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The Wire
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Wire
When Marx Returned to Kolkata
Marxian dialectics require two contradictory social or economic phenomena that influence each other. This leads to their development and negation, but that is not the end. The negation creates a new situation that develops and needs negation again. And so it goes on through time. It is quite satisfying, therefore, in a dialectical way, to witness Karl Marx land in contemporary Kolkata in Swapnasandhani's latest play, Marx in Kolkata. Persistent rumours about his death have compelled the founding father of communism to make a comeback. Kolkata is a coincidence, but that his reputation is also at stake in the capital of the Indian state that was ruled by a democratically elected communist party for 34 years is telling. It is a little sad to see a man of Marx's stature trying to prove that he is alive. Self-justification, however, can also be the opportunity of self-searching, and in Kolkata – formerly Calcutta – Marx launches himself into deep introspection as he walks into that perfect example of the new world order: a food court. Here at this site of mass consumption (in more than one sense), where workers are treated as modern-day slaves, Marx begins to talk about himself and his life. Jayant Kripalani as Marx and Srijit Mukherji as Mephistopheles in ''Marx in Kolkata'. Photo: Sandip Kumar Marx in Kolkata is inspired by American historian Howard Zinn's 1999 play, Marx in Soho, which had Marx landing in Soho in contemporary New York instead of the locality in London. Swapnasandhani's play is directed and adapted by Koushik Sen, who keeps it primarily in English, but also uses Bengali and Hindi. Marx speaks especially of his life at his home in Soho, a London neighbourhood, where the German materialist philosopher had eventually taken refuge after being forced to leave his homeland for his radical journalism. In his Soho home, Marx wrote much of Das Kapital in the 1850s. Marx recounts how he wrote, despite everything, in the small Dean Street house in London, surrounded by garbage and squalor outside and crushed by poverty. He was intensely wary of what would happen to his legacy: he was not a Marxist, he asserts, unlike those who would use his ideas for power and profit. Marx and his wife Jenny von Westphalen, a theatre critic and an extraordinary person, saw the death of three of their children in their Soho home. Jenny kept making frequent trips to the pawn shop. Yet their home, with the three daughters who had survived, was full of laughter and joy because love and the hope for a better world held it together, as did Jenny's hard work. Class struggle may be the first contradiction in the Marxian scheme of things, but his writings were possible because of Jenny's labours at home. The admission makes the play a feminist critique of Marx's works. Sen makes two significant departures from the original in his adaptation. In Zinn's play, Marx is the only character. In Sen's adaptation Marx, played by Jayant Kripalani, gets a supporting cast: Jenny, Marx's and Jenny's remarkable precocious daughter Eleanor, a brutal manager and groups of actors, at the food court or at a meeting. Jayant Kripalani as Marx and Srijit Mukherji as Mephistopheles in ''Marx in Kolkata'. Photo: Sandip Kumar The second departure is spectacular. To the ironic echoes of the opening lines of The Communist Manifesto that Marx had written with Friedrich Engels before Das Kapital: 'A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism', what could have been a trap door opens at the end of the first half of the play, and through the door rises Mephistopheles himself, replete with a wanton creature wriggling at his feet. Two of god's greatest adversaries are meeting in Kolkata. History and myth confront each other. But which is which? Mephisto, represented in literature and art memorably through the ages, is played in Marx in Kolkata by Srijit Mukherji, the film director, and looks more real than ever. He rules the world with money and power. His tools are death and destruction. Mephisto is late capitalism and neo-Fascism, grotesque and lurid, funny and seductive, and looks very, very familiar. With Marx, Mephisto is up to his old trick. He tries to get Marx to sign a contact to sell his soul. What follows is interesting. Dialectics have infinite possibilities. Marx in Kolkata, which has held two shows so far in the city to an enthusiastic response, raises the very relevant question about Marx's absence, or presence, now. Kripalani, as Marx, carries the weight of the play robustly on his shoulders. The veteran actor brings to life an icon, with humour and sensitivity. His portrayal has Marx looking at a world that has displaced him with a vulnerability that is moving. It is quite evident, though, that Marx is still full of life. I am dead and I am not, Marx reminds. That's dialectics for you. Mukherji, who was a stage actor before he became a well-known film director, is the perfect counterpoint as Mephisto to Kripalani. Mukherji's Mephisto is flamboyant, flashy, amusing, trippy, younger and blood-thirsty. Mephisto is now Mammon on steroids, and Mukherji, as this sweet-talking shape-shifting monster, holds the attention of both Marx and the audience steadily. Ditipriya Sarkar as Jenny and Shaili Bhattacharjee as Eleanor are competent. Mrinmoy Chakraborty is well cast as a nasty, screaming manager. Marx in Kolkata is a romp asking a serious question. It is good to see such a burst of energy on the Kolkata stage. The play moves at a good pace, is spectacular and uses lots of movement and more than one language, which may help it to connect with younger audiences. The music, sound and sets add to the liveliness. Special mention must be made of the use of G.D. Birla Sabhaghar, including the use of the revolving stage and the entrance from below. One wonders, though, if it was necessary for Mephisto to travel across space and time and meet Marx, that too in Kolkata. 'But who other than Marx?' asks Mukherji in an off-stage interview. Capitalism and its cronies would like to finish Marx off for ever. What if, however, instead of entering the grand design of Mephistophelian myth and overarching themes, Marx had walked out from the food court into a Kolkata street and looked around? How about finding out some facts about the city? What would he have to say about the ratio of his own statues to the number of cafés in Kolkata now? What is the number of seats that the communist party named after him, which had ruled Bengal, won in the last Lok Sabha elections? What is the percentage increase in the number of temples constructed under large trees in streets in the last five years? If religion is the opium of the masses, what about the classes? A spectre is haunting Bengal, and it is not of communism. Maybe Marx could have taken a closer look? God lies in the detail, goes the idiom. The devil lies in the detail, is its other version. Chandrima S. Bhattacharya lives in Kolkata.
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
City debates lungi no-entry to auditorium for theatre show
1 2 Kolkata: On Thursday evening, a theatre practitioner was denied entry to GD Birla Sabhagar for watching a play, due to his wearing a lungi. Despite Sanskriti Sagar issuing a statement clarifying that the auditorium has no dress code and apologising to the actor, it has caused division among the city's culturati. Some advocate that shorts and lungi should be permitted, while others believe that, similar to many auditoria abroad, it is important to uphold at least a smart casual dress code. On Thursday night, Joyraj Bhattacharjee had gone for a show of Koushik Sen's 'Marx in Kolkata', starring Jayant Kriplani and Srjit Mukherji at GD Birla Sabhagar. "Despite having a valid ticket, I was just stopped from entering because I was wearing a lungi. The doorman clearly stated, 'Lungis are not allowed'," Bhattacharjee posted on Facebook. His note made it clear that the organisers — Swapnasandhani theatre group — should not be held responsible. This problem, he wrote, lay with "the authorities, not even with the gatekeeper". "I am very comfortable wearing a lungi and have worn it to various venues in the city, including Academy of Fine Arts, Kalamandir and Tapan Theatre and even during my travels abroad. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo No one has stopped me from entering an auditorium because of my attire," Bhattacharjee said. Soon after his post went viral, Team Sanskriti Sagar apologised to Bhattacharjee, invited him to watch the next show after issuing a statement stating: "We would like to clarify that G D Birla Sabhagar has no dress code or restriction on attire, and everyone, regardless of what they choose to wear, is welcome in the auditorium. What happened was a lapse in judgment at the gate, and we are taking immediate steps to ensure such incidents never occur again. " But the incident left open the debate over whether or not the city's auditoria need a dress code. Moulin Rouge, for instance, makes it mandatory for viewers to wear only formals. Those with a ticket but in informal wear have the option of hiring formals available near the entry gate before they are allowed inside. Bhattacharjee said, "There is an opposite instance where certain venues in Berlin don't allow visitors to enter wearing a three-piece suit. I do not support either of these approaches. I feel aesthetically and ethically everyone should have the right to choose what attire he wants to wear for a programme," he added. But what if someone goes shirtless for a play or wears a night suit paired with a dupatta? Sugata Guha, who had gone to watch "Marx in Kolkata" on Thursday, is in favour of having a dress code. "Attire is also part of our cultural consciousness, and the 'anything goes' attitude in the name of freedom shows a certain cultural degeneration for the lack of being able to do anything better. I don't remember Tagore, Ray, Netaji, Uttam Kumar or even Jyoti Basu attending public events in a lungi. I feel there should be a dress code for certain closed-door events," Guha said. Koushik Sen, the play's director, said: "We can understand the difference between someone coming shirtless because of comfort and someone doing it to hog limelight. Yet, I wouldn't want a dress code since that would mean intruding into personal space."
