FINAL SOLUTION BY MAHESH DATTANI

Q1 :Mahesh Dattani's play Final Solutions is not confined to exploring communal prejudice, it also outlines the
problems created by patriarchy in an Indian family Discuss.

 Final Solutions is a play, where Mahesh Dattani, has portrayed the picture of India during the
communal riots. The play speaks about the sufferings of both the Hindus and the Muslims. The play
also talks about male dominance in the life of a woman in the Indian family. Dattani has shown the
themes of the play like selfishness, weakness of a human, patriarchal dominance, fear and hatred.

 The play is about a Gujrati family where the head of the family is Hardika, who has a strong hatred for
the Muslims because her father was killed by the Muslims. She protests against her son when he gives
refuge to two Muslim boys Javed and Bobby in her house.but she did not know that her husband and
father in law ruined the life of Zarine who was her friend when she was young. Hardika’s father in law
and husband had set the shop of Zarine’s father on fire and Ramnik knew this truth but he did not
reveal this to his mother because he did not want his mother to suffer more.

 Final Solutions can be considered as a problem play as it speaks about the communal tension and
communal riot. It is shown that the older generation in the play had borne the burnt of communal
violence and they are not ready to accept any solution but the younger generation in the play they
have a different perspective. They think the same issue in a different way and they kind of want a
solution for all this.

 Patriarchy is something which can never be removed from the Indian society. Almost all the families in
the Indian society are run and dominate members of the family

 Final Solutions showcases the patriarchal dominance & sufferings of a woman as well. Daksha also
known as Hardika in the play, gets married to a guy namely Hari at a very tender age. Daksha’s name is
also changed after she comes to her in laws house. Hardika is the new given to her which matches
with the name of her husband. Daksha is not allowed to take education , she is not allowed to listen to
her favourite Noor Jehan songs. She becomes a typical Indian housewife after her marriage who is not
allowed to step out of the house without covering her head.

 Daksha writes everything in her diary. Diary acts as a symbol throughout the play as it is present in
Daksha and Hardika’s life from the past till the present. She feels bad as all her dreams are shattered
after marriage.
 Mahesh Dattani has made use of irony in the play. The setting of the play is during the time when India
received its independence. Daskha exactly got married with Hari at that period but at one side
freedom is achieved by India but on the other side Daksha loses her freedom. She loses her freedom
of singing, humming songs to her husband and she even loses the freedom of dreaming in life. She
leads her life like a bird in the cage with shackles in the legs. Hari, her husband, hits her for meeting
Zarine at her house as she is a Muslim girl.

 Daksha becomes the victim of male dominance and she represents a woman who is imprisoned or
tied with shackles inside the house in an independent country like India. He has tried to show with the
help of the character Daksha, that, gender bias and sufferings of women have not totally swept away
from India.

 India shall receive its true independence or freedom only on the day when women will be receiveing
their due respect and freedom. Also, the people must start loving and accepting each other, rather
than hating and misunderstanding
  Smita who is a modern educated girl. She is oppressed even by her mother. When Aruna
finds that Smita, her daughter, knows Bobby and Javed very well, she becomes agitated and
decides to prohibit her from studies. She asks Smita to stay at home only. This is indicative of
the spoiling of female psyche under the pressure of patriarchy. They think it against the
custom or culture to have friends of another community. Knowingly and unknowingly if a girl
does so, she is imposed upon various restrictions. Many times she is banned from education,
the basic need of human towards self-reliance. Smita reacts to this in these words: ‚Mummy,
thank you for making me feel like a rat in a hole‛.This indicates that Dattani has also
registered a great change occurred in the attitude of women in the course of time. Daksha,
who is also young woman forty years ago, tolerates the humiliation of her husband and does
not react sharply but Smita does not accept all things at ease.

Q2 Write a note on Smita's character in Dattani's Final Solutions.

 Smita is a girl of modern period who believes in liberal ideology. Her education has helped
her to become more sensible in her attitudes . she doesn’t support her mother’s veiwpoint
from heart, though she helps her in all the household chores and work of her God. She loves
her mother but at one point of time she feels stifled and expresses her feelings to Aruna. She
requests her mother not to bind her with prejudices any more. She even did not have hatred
for the Muslims as her close friend is a Muslim girl whose name is Tasneem

 Smita does not understand her mother Arunas logic , she believes that the younger
generation differing from the older generation in the matters of faith. Thus both show two
different attitudes to religion

 Smita, was worried about her friend, Tasneem who was inside the hostel. The curfew was
clamped and the ‘Muslim girls’ hostel was bombed’.

 In the meanwhile the chorus grew louder and two persons Bobby and Javed entered
Ramnik’s house who gave him protection against the wishes of his wife, Aruna and
mother, Hardika. Smita knew both Bobby and Javed. She supported her father’s stand to let
them stay for the night. What she did not tell was that she was in love with Bobby in the
college.

 Smita who is a modern educated girl. She is oppressed even by her mother. When Aruna
finds that Smita, her daughter, knows Bobby and Javed very well, she becomes agitated and
decides to prohibit her from studies. She asks Smita to stay at home only. This is indicative of
the spoiling of female psyche under the pressure of patriarchy. They think it against the
custom or culture to have friends of another community. Knowingly and unknowingly if a girl
does so, she is imposed upon various restrictions. Many times she is banned from education,
the basic need of human towards self-reliance.

 Smita reacts to this in these words: ‚Mummy, thank you for making me feel like a rat in a
hole‛.This indicates that Dattani has also registered a great change occurred in the attitude of
women in the course of time. Daksha, who is also young woman forty years ago, tolerates
the humiliation of her husband and does not react sharply but Smita does not accept all
things at ease.
Q3 Critically discuss the themes explored by Dattani in his play Final Solutions.

 The theme of the play Final Solutions is to highlight human weaknesses, selfishness. Woven
into the play are the issues of class and communities and the clashes between traditional and
modern life style and value systems. The problem of minorities is not confined to only Hindus
and Muslims; it eats the peace of any minority community among the majority. Communal
Tension, Communal Riot, God, Hindus,Muslims, Male Dominance, Gender Bias, Sufferings of
Women.
 Dattani discusses the theme of communal riots, hatred and bitterness of Hindus and Muslims against
each other. The communal hatred is at peak. It can be seen when we find Hindu mob chasing Javed and
Bobby after knowing that they are Muslims.

 Hatred :
We find that Ramanik blames Javed and his community and vice versa. But deep inside, Ramanik's
conscience does not allow him to live in peace because of the sin which he committed in the past.
 Orthodoxy :
which is inherited among the believers of every religion. They consider people from other
communities as untouchables. Aruna's denying Bobby and Javed from spending night at their home
depicts this.

 Sufferings of both hindus and muslims

The past incidents and events like the partition in 1947, Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and
Godhra incident in 2002 have created a huge gap between the Hindus and Muslims
The play talks about the sufferings of both the Hindus and the Muslims. The Hindus had to
suffer in the hands of the Muslims and the Muslims had to suffer in the hands of the Hindus.
Hardika or Daksha (both the names are of the same person) symbolizes the majority whereas
Javed symbolizes the minority. The mob mentioned in the play symbolizes the hatred of each
and every individual. The play at one side speaks about the communal tension and on the
other side it speaks about friendly relations as well. In the play the mob or the chorus
symbolizes the communal hatred of the minority and the majority

 Final Solutions is one such play, where the playwright Mahesh Dattani, has portrayed the
picture of India during the communal riots. The play speaks about the sufferings of both the
Hindus and the Muslims. The play also talks about male dominance in the life of a woman in
the Indian family. KEY WORDS: Communal Tension, Communal Riot, God, Hindus,Muslims,
Male Dominance, Gender Bias, Sufferings of Women.
.
 COMMUNAL TENSION and riots :
Communal riot is such a war which is actually not fought between two different nations,
rather it takes place between two different religious groups. Dattani focuses mainly on the
communal disharmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. The play talks about the
condition of India during the post partition riots. The play is about a Gujrati family where the
head of the family is Hardika, who has a strong hatred for the Muslims because her father
was killedby the minority people. She protests against her son when he gives refuge to two
Muslim boys Javed and Bobby in her house.
 The above quote shows the hatred of Hardika which she had in her heart for the Muslims.
She says those things to her son Ramnik when he allows the Muslim boys Javed and Bobby
to stay in their house. Though ramnik doesn’t support the hatred of his mother towards the
Muslims because he knew the truth which his mother was unaware of. Hardika had the
hatred for the Muslims because they killed her father but she did not know that her husband
and father in law ruined the life of Zarine who was her friend when she was young. Hardika’s
father in law and husband had set the shop of Zarine’s father on fire and Ramnik knew this
truth but he did not reveal this to his mother because he did not want his mother to suffer
more. He just tried to atone the sins committed by his father and grandfather and hence
proves himself to be a true secularist.Ramnik even thinks of giving a job to Javed so that he
can earn his livelihood and in this way he can get rid of the guilt.
 Difference between mentality of young gen and old gen.
He says that the older generation in the play had borne the burnt of communal violence and
they are not ready to accept any solution but the younger generation in the play they have a
different perspective. They think the same issue in a different way and they kind of want a
solution for all this.
 WOMEN sufferings
Dattani has always given importance to women in his plays. play Dattani talks about three
different women who represent three different generations. Hardika represents the first
generation, Aruna represents the second generation and Smita represents the third
generation. Hardika,is also known as Daksha in the play, who has seen the partition of India
and the communal tension as well. Hardika even talks about her father’s dream of an
independent India. Hardika is such a woman who did love the Muslims until they killed her
father in a communal riot.
 Smita who is a modern educated girl. She is oppressed even by her mother. When Aruna
finds that Smita, her daughter, knows Bobby and Javed very well, she becomes agitated and
decides to prohibit her from studies. She asks Smita to stay at home only. This is indicative of
the spoiling of female psyche under the pressure of patriarchy. They think it against the
custom or culture to have friends of another community. Knowingly and unknowingly if a girl
does so, she is imposed upon various restrictions. Many times she is banned from education,
the basic need of human towards self-reliance. Smita reacts to this in these words: ‚Mummy,
thank you for making me feel like a rat in a hole‛.This indicates that Dattani has also
registered a great change occurred in the attitude of women in the course of time. Daksha,
who is also young woman forty years ago, tolerates the humiliation of her husband and does
not react sharply but Smita does not accept all things at ease.

 Patriarchy:
 is such a term which can never be removed from the history of India. Patriarchy is
inseparable from the Indian society. Almost all the families in the Indian society are run by
the male members of the family and hence they dominate on the family as well. The head of
the family usually holds immense power and he exercises certain rules and regulations in the
family. The rules must be followed by each and every member of the family especially the
female members of the family are bound to obey all the rules.The freedom of choice is
hardly given to the members of the family especially to the female members. The head of
the family usually takes all the important and trivial decisions in the family and he expects
everyone to obey his decision. Mahesh Dattani mainly speaks about gender bias in almost all
his plays.Final Solutionsis one such play that not only speaks about the communal tension
but it showcases the patriarchal hegemony and sufferings of a woman as well. Daksha also
 known as Hardika in the play, gets married to a guy namely Hari at a very tender age.
Daksha’s name is also changed after she comes to her in laws house. Hardikais the new given
to her which matches with the name of her husband. Daksha is not allowed to take
education, she is not allowed to listen to her favourite Noor Jehansongs. She becomes a
typical Indian housewife after her marriage who is not allowed to step out of the house
without covering her head. Daksha writes everything in her d

 In both plays, Dattani has depicted the use of silence by women who are bound by societal
rules of honour and modesty. Patriarchy imposes silence upon women by rewarding them
with tags of being morally upright, obedient, worthy, honourable etc. However, women who
do not subscribe to patriarchal ideology may utilise silence as a defence mechanism and use
it as a tool to navigate through the rough patches of their lives

 Daksha becomes the victim of male dominance and she represents a woman who is
imprisoned or tied with shackles inside the house in an independent country like India.
 Dattani also focusses on patriarchal hegemony and gender bias, which is the other side of
the play. He has tried to show with the help of the character Daksha, that, gender bias and
sufferings of women have not totally swept away from India. Though India has got its
independence or freedom, the Indian women in most of the families, still live like caged birds
with shackles in the legs. India shall receive its true independence or freedom only on the
day when women will be receiveing their due respect and freedom. Also, the people must
start loving and accepting each other, rather than hating and misunderstanding.

 Gender discrimaination or gender bias

The problem of gender discrimination does not lie merely with Daksha, but also with Smita
who is a modern educated girl. She is oppressed even by her mother. When Aruna finds that
Smita, her daughter, knows Bobby and Javed very well, she becomes agitated and decides to
prohibit her from studies. She asks Smita to stay at home only. This is indicative of the
spoiling of female psyche under the pressure of patriarchy. They think it against the custom
or culture to have friends of another community. Knowingly and unknowingly if a girl does
so, she is imposed upon various restrictions. Many times she is banned from education, the
basic need of human towards self-reliance. Smita reacts to this in these words: ‚Mummy,
thank you for making me feel like a rat in a hole‛. (FS 56) This indicates that Dattani has also
registered a great change occurred in the attitude of women in the course of time. Daksha,
who is also young woman forty years ago, tolerates the humiliation of her husband and does
not react sharply but Smita does not accept all things at ease.

Q4 Critically comment on Ramanik's character in Dattani's Final Solutions.

Ramnik Gandhi, son of Hardika, is a very liberal minded man and he doesn’t support the communal
hatred. He even gives refuge to the two Muslim guys in his house because he wanted to atone the
sin committed by his father and grandfather in the past. He even thinks of helping Javed by giving
him a job in the shop, so that he can earn his livelihood in an honest and peaceful way.

RAMNIK GANDHI
 Ramniklal Gandhi, who is small shop-keeper who runs a not very big saree shop in the cloth
market of the village Kamargaon near Ahmadabad in Gujarat.
 The time is post-Babri Mosque demolition communal riots that hit the entirenation. The two
young Muslim boys take shelter in the house of the Gandhi family. Ramnik Gandhi is ready
to protect them fully against the fury of the violent mob outside. He defies the concern
expressed by his mother Hardika. He does not care for cautious warnings given by his wife
Aruna. His stiff authoritarian patriarchal conduct is noticed in this portion of the play which
presents exposition.
 The third act of the play is that of solution and “forget and forgive” is the solution offered by
Ramnik and Smita. Ramnik like Hardika wants to forget the past. He has already made an
offer to Javed to work in his saree shop as Javed will be able to talk with Bohra and Momen
women that pass by his shop. The real intension of course behind this offer comes out
towards the end of the play. It is noton account of his desire to maintain equality among the
communities but it is atonement of the past sins of his father and grandfather.
 The Gandhi family wanted to buy the shop owned by Zarine’s family; offers were made by the
Gandhis to the Muslim family who were not willing to give up the ownership of their shop. Taking
the advantage of the chaos after the communal riots the Gandhi family members set fire to the shop
which they wanted to buy. Then they ask for the burnt shop. The deal is finished and now Ramnik
owns the shop which is father and grandfather captured through a deceitful trick. He atones for this
sin of the patriarch of his family. The patriarchal authority of his father and his grandfather is
hoodwinked by Ramnik Gandhi. He defies them now but he could not and did not oppose them
when they actually committed the sin.
 Ramnik Gandhi after the departure of the two young Muslim boys from his house is
reluctant to go his shop. When asked by his mother Hardika about his unwillingness to do so,
he discloses something which he had held close to his heart for a long time:“It’s their shop.
It’s the same burnt up shop we bought from them, at half its value (Pause). And we burnt it.
Your husband, my father, and his father, they had it burnt in the name of communal hatred.
Because we wanted a shop.”
 Ramnik lal Gandhi tells his mother after many years about the act that was arranged by his
father and his grandfather. This was deceitful act. Ramnik Gandhi has kept this sense of guilt
for his father and grandfather’s actions for a long time in his heart. The incidents of
communal violence, the visits by the two Muslim youths and the holding of the idol of Lord
Krishna in hands by one of them have totally shattered Ramnik Gandhi. He realises that he
will have atone for the sins committed by his elders

Q5 Do you think Dattani's Final Solutions presents answers to the problems posed in the play ? Give
reasons for your answer.

+ Q6 Critically discuss the problems posed in Dattani's Final Solutions.

 So, throughout the play, we find ample of problems and the playwright has not given any solution.
Instead, he has let the audience to decide. Hence, the final solutions are, in real, no solutions to these
communal problems. We people need to know what makes us hate others.
 Final Solutions is written just after the Babri Masjid destruction unfolds the state of
communal riot in the post-Partition India
 The time of the action is late 1940’s the period when the India got freedom and partition of
the country on the basis of religion into India and Pakistan. During this period, Hardika was a
young girl known as Daksha. Daksha marries to Hari even before her 15th birthday. She reads
her diary.
 Dattani creates her character for revitalizing the past especially through her diary. Dattani
very tactfully provides her separate space and identity with a view to connecting the past
with present. She analyses the past with present and provides her commentary. With the rise
of action, the drama reaches to the Gandhi’s house. The actual action takes place outside the
house, but it brings tension and terror inside the house. One can say that social tension or
trouble assumes the form of domestic tension. Chased by the fanatic Hindu mob, Javed and
Bobby sought refuge at Ramnik Gandhi’s house who is a man of liberal ideology.
 Dattani presents the whole drama of the communal disharmony inside the Ramnik Gandhi’s
house. There was the communal trouble in the town. The communal riots break out due to
the attack on rath yatra. The mobs are on the streets with weapons and burning fire. The
communal flame engulfs the entire peace of the town. There is a chaos and confusion.
Nobody knows what has exactly happened. Everybody is scared and panicky. The rumors of
killing Pujari, bombing the Muslim girls’ s hostel etc are at full speed. The dark night has
enveloped the town with its fury and tension. It is observed: “The mob in the play is
symbolic of our own hatred and paranoia. Each member of the mob is an individual yet they
meld into one seething whole as soon as politicians play on their fears and anxieties.”
 two young Muslim namely, Javed and Bobby in Ramnik household. The conversation reveals
that the sense of communalism is very much part of Indian socio-political territory and it is
being repeated again and again. Along with the lack of trust and tolerance the play abounds
with the themes like generation gap, politics, communities and identities in the lives of
Ramnik, Aruna, Smita, Daksha, Javed and Bobby.
 Final Solutions touches us and the bitter realities of our lives so closely that it becomes a
difficult play to handle .The past begins to determine the outlook of the present and thus the
earlier contradictions
 No concrete solutions are provided in the play to the problem of communalism but it raises
questions on secularism and pseudo secularism. It forces us to look at ourselves in relation to
the attitudes that persist in the society.
 The chorus represents the conflicts of the characters. Thus the chorus in a sense is the
psycho-physical representation of the characters and also provides the audience with the
visual images of the characters’ conflicts. There is no use of the characterization of the
chorus because communalism has no face, it is an attitude and thus it becomes an image of
the characters.
 The play also presents the problem how minority can be acceptable. Racial discrimination is
quite visible in the manner Aruna and Hardika treat these two young boys. Aruna places two
glasses of water before them. After they have drunk water, she holds the glasses with her
thumbs and index fingers, on the sides which have not been touched by their lips. She takes
them away and keeps them separate from the other glasses.
 The play Final Solutions also shows that the Police and the Politicians never treat the society
on equal terms. The politicians whose primary purpose is to gain the vote by hook and crook,
is often seen indulging in so many malpractices.
 The conflict between tradition and modernity is well exemplified through the conflict
between mother and daughter—Aruna and Smita. Aruna wants Smita to follow her
 ideology.Aruna shudders at the idea that her daughter doesn’t have respect for her religion,
sanskar, etc.

Q7 What is the significance of Daksha's diary in Final Solutions.

 Hardika is the mother of Ramnik. She is also known as Daksha in the play when the play
revolves around the past. Daksha writes down everything in her diary because diary is her
best friend.
 Right from her first day at her in laws house to making a new Muslim friend namely Zarine,
she writes down everything in her diary.
 The diary symbolizes the past and the present. Zarine’s house was the only place for Daksha
where she could found some solace and freedom. Daksha was fond of the Noor Jehan songs
and she could hear the songs only at Zarine’s place.
 Zarine and Daksha were good friends, but their friendship was not meant to be last forever.
Daksha’s father was killed by the Muslims in a riot and from then onwards Daksha started to
hate the minority people. Infact she lost all her faith from her Lord Krishna as well.
 Hardika or Daksha is a such a character who symbolizes the majority or the Hindus and their
sufferings as well.
 Daksha’s diary reads out so much sad happenings about sufferings of both the communities
due to violence while she Shuttles between the present and past.
 It only reveals the scathing effects of riots on a Muslim familyand a heartless indifference on
the part of Hindu family.Reflecting on the whole gamut of memories, examining the various
course of events through the diary, Daksha concludes, “things have not changed so much”

Q8"But this is above all a play about a family with its simmering undercurrents". Discuss Final
Solutions in the light of this statement

 Alyque Padmasee as a director of the play tried to investigate the hidden motive of
the play and comments: As I see it, this is a play about transferred resentments. About
looking for a scapegoat to hit out when we feel let down, humiliated. Taking out your anger
on your wife, children or servants is an old Indian custom…this is, above all, a play about a
family with its simmering undercurrents.
 The question is also about ascertaining the differences in opinion within family members. In
doing so it becomes feasible to see the functioning of the secular mindset within the familial
unit or in the private sphere.
 Hardika always remains under the impression that her father was killed by Muslims. She
lives with this thought throughout her life. However, is horrified when Ramnik tells her that
her father and husband had burned down the Muslim shop in order to buy it for half of what
it was worth.
 She realizes that her years of hostility towards the Muslims were an outcome of mere
misunderstanding. Ramnik did not want to go to the shop because of his guilt feeling. He
pleads with Javed to take up the job in the shop in order to recompense a bit of that guilt but
Javed refuses.
 There is a display of complete distrust among the two communities, replicated by two
individuals, Ramnik and Javed. When Ramnik asks why Javed distrust them, he in turn asks
the same question to him. Ramnik refuses that he never throws stones on his, for which
Javed replies that whenever he finds Ramnik behave violet his is provoked
  In this play Dattani also wants to show that our communal hatred is often an
outcome of what Alyque Padamsee calls "transferred resentments".
 Dattani here shows that we very often like to transfer our resentment on "others".
Whenever we are unhappy, we like to blame some "scapegoat" figure and transfer our
resentment on him.
 When young Daksha was beaten up by her husband and his family, she transferred her
anger on Zarine and her Muslim community as she could not stand up against her
own in laws.
 Again Javed's anger against the fanatic Hindu who thought that his letter was
contaminated by the touch of a Muslim boy like Javed was transferred on the
symbolic sound of the Hindu prayer bell in particular, and the Hindu community in
general.
 Dattani also shows that sometimes people try to fish in the troubled water of communal
riot. During the commotion of communal riots some persons try to fulfill their
personal interest. As the father of Ramnik Gandhi needed a shop, he burnt out the shop
of Zarine's father in the name of communal hatred and then they easily bought the burnt
shop at the half of its original value. The burden of this dark truth creates a permanent
scar in the mind of Ramnik Gandhi and Hardika.

 Finally, by making Bobby to play the "final deed" of liberation through his tender
handling and caressing the Hindu God, Dattani almost shatters and subverts all the
stifling structures of his given social identity. Placing the idol of the Hindu God in
his palm Bobby says about the "final solution" to this problem of communal discord:

Q9 Analyse the ending of. Dattani's Final Solutions.

 The struggle of these six characters to spend one night under the same roof creates a tense
situation.
 The play reaches its end in the early hours of the morning when Bobby enters the prayer
room and picks up the idol of Krishna to Aruna‟s great distress. Bobby proclaims that he is
touching god and nothing is happening to him. Upon seeing Aruna‟s horror he tells Aruna
that if there is understanding and faith in each other nothing can be destroyed. He then
turns to Hardika and claims that if she is willing to forget everything, he is willing to tolerate
evrything done to him on communal basis.
 Bobby and Javed leave. Ramnik tells Hardika that her husband and her father in law had
destroyed her friend Zarine‟s family business. Hearing this Hardika realizes the real reason
for why her in laws forbidden her to keep friendship with Zarine was not because Zarine was
a Muslim but they were trying to hide their crime
 . Crushed Hardika asks Ramnik about why had not he told this to her before. Ramnik replies
that he did not wanted her mother to live with guilt. The play ends with the image of Javed
and Bobby standing among the Mob/Chorus.
 Bobby breaks all norms by lifting the tiny image of Lord Krishna from Aruna‟s prayer room
and declaring in front of all : “Bobby: See! See! I am touching God! Your God! My flesh is
holding Him! Look, Javed! And he does not mind! He does not burn me to ashes! He does
not cry out from the heavens saying He has been contaminated! Look how he rests in my
hands! He knows I cannot harm Him but He believes in me. He smiles! He smiles at our trivial
pride and our trivial shame. He feels me and welcomes it! I told Him who is sacred to them,
but I do not commit sacrilege.
  Bobby rejoins: “Bobby: The tragedy is that there is too much that is sacred. But if we
understand and believe in one another, nothing can be destroyed.”( Act III, page 63) Through
Bobby, Dattani voices out the solution to get rid of such problems in the society.
 The words of Bobby are enough to explain that it is the society and ones living in it have
created such havoc because of some events in their lives. If people genuinely trust each
other and accepts the diversity amongst them it will be simpler to live than the present
situations.
 Through Bobby Datani conveys that if the two communities understand and believe in each
other then nothing can be destroyed. But probably the only suggestion is that it needs
practice and immediate implementation of brotherhood forgetting the past and the
stereotyped notions of each other.
 When the young men leave Ramnik confesses to her mother Hardika: “Ramnik: It‟s the same
burnt-up shop we bought from them at half its value and we burnt it. Your husband. My
father. And his father. They had burnt it in the name of communal hatred
 It suggests that the causes of the communal riots are not only due to disbelief, anger, hatred
and influence of politicians but it is also related to economy. Dattani clearly depicts the split
between these two big groups of the country.

Q8 Comment on Dattani's views on the mob in Final Solutions.

 In the play the mob or the chorus symbolizes the communal hatred of the minority and the
majority. The mob in the play is symbolic of our own hatred and paranoia
 The action of the play is set in motion by the recent destruction of the chariot and images of
Hindu dieties of a Rath Yatra while travelling through a Muslim neighbourhood of the city.
Riots had broken out in Amargaon and so curfew has been imposed in the city.
 The local Hindu and Muslim communitites, represnted by the Mob/Chorus are blowing each
other for the riots. The communal violence between these groups brings back Hardika‟s
memories of partiton and her life life as a new bride in 1948.
 Her memories are expressed through the character of Daksha who is shown reading from
her diary. The Gandhi family is safe within their home and although Smita is worried about
the safety of her Muslim friend, Tasneem.
 The family is having a peaceful evening but it is disrupted when Bobby and Javed two young
Muslim men arrive at their doorstep begging to take them inside. The Mob/Chorus with
Hindu masks are after Bobby and Javed and are threatening to kill them. Despite the
objection of his mother Ramnik opens the door of his house to protect the two. An
interaction occurs between the Gandhis and Bobby and Javed throughout the of the night
 Dattani puts masks on the Mob/Chorus to make frequent change of identity to look natural.
When the characters articulate inner feelings the chorus whisper or shout along.
 Aruna and Hardika treat these two boys indifferently. Aruna places two glasses of water
before them. After they have drunk water, she holds the glasses with her thumbs and index
fingers, on the sides which have not been touched by their lips. She takes them away and
keeps them separate from the other glasses.
 Through this act Dattani shows that Mob behaves rudely, but they never forget the personal
benefit. Ramnik’s father does the same thing and acquires the land of Zarine’s father taking
the support of communal riot and mob.
 The play brings out one more reality to surface that the police and politicians never treat the
society on equal terms. The politicians whose primary purpose is to gain the vote by hook or
crook are often seen indulging in so many malpractices.
  The conflict of the minds must be stopped first, then only the conflict or the fight that takes
place outside can be stopped.

Q SIGNIFICANCE OF TITLE OF FINAL SOLUTION

 “Final Solutions” by Mahesh Dattani is a powerful play that explores themes of communal tension,
religious identity, and the aftermath of the partition of India.
 The play revolves around the character of Javed,bobby,ramnik,hardika,aruna ,. Through their
interactions and the events that unfold, Dattani delves into the complexities of religious conflicts and
the impact they have on individuals and communities.
 The title “Final Solutions” by Mahesh Dattani is a striking and thought-provoking choice that
immediately captures the attention of the reader. With a length of only two words, it manages to
convey a powerful message that sets the tone for the entire play.
 The title “Final Solutions” in Mahesh Dattani’s play carries significant meaning. It alludes to the
historical context of communal tensions and religious conflicts in India, particularly surrounding the
partition and the aftermath. The term “Final Solutions” is reminiscent of the language used during the
Holocaust, which adds a layer of complexity to the play’s exploration of identity, prejudice, and the
consequences of divisive ideologies.

Q13 Analyse the role played by the women in Dattani's Final Solutions.

 Dattani has always given importance to women in his plays. In this particular play Dattani
talks about three different women who represent three different generations. Hardika
represents the first generation, Aruna represents the second generation and Smita
represents the third generation.
 Hardika,is also known as Daksha in the play, who has seen the partition of India and the
communal tension as well. Hardika even talks about her father’s dream of an independent
India. Hardika is such a woman who did love the Muslims until they killed her father in a
communal riot.
 Aruna, daughter in law of Hardika is a typical Indian house wife who is seen busy in doing
pooja and household chores most of the time in the play. She even teaches her daughter to
learn the works of God and the household chores as well. Aruna is very particular about her
God and she can never really compromise with anything when it comes to her God.
 Smita, daughter of Aruna and grand daughter of Hardika is a girl of modern period. She
believes in liberal ideology and she doesn’t support her mother’s activities from heart,
though she helps her in all the household chores and work of her God. She loves her mother
but at one point of time she feels stifled and expresses her feelings to Aruna. She requests
her mother not to bind her with prejudices any more. She even did not have hatred for the
Muslims as her close friend is a Muslim girl whose name is Tasneem.

Q18 Identify, contextualize and comment critically on the 2 following extract: "The tragedy is that
there is too much that is sacred. But if we understand and believe in one another, nothing can be
destroyed. And if you are willing to forget, I am willing to tolerate."

 Bobby, as the mouthpiece of the playwright, hints that only the spirit of tolerance, co-
operation and accommodating the "other" is the "final solution" to this problem of
communal discord ,these are booby words -The tragedy is that there is too much that is
sacred. But if we understand and believe in one another, nothing can be destroyed. And if
you are willing to forget, I am willing to tolerate”
 The dialogues of Bobby and Javed are also with hope so far as the solution to the problem of
communal ill-will is concerned.
  Bobby’s speech to Aruna regarding her performance of religious rituals and her concept of
‘sacredness’ forms the gist of the whole play, and the final solution to the problem of
simmering discontentment among the Hindus and Muslims towards one another
 When one starts realizing the implication of the views put forth by Bobby then no one will,
there will be no blame game as who did what and to whom and why in the past
 Samita, Bobby, and Ramnik make the plea that we need to belong to all the creations of the
Almighty and be concerned about the pains and pleasures, trials and tribulations, aims and
aspirations of all the mankind without any selectivity on racial or communal grounds. When
we are able to assimilate all the diverse forces running through our social fabric, Hardika,
Aruna or Javed; then we hope a new pattern based on humane qualities will emerge and this
will as Bobby suggests pave the way for the final solution
 The play reaches its end in the early hours of the morning when Bobby enters the prayer
room and picks up the idol of Krishna to Aruna‟s great distress. Bobby proclaims that he is
touching god and nothing is happening to him. Upon seeing Aruna‟s horror he tells Aruna
that if there is understanding and faith in each other nothing can be destroyed. He then
turns to Hardika and claims that if she is willing to forget everything, he is willing to tolerate
evrything done to him on communal basis
 Ramnik tells Hardika that her husband and her father in law had destroyed her friend
Zarine‟s family business. Hearing this Hardika realizes the real reason for why her in laws
forbidden her to keep friendship with Zarine was not because Zarine was a Muslim but they
were trying to hide their crime. Crushed Hardika asks Ramnik about why had not he told this
to her before. Ramnik replies that he did not wanted her mother to live with guilt. The play
ends with the image of Javed and Bobby standing among the Mob/Chorus

FOR SUMMARY READ 2018 WALA PDF

WEDDING ALBUM BY GIRISH KARNAD

For summary read notes in notebook

Q1 Write a note on the relationship between Vidula Nadkarni and Ashwin

Vidula, The Bride-to-be Vidula, the younger daughter of the Nadkarni family, is all set to marry
Ashwin Panje, a boy who is based in the US. The story goes that Vidula and Ashwin have never seen
each other, but have exchanged portraits through the internet. In fact, to make this marriage seem
less absurd, Vidula is shooting an introductory video to share with Ashwin in an attempt to get him to
know her better. At first, Vidula seems like any average middle-class girl, who is expected to get
married at a certain age. However, we see Vidula’s conflict when her family encourages her to talk
and highlight some things about herself while hiding the other parts Vidula lives a life of duality. The
play tells us that Vidula frequently visits a cybercafe. When asked, she says that she visits the
cybercafe to listen to bhajans. However, as the story unfolds, it is revealed that Vidula was indeed
trying to find her own sexuality. This struggle of coming to terms with her sexuality is well captured
in the ironic scene where the two men come to the Cybercafe under the pretext of caring about
Indian cultures and values. Karnad uses this as an ironic point to show how these old values cross the
path of Vidula, who was just trying to take charge of her own sexual identity.
Vidula is an educated modern girl of 22 years. She is about to get married to Ashwin whom she has
known only through e-mails and video-conferencing. Scene one opens with Vidula, a selfconscious
girl, speaking in front of a camera. She makes her attempt to introduce herself, her background and
interests. Vidula compares her marriage with Ashwin to that of the master-slave arrangement. But it
is her own imagination. Here Karnad hints at the reality of the patriarchal ownership of a woman and
the exploitation involved in an Indian arranged marriage through Vidula

is how Ashwin Panje, the suitable expat Saraswat boy, sees his pending marriage to Vidula Nadkarni,
the small town Dharwad girl whom he has met through video playbacks, sent back and forth
between India and the USA

e. She wants to be a sincere woman to tell her fiancé that she is not glamorous at all. She is not
exceptional in any way and don‟t want him to be disappointed later.

The irony is that the partner he finds in Vidula is a girl far from his idealistic expectations –a girl who
indulges in sexual fantasies and perversions in secret in the midst of the vigilant youth who attempt
to perpetuate fake religious fervor. He expects Vidula to be a submissive housewife who should
perform her duties within the circle of the household without expecting any gratitude or without
thinking of her own life, career or economic independence. Ashwin tactfully compares woman as
Devi. Such discourses stereotype a woman which create impracticable ideals for her to follow. Vidula,
however, listens to all this hypocrisy in silence and does not object to it. One cannot believe that she
is the same Vidula who attacked the moral guardians in the café episode so vehemently

Ashwin does not select a western girl as his wife. To Vidula he says:" I am boiling inside like a volcano.
I want you to share my agonizing search of myself…It may even require an emotional giving up. If you
agree to…you will have to share my inner turmoil….I believe you will find it enriching

Rest read summary + read about Vivian from notes.

Q2 Comment on the use of technology as an effective 6. dramatic device in Girish Karnad's Wedding
Album

Girish Karnad's Wedding Album is a modern myth, which incorporates both actual and tech-
simulated universes . Kanad’s contemporary new play, Wedding Album, explores the traditional
Indian Wedding in a globalized, technologically advanced India. , he presents a surprising and vivid
picture of the urban middle-class, persuading us to confront our realities as we hurtle forward into
newer times and generations. He uses technology throughout typical circumstances in the Wedding
Album.

Vidula is an educated modern girl of 22 years. She is about to get married to Ashwin whom she has
known only through e-mails and video-conferencing. Scene one opens with Vidula, a selfconscious
girl, speaking in front of a camera. She makes her attempt to introduce herself, her background and
interests. Vidula compares her marriage with Ashwin to that of the master-slave arrangement. But it
is her own imagination. Here Karnad hints at the reality of the patriarchal ownership of a woman and
the exploitation involved in an Indian arranged marriage through Vidula

As the play has a contemporary theme, Karnad shows his characters using cell phones, video-
shooting, internet and other modern means of communication. Even the protagonist Vidula, is
portrayed as a Cyberflaneur, the one who idly surfs the Internet.
. Her brother Rohit is making a video film on her, to be mailed to her fiancée Ashwin from America.
Rohit is offscreen, directing her to show her best to be attractive. He asks her to appear bright and
cheerful. Vidula objects to this suggestion and says, “I just want him to know what I am like” (WA6);
and she tells Ashwin, “I am not glamorous, as you can see. I am not exceptional in any way. I don’t
want you to be disappointed later”

Vidula used to be calm and collective but her aggressive nature is revealed in the internet café. She is
caught red-handed in net café while watching pornography. In order to defend herself she accuses
the youths, "You have come here to rape me"(WA70). She angrily shouts at her assailants, "What
gives you the right to come in here? I'll do what I like here. Who the hell are you to question me?"
(WA70). She is relieved when the internet café attendant tells her that the two young men have
come only for their hafta. Vidula fights for her rights and becomes a bold and aggressive woman
when the attack is on her individuality.

Pratibha, a modern, self-made Oriya woman who has taken her, personal decisions like marrying a
Khan to being a successful producer of television serials, rejects Vidula‘s story as a possible theme for
a future episode. Modern audiences, as she puts it, ‗… may believe it but they won‘t like it‘

Q3 The play Wedding Album by Girish Karnad explores 6. the complex relationship, between
modernity and tradition in a middle-class, upper-caste Hindu family. Critically comment on the play in
the light of this statement.

In Wedding Album he has taken the characters from the contemporary life. The play deals with the
wedding of Vidula and Ashwin Panje mainly but at the same time it comments on many characters
and many issues. As the play is based on contemporary characters and theme, Karnad shows his
characters using cell phones, video-shooting, internet and other modern means of communication.
This happens first time in the plays of Karnad. The play comments on the approaches of the old
generation and young generation towards the marriage ceremony. For the elders, the marriage is a
ceremony and it is to be celebrated whereas for youngesters it is but all fuss and a tamasha and
marriage is like a bond to be signed in the Registrar's Office. In Karnad's plays women always seek for
their identity. Herna, the elder sister of Vidula is married and she stays in Australia with her husband
and her son. However now she has come to India for the marriage of Vidula One can find her all the
time thinking of her husband and her son. She compares her conditions with her Ma. She tells her
mother that all are transferable jobs and the white wife refuses to go trailing after her husband. The
Indian women on the other hand are obedient Sati Savitris, ever willing to follow their husband's
footsteps. Karnad in this play touched many corners of human life. Vivian, a son of Kai Kini Chandrika,
who lives in the neighborhood of Nadkarni, is a complex character. The boy borrows books from the
Nad Kami family and returns them. When Hema says that he should not read like Madame Bovary he
reacts that he has even read Lady Chaltcrley's Lover. One cannot understand that a boy of thirteen or
of fourteen can have sexual desire for a woman of his mother's age. He has written a letter to Herna
with these explicit words;"Darling you don't know how I desire to crush you in my arms." In the
fourth scene we find Vivian visiting once again Hema and gives her one more letter. When Hema
threatens him to tell the matter to his mother, he says, "Go ahead I will also tell her I love you. The
moment I saw you the other day, I fell desperately in love. I want to die with rny hand inside your."
After listening to this Hema slaps him but he tells that he is crazy of her. This type of complex
relationship is first time shown by Karnad in the Indian Theatre. Dr. R.T. Bedre in his article on
Tendulkar and Karnad compares their approach to reality and says that Karnad is more sugar coated
but in Wedding Album he is more realistic like Tendulkar regarding sex. The sixth scene is most
symbolic in the play. When Vidula is busy with the Internet, two Hindu youths who are worried about
the Indian culture arrive there and they threaten to the attendant of the Internet cafe', Karnad is
more sarcastic in the scene and he criticizes the so called Indian culture lovers. Here Karnad attacks
the Hindu people who call themselves as the guardian of Hindu culture. Karnad comments on the
young generation and their approach to their parents. Here one can understand how the young
generation reflects their spiritual crisis and how they are boiling inside like a Volcano. This scene is
the climax of the play where we find Karnad suggesting solutions for spiritual crisis which is the crisis
of Industrial Revolution. In the last scene Karnad comments on the modern changed approach of
youngsters towards marriage, here Rohit tells that they live in the modern world where divorce is not
shame. The play is an expose of middle class, urban, global Indian family. The young daughter Vidula
is getting married to a boy from the US through an exchange of personal portraits on video. The
video has the power to tell much and also in advertently manipulate, reveal and hide what we
honestly want to convey but are told it is best not to tell. Hema the elder sister who lives abroad
fulfills her responsibility by checking on her family constantly through her mobile ensuring her
control and concern. Rohit, the brother, is in love with a Christian girl and is questioned, "Why not a
girl from our own caste"? The mother, Amma is a bundle of nerves with the arrangements for the
wedding and is also peacemaker and the cause of kitchen fights with the maid servant. The father is
being ignored for living in the past. Radhabhai the maid servant has her own battles - dark night
mares of her past. A delightful youngster has a crush on Hema! Each member of the family has a
secret which is unraveled and left to speculation and conjecture. The play gives a glimpse of all the
complexities of modern Indian society, as it adjusts the tech-savvy life style of the young. It did not
however answer the many questions that arose in the viewer's mind as one by one the scenes
unfolded. Karnad has become successful in raising certain questions in the mind of the audience
about the Indian culture which is changing fast. Thus the new play of Karnad explores the traditional
Indian Wedding in a globalized, technologically advanced India. On the surface it's a familiar picture -
a joyful event when members of the clan come together to celebrate and reaffirm loyalties, but
behind the picture perfect smiles, simmer long suppressed suspicious, jealousies, frustrations and
aggression. The slow peeling of the narrative in Wedding Album is like dicing, in in some one's private
cup board, unearthing hidden urges, private affiliations and subterranean desires Danger lurks in
each scene and the characters are all on edge, desperate and living in many emotional and sexual
zones. It is funny and unnerving. Girish Karnad is one of the most influential play wrights of our time
and his plays have become a byword for imagination, innovation and crafts manship. Only a play
Wright of his caliber could have invested this humourous play with such a pungent and stinging core,
a world very different from the sanitized versions we are exposed to. Wedding Album is irreverent,
subversive and radical and reveals the Indian middle-class family as never seen, felt, or breathed
before. Each snapshot of the album shows its members frozen in a contemporary projection of
respectability but beneath that is a double image, with a penumbra of a hidden life

Q4 Girish Karnad's Wedding Album, through the Nadkarni family exposes the double standards of
social institutions such as marriage. +

Q5 In Wedding Album, Karnad exposes the hypocrisies of middle class society and its charade of
weddings Comment critically.
Through the perspective of Wedding Album Karnad portrays the blend of human virtues which
represent the different aspect of the society. Hybridity of not only human culture but even values
and society tend to define Karnad’s character. Every character portrays two facets of his personality
and this duality of every character comes to front when they encounter any such circumstances.
Through the mouth piece of Karnad the reader can very well smell the stink of modernity which is
born upon the ashes of culture and tradition. With the change in time one can very clearly witness
that culture and tradition are becoming a moment of past. People have not only adapted to
modernity but it seems as if modernity and modern facets have become their soul. Modernity and
modernization have overpowered the tradition and culture. A stark criticism of the modernization
can be witnessed throughout the play. Moving onto the play The Wedding Album, the play brings
froth the dual aspect of the Indian society. The play provides the reader a blend of modernity as well
as traditionalism, but the play also enforces the hidden reality of the Indian society which gives vent
to such hypocrisy. Through the play, Karnad attempts to expose the stark reality of the Indian society
as to how the things happen in the society and brings forth the reader some important and unveiled
aspects of the society. The play rightly portrays the modern ethics which have been built upon the
cultural platform and how they have been responsible for degrading the society. The play opens with
the marriage ceremony about to take place in the Nandakarni

not. Now in the world of internet, telephones have become a substitute instead of face-to-face
meetings. Even Vidula who has been portrayed as an ideal daughter who has always seen within the
four walls of the house and would never be expected to cross the threshold of her house by getting
indulged in any shameless act. Vidula is also portrayed as having a dual personality, where on one
hand she is presented as decent and a traditional daughter belonging to a respectable family. While
her brother Rohit is capturing her video, she decides her best to show her real nature, she does not
pretend to be beautiful and attractive or as Ashwin might consider her to be. The other facet of
Vidula’s personality with which the readers’ encounter is that Vidula is internet savvy. Vidula belongs
to a typical Indian family where culture and values serves as the integrity of the family. No member
of the family can sustain the fact that the girls or the boys are getting involved in any kind of illicit
relationship before their marriage. Vidula too becomes a victim of a dating site, where she has a
virtual lover. She used to chat with him daily on internet. While she was having conversation on
internet, she was behaving like some other woman. Vidula is a victim of inner desires, those sexual
desires which repressed by the society until and unless a girl marries. One day while Vidula watching
pornography on the internet, she is caught redhanded by the two youths,

In order to defend herself, she accuses the youths who catch her while watching the pornography,
"You have come here to rape me"(Karnad 70). She angrily shouts at her assailants, "What gives you
the right to come in here? I'll do what I like here. Who the hell are you to question me?" (Karnad 70).
It is later on; Vidula gets to know from the owner of the cybercafé that those people were there only
for collecting their money. Vidula is representative of the modern society where the youth is
dominated by the world of internet and how the over indulgence in the world of social – media leads
to their diverging from their main paths or ley’s say from the real motives of their lives. Though there
are numerous opportunities for youth like Vidula, but it is the rigid patriarchal structure which
prevents these young girls from seeking higher purpose in their lives. Another aspect of Vidula’s
character which the reader come across is crossing the cultural threshold when she questions about
her relationship to Ashwin which she believes is equivalent to the master slave relationship when she
says that her old master is about to die and, “His family is bound to throw me out. So, I had to find a
new master. A younger man. He lives in the US. He has paid a good price to my family” (Karnad 64).
Till now, it was her father who was responsible for deciding for her life but now all the decisions
relating to her life will be taken by her husband Vidula remarks, “he can do whatever with me.”
(Karnad 65). In fact, similar is the case with her sister as well. She, too, was wedded according to her
parents and once married all the decisions of her life were taken by her husband, Because they are
all transferable jobs and the white wife refuses to go trailing after her husband. We Indian women,
on the other hand, are obedient Sati Savitri, ever willing to follow in our husband's footsteps. Look at
me. . . Our men may get all the top jobs. But I am in no better position than Ma (Karnad 17)

The above-mentioned instances of being caught red-handed in the cybercafé watching porn, while
the second incidence of questioning the cultural values of the society, brings forth the changing
ideology of the present generation and a vent towards modernity. Another character which the
reader encounters is also a victim of modernity, or let’s say who too has been spoiled in the vent of
modernity, is Vivan. Vivan is a teenager who is presented as a young lad who possesses deep secret
desires for Hema a woman of her mother’s age. If one talks about the persona of Vivan one finds
that “Vivan is an outstanding student in his academics, a talented boy, a techno savvy but strangely a
prematurelyadult grown child” (Suresh 19). He is fond of reading novels like Lady Chatterley’s Lover
and some other books which comprise obscene content considered unfit to be studied by children of
his age. The more he reads these contents, the more he gets fascinated towards Hema. He starts
developing sensual feelings for Hema and intends to express the same through letters to Hema. He
writes those letters for Hema places them in that book deliberately when he returns those books to
her. One day his letter is caught by Vidula who considers the letters to be given by her brother-in-law.
She reads it, “Darling, you don’t’ know how I desire to crush you in my arms…” (Challa 318). She
becomes extremely happy with the fact that Hema’s husband still sends her love letters. When Hema
doesn’t respond to Vivan’s letters, Vivan threatens her to disclose his letters to her, “VIVAN. Go
ahead! I’ll tell her I love you. The moment I saw you the other day. I fell desperately in love… (Karnad
45). Vivan is just a teenager, but has become a spoilt lad under the influence of modernity. This also
emphasizes over the fact that it is the parent’s carelessness which results in spoiling these the
younger generation. The facilities which are being provided by the parents without their strict
vigilance it is being misused by the children. Technology stands as a boo, if it is utilized in the right
manner, otherwise it doesn’t take long for the younger generation to become a victim of the same
technology. It is not only the technological advancement which stands out as a point of concern in
the modern age, but the significance of wealth, which is more than cultural value. Rohit is portrayed
as someone who is tactful. In the materialistic world it is the money which is prioritized over culture,
feelings, love and emotions. Though he admires Isabel but when the Sirur family wants him to marry
their daughter Tapasya he very easily gets with the flow of the profit he would be getting in the form
of support in his career and establishment of his own firm as well. The point to be considered here is
that he is ready to marry Tapasya but on the other hand he is even ready to maintain a relationship
with Isabel whenever Tapasya is not there with him. The next character which the readers encounter
is Vidula’s mother. Vidula’s mother is presented as an embodiment of selfless attitude and penance.
Like every other person who is a victim of duality, Vidula’s mother too is a victim of duality. Where on
one hand she is portrayed as an embodiment of selflessness and penance while on the other hand
when she is embodied as a typical Indian woman whose reality is revealed from her dialogues with
other members of the family while they are shopping for Vidula’s marriage. Through the exchange of
gifts as it usually happens in the marriage ceremony, Vidula’s mother gets an opportunity of taking
revenge from other relatives who have not treated her as to her mark. The dialogue which takes
place between Vidula’s mother and Vidula very clearly hints towards this attitude which is typical of
Indian family, It appears as if Karnad demands the niche for a woman which is equal to man in a
society. Vidula finds fault in her brother, who thought that she must impress her fiancé in every
possible way. For this, she has to pretend what she is not. Her views about marriage have grown
strangely due to the forceful behavior of Rohit who wants all the time that his sister must present
herself beyond her original strengths. Vidula is fed up with all these anxieties and wants to relax
herself by joking even in the serious situation. For her, marriage doesn’t mean something spiritual.
She is ready to accept marriage as a gamble by keeping away her engagement. As the play begins,
the Nandkarni’s are all busy in arranging the auspicious marriage ceremony of their dear Vidula. The
excitements of the Nandkarni mother are pertinent when the family prepares for wedding. The
Indian marriage institution and the myths and realities concerned with the marriage ceremony are
effectively revealed through the dialogues of the mother with different characters like father, her
elder daughter Hema, the younger daughter Vidula and son Rohit. Marriage is the finest opportunity
for all kinds of shopping and is enjoyed by the Nadkarni family. The selection of saris, bridal
garments, garments of family members, and relatives coming to the marriage and humor generated
through these incidences are very typical features of Indian marriages. The mother is persistent
about taking revenges upon her relatives who haven’t treated her up to the mark in their household
marriages. She is ready to settle the scores with the relatives who have been very easy going and
hostile towards her. The following dialogue between Vidula and the mother reveals such vehemence
of the mother towards one such relative: (Vidula picks up a sari)

The following conversation very clearly hints towards the typical Indian society where every person is
disguised as the other where there is duality in both action and speech, and it is this duality which
acts as a benchmark of the Indian society. If one looks forth at the Indian society one finds that
Indian society is recognized for its extravagant culture, but with the rise of modernity those precious
values which were believed to be the base of the Indian society can be seen as perishing with time.
Hence, in a nutshell, one can conclude that for maintaining the equilibrium in the society it is very
important that there should be a blend of cultural tradition and modernity. A rigidity of any one of
these would not only create a discrepancy in the society but would also widen the generation gaps
which have existing in the society from time immemorial. Technological advancement is beyond
one’s control, but too much dependency upon technology or even too much rigidity in one’s cultural
roots will once again leads to imbalance in the society. Through the play Karnad looks forth at the
side effects of modernity and technology, is bringing upon the generation, but he fails to understand
the unveiled causes which push a youth towards technology and modernization. These causes are
none other than extensive attachment to one’s culture, existing stereotypes and prejudices which
have been born out of these cultural roots.

Q6 ritically comment on Wedding Album as a play that makes use of the "modern myth"

Girish Karnad's Wedding Album is a modern myth, which incorporates both actual and tech-
simulated universes. The main theme of the game is its counselling of sexual, conjugal, caste, class
and aging behaviours, egotistical and sacrificial attitudes and behaviours, chastity and trade, and
obedience and authority, all of which are integral to the modern Hindu marriage

Kanad’s contemporary new play, Wedding Album, explores the traditional Indian Wedding in a
globalized, technologically advanced India. he presents a surprising and vivid picture of the urban
middle-class, persuading us to confront our realities as we hurtle forward into newer times and
generations. He uses technology throughout typical circumstances in the Wedding Album

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Q7 Discuss Wedding Album as a critique of "bourgeois morality and its cultural blindness

In Wedding Album Karnad seems to be justifying normal bourgeois morality, whereas in the other
two plays the transgression of moral norms elevates the transgressors above ordinary human beings

Q8 Discuss the scene in the cyber cafe in Karnad's Wedding Album.

Vidula used to be calm and collective but her aggressive nature is revealed in the internet café. She is
caught red-handed in net café while watching pornography. In order to defend herself she accuses
the youths, "You have come here to rape me"(WA70). She angrily shouts at her assailants, "What
gives you the right to come in here? I'll do what I like here. Who the hell are you to question me?"
(WA70). She is relieved when the internet café attendant tells her that the two young men have
come only for their hafta. Vidula fights for her rights and becomes a bold and aggressive woman
when the attack is on her individuality. The irony is that the partner he finds in Vidula is a girl far
from his idealistic expectations –a girl who indulges in sexual fantasies and perversions in secret in
the midst of the vigilant youth who attempt to perpetuate fake religious fervor. He expects Vidula to
be a submissive housewife who should perform her duties within the circle of the household without
expecting any gratitude or without thinking of her own life, career or economic independence.
Ashwin tactfully compares woman as Devi. Such discourses stereotype a woman which create
impracticable ideals for her to follow. Vidula, however, listens to all this hypocrisy in silence and does
not object to it. One cannot believe that she is the same Vidula who attacked the moral guardians in
the café episode so vehemently

The mother, Hema, Vidula, Pratibha, and even Radhabai are new women in the true sense of the
term. Their lives are full of anxieties and resentments while facing the mental, psychological and
emotional hardships of life.” (Avachar) Vidula lives a life of duality. The play tells us that Vidula
frequently visits a cybercafe. When asked, she says that she visits the cybercafe to listen to bhajans.
However, as the story unfolds, it is revealed that Vidula was indeed trying to find her own sexuality.
This struggle of coming to terms with her sexuality is well captured in the ironic scene where the two
men come to the Cybercafe under the pretext of caring about Indian cultures and values. Karnad
uses this as an ironic point to show how these old values cross the path of Vidula, who was just
trying to take charge of her own sexual identity Vidula’s story is similar to a lot of adult women in
India who live double lives - the one that society expects of them and another one where they
discover who they really are.

when Vidula’s secret life as an anonymous cyber-sex kitten at the sleazy neighbourhood internet cafe
is exposed
Vidula plays sex games indulging in cyber sex while chatting with Swami Ananga in the Internet Cafe,
which is presented in detail explicitly . The sixth scene is most symbolic in the play. When Vidula is
busy with the Internet, two Hindu youths who are worried about the Indian culture arrive there and
they threaten to the attendant of the Internet cafe', Karnad is more sarcastic in the scene and he
criticizes the so called Indian culture lovers. The girls in this world of globalization are engaged in all
types of lust, pornography, and even love affairs by forgetting the purpose of their lives to build up a
good carrier by getting good education.

DOLL HOUSE – HENRIK IBSEN

Q1 Write a note on Nils Krogstad in A Doll sHouse

Krogstad is the antagonist in A Doll9s House, but he is not necessarily a villain. Though his
willingness to allow Nora9s torment to continue is cruel, Krogstad is not without sympathy for her. A
lawyer who went to school with Torvald and holds a subordinate position at Torvald9s bank.
Krogstad9s character is contradictory: though his bad deeds seem to stem from a desire to protect
his children from scorn, he is perfectly willing to use unethical tactics to achieve his goals. His
willingness to allow Nora to suffer is despicable, but his claims to feel sympathy for her and the hard
circumstances of his own life compel us to sympathize with him to some degree.

Like Nora, Krogstad is a person who has been wronged by society, and both Nora and Krogstad have
committed the same crime: forgery of signatures. Though he did break the law, Krogstad9s crime was
relatively minor, but society has saddled him with the stigma of being a criminal and prohibited him
from moving beyond his past. Additionally, Krogstad9s claim that his immoral behavior began when
Mrs. Linde abandoned him for a man with money so she could provide for her family makes it
possible for us to understand Krogstad as a victim of circumstances. One could argue that society
forced Mrs. Linde away from Krogstad and thus prompted his crime. Though society9s unfair
treatment of Krogstad does not justify his actions, it does align him more closely with Nora and
therefore tempers our perception of him as a despicable character.

Q2 Critically comment on the significance of the title A Doll s House with reference to the themes in
the (15) play.

significance of the title A Doll s House

THEMES -The Sacrificial Role of Women / Role of women in the society , Parental and Filial
Obligations , Marriage as an Unequal Partnership , Materialism , Respect and Reputation, Disease
and Morality

It is therefore not too hard to guess where the play's title might have come from. Torvald has never
treated Nora as anything more than a plaything. He admires her beauty. He gets her to dance for
him. He even dresses her up in costumes. In effect, she is his doll. The home they live in seems
perfect and picturesque, but in reality it is just like the Helmers' marriage: all for show.
NORA SAYS THAT at home I was papa's doll-child.
She has never been anything but a man's plaything. Every house she's ever lived in has been just as
artificial; first her father9s house, and now her husband9s house. No wonder the play is titled A
Doll’s House

The title, A Doll's House, implies that everything is a façade, an illusion. Just like a doll that has a
plastered smile on its face, the doll's house hides the problems in the marriage.

Ibsen’s play ‘A Doll’s house’ draws a parallel to the make-believe world in which children play at life
with their dolls. Children make the dolls perform social roles over which the lifeless dolls have no
control. A parallel is suggested by the title and by several speeches in Ibsen’s play between the life
i.e., represented in the house (on stage) and the false life of a doll’s house. This analogy is most
clearly stated when Nora says in Act III that she is her husband’s doll and children are her dolls.
Nora’s husband Helmer expects her to play the role of a beautiful, careless and happy wife. He gives
her money for buying pretty clothes and makes her dress and dance in the fancy dress ball at the
apartment of Stenborgs. This he does to stimulate his (sexual) desires. Nora, in turn, plays hide and
seek with her children, gives them presents and pretends to herself that she is really a good mother
where in reality, they are raised by the nurse, Mary Anne. When Nora finally leaves Helmer, she
slams the door shut on her doll’s house. Nora leaves her husband’s house to learn about the outside
world in which she can become a real person.

The title A Doll’s House should be seen in relationship to the theme of ‘home’. Nora has never left
home. She was confined in her father’s home and to do what he wanted. She then goes directly to
her husband Torvald Helmer’s home where she treated as a child. She is protected, patted, dressed
up, given pocket money, but she is not allowed to be herself. She has no experience of life outside
her homes. This is the reason that makes Nora walk into the trap led by Krogstad. Nora who has been
playing the childish game in her makebelieve world, expects that her tears and exalted notions will
pass muster with Krogstad. She has not come across such ruthlessness as that of Krogstad in her doll
house upbringing. As Nora has not been allowed to her true self both by her father and her husband,
and as both have treated her like a doll, she has to play the ‘doll’ throughout. Further, this insularity
makes her lack the confidence to face crisis boldly like her friend Christine Linde. As her husband’s
doll, she has to dress to tastes and dances to his tunes. But she has to undergo hell, sacrifice her
individuality and freedom and keep her nerves much against the pressures mounted on her by
Krogstad. It is again her doll-world setup that makes her nurture romantic notions about her
husband’s love to her. She plays the doll with her husband just to please him and help him keep his
image as the head of the house. She does not want to tell her husband that she saved his life for his
manly pride would not break. She also entertains a fond hope that her husband would perform the
miracle when it is called for and take her blame on him entirely and let Krogstad publicize his letter.
But all these prove to be illusions of her doll world where reality suffers a discount. But Nora is a
woman with illimitable potentialities. She will not be able to attain her self-realization and selfhood
until she leaves ‘home’ to stop being a ‘doll’. The grim reality of the crudity of the world and the
collapse of her romantic notions about her husband for whom she has sacrificed much make Nora
abandon her ‘fancy dress’ (the doll makeup) and put on the ‘everyday dress’ (her real face. She
breaks free from the restricting and contaminating atmosphere of her husband’s house, which is a
doll’s house indeed, to a broader and wider sphere of the world to gain selfhood. From the above
lines of argument, we can safe to conclude that Ibsen has chosen a very apt title for his play, A Doll’s
House. The title also highlights the principal theme of marriage. It symbolically suggests that true
marriage is not based on illusions and fantasies. It does not work like the mechanical manipulations
of the dolls. Further, marriage is not a mere show or a biological necessity. True marriage depends
upon the perfect understanding between the couple by each respecting the individuality of the
other. For marriage is a human institution and not a doll’s house.

Q3 Do you agree that Nora is 'conditioned' to aC like a doll? Give reasons for your answer. (

At the beginning of A Doll9s House, Nora seems completely happy. She responds affectionately to
Torvald9s teasing, speaks with excitement about the extra money his new job will provide, and takes
pleasure in the company of her children and friends. She does not seem to mind her doll-like
existence, in which she is coddled, pampered, and patronized. As the play progresses, Nora reveals
that she is not just a Nora reveals that she is not just a SILLY GIRL AS TORVALD CALLS HER That she
understands the business details related to the debt she incurred taking out a loan to preserve
Torvald9s health indicates that she is intelligent and possesses capacities beyond mere wifehood. Her
description of her years of secret labor undertaken to pay off her debt shows her fierce
determination and ambition. Additionally, the fact that she was willing to break the law in order to
ensure Torvald9s health shows her courage.
Krogstad9s blackmail and the trauma that follows do not change Nora9s nature; they open her eyes
to her unfulfilled and underappreciated potential. Nora comes to realize that in addition to her literal
dancing and singing tricks, she has been putting on a show throughout her marriage. She has
pretended to be someone she is not in order to fulfill the role that Torvald, her father, and society at
large have expected of her. Torvald9s severe and selfish reaction after learning of Nora9s deception
and forgery is the final catalyst for Nora9s awakening. But even in the first act, Nora shows that she is
not totally unaware that her life is at odds with her true personality. She defies Torvald in small yet
meaningful ways4by eating macaroons and then lying to him about it, for instance. She also swears,
apparently just for the pleasure she derives from minor rebellion against societal standards. As the
drama unfolds, and as Nora9s awareness of the truth about her life grows, her need for rebellion
escalates, culminating in her walking out on her husband and children to find independence

Nora's fancy dress for the party symbolizes the character she plays in her marriage to Torvald. Take
note of when Nora is supposed to be wearing it and for whom. Note too that when she leaves
Torvald in the last act, she first changes into different clothes, which suggests the new woman she is
to become.

Q4 A Doll's House highlights many social issues of the time. Discuss the themes and the techniques
used by Ibsen with reference to this statement.

Respect and Reputation

The men of A Doll's House are obsessed with their reputation. Some have good standing in their
communities and will do anything to keep it; others have lost their good name and will do anything
to get it back. Though the play is set in the living room of a private residence, the public eye is
constantly peeking through the curtains.

Higher Moral Values vs. Societal Mores and Laws

As Nora reveals to Mrs. Linde, she faced a moral crisis at the beginning of her marriage. Unable to
procure, in a legal manner, the funds needed to save her husband9s life, she resorts to forging her
father9s name as guarantor of the loan. She places her love and concern for her husband9s well-
being above the law. Since she diligently works to pay back the loan, the offense does not seem so
severe; it is a crime in definition only. In a higher sense, Nora has not acted in an immoral manner.
However, those who adhere to societal standards, like her husband, ultimately have different values.
Torvald values social respectability and honor above all else, including actions done out of love. Nora
values love over social honor. Consequently, a conflict emerges regarding their prioritization of
values.

Money and materialism

 Throughout the entire play everyone is talking about money, as if it were god. As the entire issue
starts over a debt, the play revolves around money and who has it as well as who does not have it. It
is a prevailing theme due to that.
 From the very beginning of the play, money is a central theme. In the very first scene, Nora gives
the porter one krone, telling him to “keep the change”, thus indicating a relaxed attitude to money
and spending.
 The next scene with Torvald almost entirely revolves around the subjects of money, spending and
borrowing, with Nora portrayed as a spendthrift. Torvald has very strong views on borrowing and
debt. He says that there is nothing beautiful about a home that depends on borrowing
.  A need for money affects all the major characters in A Doll’s House. In the beginning of the play it
is revealed that Torvald was recently promoted and will receive “a big fat income.” However, he still
criticizes Nora for overspending, arguing that they need to be cautious financially.
 Mrs. Linde is in desperate need of a job following the death of her husband. Krogstad’s
replacement at the bank leaves him threatening to reveal Nora’s secret in order to get his job back
because he fears he will lose his source of income.
 Money is also a source of misfortune. The money that actualized Nora and her family’s trip to Italy
becomes the onset of her misfortunes. The debt she owed Krogstad soon became a source of terror,
dread, and shame. The thrill of obtaining money soon became a nightmare for her.

Love and marriage

Nora and Torvald are presented as a happy couple leading a blissful marriage. Nora talks joyfully
about her love for Torvald, and Torvald refers to Nora using affectionate pet names. The two have
three children, Ivar, Bob and Emmy.

Male chauvinism
 The society in the play is male dominated. Some of the rules outlaid by the society especially on
financial matters disadvantages women. Women cannot borrow loans without the consent of either
the husband of father. Nora is forges her father’s signature to obtain a loan from Krogstad as she was
unable to have her father to sign the bond.
 Employment opportunities for women are limited to low paying domestic jobs, nursing children
and clerical work. Mrs. Linde could only secure a job as a clerk in the bank. Anne works as a nanny to
Nora and her children. Male characters mentioned in the play take reputable jobs: Dr. Rank is a
doctor while both Helmer and Krogstad are lawyers.  Torvald’s affection towards his wife can be
confused as genuine love. Hidden inside however, is a classical male chauvinist. Helmer seems that
he wants complete dominion over Nora, he is playfully reprimanding to Nora especially when
cautioning her against macaroons. Torvald sees Nora as an object of beauty and admiration, she
chooses the dress Nora will be wearing for the dance. Torvald calls her his “pet” and his “property,”
and suggests that she is not smart or responsible enough to be trusted with money.

Honour and reputation.

 Honour is of extremely important to Torvald; it is what motivates his behaviour. Early in the play,
his value for honour is the reason he gives for sacking Krogstad, claiming that because he once
displayed a lack of honour, it means that Krogstad is forever dishonoured.
 Krogstad is determined to maintain his reputation which he lost after committing a forgery and has
been struggling to rebuild it since. He uses all means including blackmailing Nora in order to look
good before the eyes of the society. If he is fired, he risks losing his all reputation.
 Torvald portrays himself as a self-righteous person with impeccable civility and morals. In order to
maintain this reputation, he has to cut off any character who seems morally unfit. Krogstad is the
unfortunate victim of this quest to maintain reputation.
 One of the reasons Helmer does not want to retract his decision to fire Krogstad is because he is
afraid to lose his reputation among the bank staff.

Appearances and unreliability of appearances

 Nora appears to be a naïve, obedient and a dutiful wife at the beginning. Later it emerges that she
is the opposite of what she appears to be. She is intelligent, motivated and independent minded and
aware of the complexities of life. She has taken a loan behind her husband’s back to finance their trip
south. Nora is also dishonest; in several instances she lies to Torvald.
 Nora and Helmer’s marriage appears as a perfect one at the beginning but as the play progresses
cracks of mistrust and dishonesty begin to appear driving the seamlessly flawless marriage towards
the edge of destruction.
 Torvald’s love for Nora appears as a genuine one but with the progress of the play it appears that
he is a classical male chauvinist who wants to establish dominion over his wife. He treats Nora as a
child in need of watching and guidance.

Morality
 Morality can be many things, however, it basically guides what is regarded as right or wrong. Right
or wrong is subjective to individual, community or society. The community within A Doll’s House has
its moral rules which are to be followed by everyone.
 Nora is caught within the moral confines when she forges her father’s signature after his death to
secure a loan from Krogstad. Nora wonders why the society would judge and crucify her for taking a
desperate measure to save a loved one.
 Torvald, the custodian of the moral code is clear on his stand on morality, he tells Nora that there is
no justification for Krogstad’s crime. Although Krogstad is a fine lawyer and a god employee, his
misdeeds make him socially immoral. He falls victim to morality and moral disciples like Torvald cut
links with him.

Deception/ betrayal
 Nora’s action of borrowing a loan from Krogstad behind Helmer’s back then forging her father’s
signature show that she has deceived her husband.
 Nora secretly eating macaroons which against the rules set by Torvald is an act of betrayal.
 Krogstad’s blackmail can also be said as an act of deception as he tries to use uncouth means to
protect his reputation.
 Nora’s deceit grows larger as she asks her children to keep Krogstad’s visit a secret from anyone
including Torvald.
 Nora lies to Torvald that no one had come to the house earlier yet Krogstad had been there.
Parental Obligations
The play shows that parents are responsible for bringing up their children with the right moral
values.
 For example, Nora is accused of following her father’s profligacy and money-making drive
.  Dr. Rank has inherited tuberculosis along from his father. Dr. Rank implies that his father’s
immorality—his many affairs with women—led him to contract a venereal disease that he passed on
to his son, causing Dr. Rank to suffer for his father’s misdeeds. In the same way.
 Torvald accuses Nora of inheriting moral ineptitude about money and financial matters from her
father.
 Torvald, too, holds this idea that parents determine the moral character of a child as he states
when Nora is with him that criminals always have mothers who lie in their lives. Torvald Helmer
strongly believes that due to his perceived immorality, Krogstad is a bad influence to his children and
is likely to ruin them.

Blackmail
Krogstad is the architect of blackmail. He blackmails Nora to convince Torvald not to fire him lest he
exposes her forgery. Krogstad is concerned about protecting his reputation.

Sacrifice
 Nora sacrifices her comfort, a good and comfortable life and good clothes too in order to look for
money and save as much as she can to pay the loan. She does odd jobs like embroidery and
crocheting, she also saves some money given by Torvald and buys herself cheap and simple clothes
with an aim of saving for the payment of the loan.
 Nora sacrifices her individuality, independence, opinions and thoughts to please her husband
Torvald. She plays the role of Torvald’s puppet wife. However, she later walks out of her marriage
when she realizes that Torvald could not reciprocate the sacrifice. She goes to reclaim her identity.
 Nora sacrifices her honour by forging her father’s signature in order to obtain a loan from Krogstad
to finance the trip that saves Torvald’s life.

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