Silence! The Court is in Session By Vijay Tendulkar

Vijay Tendulkar Ý 9 characters

Translated into and performed in several Indian and foreign languages, Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe is one of the best known works of Vijay Tendulkar. In some ways typical, in others uncharacteristic, this play was written for a Rangayan performance in 1968. Drafted mere days before its staging, it has since been broadcast by the BBC in English and made into a film by Satyadev Dubey. This edition of the play, titled Silence! The Court is in Session and translated by Priya Adarkar, also features an introduction by Kumud Mehta. Silence! The Court is in Session

Ahead of time! Excellent play! English Quite a powerful play on a number of levels: Tendulkar does a wonderful job forcing his audience to reflect on the dangers of a mob mentality, on the type of violence perpetrated by the middle class, and the plight of women. The play moves from quite humorous to serious and dangerous. It's an entertaining read and there is also a terrific version on film in Marathi with English subtitles for those who want to see an excellent performance. English *Read at your own risk? It may contain spoilers though I haven't mentioned any plot points. Didn't want to hide it entirely*

खोट्या कहाणीतले खोटे (अभिरुप) न्यायालय, पण वाचतानाची माझ्या मनातली तळमळ खरी.

(Translation: A pretend court in a pretend story, but my mental agitation while reading it, real)

I am in awe of the empathy and humanity shown by Vijay Tendulkar in his writing and for an issue that wasn't only unimaginably explosive in the 1960s when this play was written and performed, but also riles up the society asymmetrically against women to this day: a woman's moral character.

Why must we always bear the brunt and be largely responsible for upholding the so called morally superior culture for matters pertaining to our private lives?

Oh, how I wish Leela Benare's monologue wasn't only in her head. But I am trying to find comfort in the directors interpretation of how it wasn't her defense, but instead her silence was her defiance. Later found out that it was in fact the director, Aravind Despande's idea and he was instrumental in making Vijay Tendulkar write her a monologue.

Then again, Vijay Tendulkar's 'ahead of the time' writing doesn't come as a complete surprise to me, who has seen seen his short story on screen : मित्राची गोष्ट Mitrachi Goshta: A Friend's Story: A Play in Three Acts. English Tendulkar has hit upon many themes in a simple play. There is a drama within a drama, the theme of woman's independence and the likewise stigma of being improper, the working of a court, and the manipulative statements and judgements. Leela Benare, the actor within the play comes to be the victim and heroine of the real play. A woman's sentiments is seldom understood by the others, while she is only blamed to have an illegal affair. The other characters too are affected in some way or the other, and Tendulkar has cleverly paved way for each of the characters to reveal their problems. English Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe or the English translation Silence! The Court Is In Session by Vijay Tendulkar is a play that discusses a woman's freedom, her choices in life and how people judge and blame her depending on how she talks and behaves with other people especially men.

A group of people have come together to perform a play. However it seems that
one of their characters will not be able to make it in time for the play. So they decide to involve the local person who's helping them with the area. The play is about a courtroom and so in order to make him understand what his role would be and also to kill time till the actual act starts, they decide to do a pretend act of the court room with a fake blame on a fake culprit by fake witnesses. All of this is being done in the name of a game.

However, something that was started as a mere entertainment takes a nasty turn when each witness try to judge and express their opinion about the fake culprit, Miss Benare. The person who is being blamed for having relationship before marriage and for foeticide. As the fake play progresses, each one has something to say about the victim, some with so called genuine proof, but mostly only based on their judgement on how she is friendly with men and still not married even at the age of 34.

The play starts on a humourous note but turns serious and dangerous. It is something that makes you think not just while reading but even after you've kept the book. Written beautifully, it takes you in with it and you are no more just a reader but you become a part of it seeing and feeling everything that is happening. A hard hitting play with a theme that holds true even today, this play was something that was engrossing and mind boggling. English

A play set in a play. The cruel reality is shown with such subtlety that the heart of every reader or viewer would yearn to get up and stand for the right. Evocative! English I want to give it perhaps a 2.8 or 2.9 stars. There is just something I don't like about plays, and that is dialogue. I'm more of a narration person than a dialogue person, and I didn't know this bias existed in me until today because I've read quite a few plays and liked many of them.

The story was good, the characters okay-ish, but the language was very crude and put me off very often and very easily. The character of Miss Leela Benare disappointed me a little too much. She was free-spirited and independent the whole time except when the charges were put against her. And the dream sequence in which she revolted too didn't seemed satisfactory to me, it digressed into something irritatingly stupid about nature and everything which seemed way too off point to me. After trying too hard to sculpt Benare as a new age woman, I feel, Tendulkar finally fell prey to the gender role of women being submissive, even with the character of Mrs Kashikar but more so with Benare. The men preying on Benare though were perfect characterisations and true to their nature. I was however cringed out by the views of the self proclaimed social worker Mr Kashikar that were so retrogressive but I appreciate the construction of the character.

As I mentioned above, the writing isn't the best, but the twists and turns the story takes were quite engaging and I liked it. there isn't much else to be discussed about the drama other than these and I recommend it for a light reading but I still don't understand the blind appreciation of the text for I feel Kamala was a better written play by Tendulkar, but I'm surely gonna read more of his works. English miss benare' sololiquy remains the most real and touching part of the play.
vijay tendulkar is success in describing a play with play with actually reminding people about the inbuilt play's enactment. English This book is a masterpiece. I would possibly rate with millions of stars. I am dumbfounded. I strongly recommend this book to every one of you.

Read it at least once in your lifetime. It's a book of substance and great impact. English I remember seeing this play as a part of my syllabus for Elective English when I was in high school. Unfortunately, it was not in our prescribed reading list and I didn’t have the time to read it at that time. Nonetheless, I am glad I did scout a copy of it online and read it as soon as it arrived. Tendulkar’s play is set in twentieth century India that is moving on its path toward modernisation. The story of the play explores that very element of change within the Indian social fabric beset with traditional dogmas. A theatre company comes together to rehearse a play before their final show to educate a rural man about what a play is like. It is in this little game we see the characters hunting down a woman of their company and her private matters. The court room setting makes the examination of the woman’s life real and effective to the tension that the playwright builds until the end. Through loud dialogues and characters from regular walks of life, the play succeeds in its essence of appearing natural and unforced. In three acts, we find characters unfurling their lives, their inner demons, their uncanny imagination and one can’t stop but laugh and be surprised at the same time. I suggest reading the dialogues aloud and with the tone and expressions as the characters would have. I bet you it would be fun and thrilling! The play was beautifully translated from Marathi by Priya Adarkar. English