| This is a rare adaptation of a novel for a Dastangoi performance. It was commissioned by a Calcutta based group as part of Tagore's 150th-anniversary celebrations. In preparing this for Dastangoi, says Farooqui, 'I tried to frame it against the backdrop of 1857 and the Swadeshi movement and used a number of folk songs of that period. I also used Jataka stories to frame the aura of the British Raj before getting into the narration proper.' While preparing the text Farooqui drew upon an English and Hindi translation of the novel and found that the film had taken too many liberties which he wanted to avoid and get back to the root of the novel. The conflict between love, public persona and private desire. What Tagore emphasises in this novel is the unity of public and private, that immoral conduct in one cannot be condoned because of the achievements of the other. All reform must begin from home. Adapted from: Guru Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali novel, Ghare Baire - The home and the world, written in 1916. Duration: 90 Minutes Language: Urdu, Hindi, Bengali Genre: Tragedy Suitable for: 12+ |
The novel takes a clear stand against aggressive Hindu nationalism, in fact against nationalism of all sorts, and engages with question of cow-slaughter, swadeshi, othering of Muslims and extremist mobilisation in the name of the nation. The Dastan-e Ghare Baire thus anticipates and addresses some of the most burning questions of our time. |
