  could  be  considered  one  of  the pioneers,  and  most  of  the  pioneer  women  often suffered, one way or the other at the hands of their male bosses  who  often exploited them.  The  urge  to  become economically  independent or to take up a job under economic  compulsions  often  led  some  young  women into traps of Junejas’,  Jagmohans’ lust.  Breakdown of marriages has become a common affair on the upper middle-class urban-society, particularly in the metro cities.  In  most  cases  there  is  a  clash  of  egos  which results  in  breakdown  of  marriage.  Rakesh has tried to depict the despicable condition of a fragmented family from all possible angles.  Besides the breakdown of marriage, Rakesh has also tried to depict the theme of alienation and fragmentation.

Savitri judges Mahindra by what he does not have and what others have strength, vigor, status, fat bank balance. Binni evaluates her marital home not by what it has but by what it does not have----- freedom, license, loafing about the legacy she had taken from her parental home.  Savitri  shifts  from one  man  to  another and  then to another  in  her  search for  a  complete  man. Ambition  for  a  grand  and  glorious  life  coupled  with biological urge has led Savitri to a point of no return; at the  end  she  is  catapulted  into  the  same  predicament from which she had endeavored all her life to get  out. Mahendra too decides to return to the same house once again. Binni has been frequently returning to her parents to get relief readers are of the opinion that Binni’s predicament is no different from that of her mother and she would end up as such. The conclusion of the play is controversial.  A  hegemonic  male  centered  discourse  is created  to  shift  the  entire  blame  for  unhappiness  in marriage  on  Savitri. 

            In  many  ways  Savitri  is  in  sharp contrast  to  the  traditional  home-loving  and  home-tide woman  having  all  ingredients  and  traits  of  stoicism. Savitri too suffers, but her sufferings are the result of her own choice, her inner compulsions, and her psychic needs. Her frustration is caused by her failure to fill the psychological  chasm  within  her  that  detracts  her  from establishing any rapport with her husband and the other members  of  her  family. 

In this play, the man and the woman are not only married they also have a family, consisting of two daughters and a son. This family seems to be a gas chamber in which the members are getting choked, they are  unable  to  breathe  normally  as  it  were,  and  feel suffocated  because  of  the  oppressive,  rancorous atmosphere that lies like a pall on the family. Each one of them seems doomed to suffer, whether it is the head of the family, Mahendranath or his wife Savitri or the boy Ashok or the youngest adolescent, Kinni.  Halfway House expresses tragedy, helplessness, vacuum, egoism rise of individualism, feeling of futility, and search for meaning in one’s existence, distance of authority, and laws of traditional values, a feeling of loneliness and alienation in contemporary life. The plot of the play is made of an average middle-class family life. Ostentations,  taboos,  worthless  traditional  customs, cowardice  to  break  them  for  fear  of  social  stigma, financial stringency, to live beyond one’s means all these  characteristics  of  the  class  appear  vividly  in  the play. The members of Mahendranath’s family suffer from these ills.  All action takes place in Mahendranath’s house, in his drawing room to be exact.

            In a desire to have what she wanted she even lost what she possessed. Though one feels sympathy for her still the means she adopted can’t be ignored. She defined a complete man as one who has a sound character in his sound personality. He must be of a good status with sufficient bank balance. She adds manhood to the list and keeping in mind the criterion of a complete man she considers her husband a stamp rather a servant who looks after the house while she is away. She neither makes any adjustments nor did she have a soft corner for him. She wanted to paint him in the image she felt comfortable with. Junega aptly explains Savitri that one man could have never satisfied her irrespective of whom she married. The emptiness and restlessness she has experienced with Mahendranath she would have experienced the same with anyone else. Her erroneous concept of life and erroneous definition of man brought doom to her house. She took him as a dummy husband and her words that, ‘he’s not half a man’ portrays her physical needs even. As far as her name is concerned its contrast to the rich history selfless of love and dedication of a wife attached; she wanted removal of her husband from the surface of the earth.

            Half Way House is the dramatization of a career woman. The author has taken great pains in sketching this character. He does not condemn her nor does he approve of her but remains silent. One has to accept or reject according to their perspective.

Works cited and referred:

·         Rajinder Nath, “Introduction.” Halfway House, trans. Bindu Batra(Delhi: Worldview, 1999), p.xi.

·         Uma Shankar Jha and Premlata Pujari, Indian Women Today:  Tradition, Modernity and Challenge, Vol. 3 (New Delhi: Kanishka, 1996).

·         Siddh Nath Kumar, Halfway House: Samvednaa Aur Shilp (Ranchi: Saroj Prakashan, 1987).

·         Cappola, Carlo. “Mohan Rakesh: A Self Portrait” in Anthology: Mohan Rakesh (Delhi: Radha Prakashan, 1974), pp. 4-14.

·         Kumar, Sanjay. “Halfway House: A Critical Commentary,” in Dilip K.Basu (Delhi: Worldview, 1998), pp. 132-44.

·         Narayana, Birendra. Hindi Drama and Stage (Delhi: Bansal, 1981).

·         Walker, Alexander.  Woman:  Physiologically  Considered  as  to  Mind,  Morals,  Marriage,  Matrimonial  Slavery, Infidelity and Divorce(Delhi: Mittal, 1987).

·         Mohan Rakesh, Halfway House, trans. Bindu Batra, ed. Dilip K. Basu (Delhi: Worldview, 1999).