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आनंदओवरी | Anandowari
A Devotee Seeks God, a Man His Brother, and a Writer the Poet Tukaram
Artistes
90 Minutes | Hindi (Tukaram abhangs will be sung in Marathi) | Ages 16 years +
This play is an adaptation of the seminal Marathi novel ‘Anandowari’ written by D.B. Mokashi in 1974.
Anandowari (English translation: ‘The Verandah of Bliss’) looks at 17th-century saint poet Tukaram’s story through his younger brother Kanha’s perspective. Tukaram has gone missing again. This time, though, the hints seem ominous. We travel through those 3 days of Kanha’s frantic search for Tuka and his many realisations about his brother.
In reminiscing about Tukaram, Kanha tries to grapple with Tuka’s many identities: Tuka his brother, the son, the householder, the creative genius, a saint, a reformer, a rebel.
This act of reminiscence becomes an act of grappling with what and who he has lost, in the process giving us a great psychological insight into the events (personal, social and political) and impulses that shaped Tukaram’s consciousness and made him who he was: one of the most beloved Bhakti saint poets of Maharashtra, as tender as he was fierce, as compassionate as he was unforgivingly harsh, as much a reformist as he was a transcendentalist.
Our adaptation focuses on the search that lies at the heart of the text: a devotee in search of God, a man in search of his brother, a writer in search of the poet Tukaram.
Credits:
Original Novel Anandowari by D.B Mokashi
Adaptation and Direction: Gerish Khemani
Hindi Translation: Dr Jaya Dayal
Performed by: Varad Salvekar, Hrishabh Kanti
Background Score: Ruturaj Bhosle
Abhang Composition: Keshav Kudale
Light Design: Sachin Lele
Lights Operation: Prerana
Poster and Creatives: Robin Patel
Director’s Note:
What interested me personally was the question of the creative consciousness of the saint poet Tukaram, the source of his poetry, his metaphysical preoccupations, his social rebellion, his love for his beloved God Vitthal. I was interested in finding a device through which I could approach this text. And then it struck me: what would happen if the writer stepped into his own story? His character has found salvation, what about the writer? How will he? It is an investigation into that search… A devotee in search of God. A man in search of his brother. A writer in search of the poet Tukaram.
Through two texts – D. B Mokashi’s original Anandowari and my text where Tuka meets Vithal and Mokashi enters his own story – multiple confrontations are imagined. Confrontation between Mokashi (writer) and Kanha (character), confrontation between Tuka (devotee) and Vitthal (God). Creator and creation? One writer (Mokashi) searching for another (Tuka)? And then the question prevails: Who gives meaning to the other? Both depend on each other for meaning. For identity. Can there be a God without a devotee? Can there be a writer without her creation? Each validates the other. And each has the power to cancel each other out.
But then what if they exchange roles? Or what if this duality itself is the biggest illusion? And so these two texts came to be juxtaposed, hoping to interpenetrate and illuminate each other.
Our adaptation of Anandowari reeks of tremendous longing for the absolute and the madness, pain of creative consciousness and its concomitant search for meaning embodied in the existential desperation of the protagonists.
With Support From
Artistes
Gerish Khemani
Gerish runs a theatre group called The Blind and The Elephant in Mumbai, creating original devised work. He works as a visiting faculty of Devising Theatre at the Drama School Mumbai (DSM). He is a recipient of the Charles Wallace Scholarship by the British Council that facilitated his training in Devising Theatre and Performance at London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), presently called Arthaus Berlin.
His first production “Ripples”, which premiered in June 2015, is a play on teaching and learning that drew much critical acclaim. In August 2017, he was awarded the prestigious Hindu Playwright Award along with his co-writer Akshat Nigam for their play “In Search of Dariya Sagar” for the new unpublished and unperformed script at the Hindu Theatre Festival 2017, which he then produced and directed.
“Anandowari” is his third production that opened in Pune in January 2020.
As a corporate communication coach and actor, he works for varied local and global corporate training companies, equipping them to tell better stories about themselves and enhance their leadership presence.
Varad Salvekar
Varad Salvekar is a Mechanical Engineer by education from Pune University. He has been a part of Pune’s Experimental Theatre circuit since his school days. In his college days, he participated in Pune’s prestigious theatre competitions – Purushottam Karandak and Firodiya Karandak. He has worked with various theatre groups in Pune. Varad is also a screenwriter and a director. He has made short films and music videos which have been screened at various festivals.
He is currently a part of Natak Company’s “Mahanirwan” directed by Satish Alekar. He was also a part of a Marathi musical – “Sangeet Sanshaykallol” directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari and “Varamvar Kurukshetri yetati manushye” – A dramatic reading written and directed by Makarand Sathe. He is currently a part of Gerish Khemani’s play “Anandowari” and Sukrit Mahajan’s “Equus” written by Peter Shaffer.
Hrishabh Kanti
Hrishabh Kanti is a graduate from Manipal Institute of Communication. While still at college, he started working as an actor in various theatre groups. His professional journey in Mumbai started when he screened a play for Thespo 19 and later became a Thespo Fellow for a year at QTP Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
He has worked in DforDrama’s “Transfer Kid”, BeTaal’s “Tughlaq” (Fringe performance at Prithvi Theatre Festival ’19), Gerish Khemani’s play “Anandowari”, Vikram Kapadia’s “Greatest Show On Earth” (opened at Prithvi Festival ’22), Saurabh Nayyar’s “Golden Jubilee”, Rangshila’s “Story Of Space” & “Refund”, and Aranya Theatre Group’s “Rangaai” and “Tumhaare Baare Mein” directed by Manav Kaul. He was also part of Kathleen Duborg’s “For What Will Destroy You” (showcased at Thespo 21).
He has trained/worked with theatre makers like Sunil Shanbag, Quasar Thakore Padamsee, Toral Shah, Atul Kumar, Neeraj Kabi, Jehan Manekshaw, Vibhanshu Vaibhav, Peter Gould, Kirtana Kumar, Suba Das, and Peter Rinderknect among others. He completed his formal training in acting from Drama School Mumbai where he was awarded the Inlaks merit-based scholarship. The latest production he’s been part of is Arpana Theatre’s play “Barricade” directed by Sunil Shanbagh.
