SIRAJ AS A SOCIAL PLAY

Abstract
This is introduction to the paper. It should be composed of several
paragraphs. The first paragraph generally gives the information of the author who
write the play. Next paragraph generally gives an introduction to the main topic
of the paper which is ‘Siraj’ as a social play and reviews background research
related to the topic.
The aim of this paper is to show how Siraj as a social play and discuss the
main themes and features of this play .
Introduction :
The play , ‘ Siraj’ by Phani Sarma is an exceptional gift to the treasury of
Assamese dramatic literature . The play is about protesting against traditional
communal prejudices and conservative social traditions and declaring the victory
of communal harmony . The play portrays communal harmony and humanistic
progressive thought through several characters in the play especially , Siraj ,
Kandarpa and Anil .
Keywords : Social issues , Love , Humanism , Discrimination
Objectives : This paper attempts to -
● About Phani Sarma.
● About Social drama.
● Evaluate , ‘ Siraj as a Social Play .’
● Conclusion .
Hypothesis :
Phani Sarma wants to show various aspects of society through the play
‘Siraj’. Even the author describe various issues of society but there are many
important themes in the play which Sarma describe very clearly. The
fundamental aspect provided by playwright Phani Sarma in dramatizing
Laxmidhar Sharma’s short story ‘Siraj’ in the creation of the human ideals. The
play is presented by Sarma as a spokesperson for the modern humanist liberal
viewpoint. In the short story , Anil and Saraju reject Sita after hearing the story
of her birth. In the short story , Laxmidhar Sarma writes that Anil refuses to
accept Sita and Saraju calls her a prostitute and throws her out from the house.
The story teller than ends the story with a pathetic irony of darkness. But in the
play Siraj written by Phani Sarma, Anil is ready to get married with Sita against
all the societal norms. The playwright also embraces Sita in the character of
Saraju. Although Saraju initially could not tolerate Sita’s incident but later she
accept Sita against the traditional, societal norms and accepted as her own
daughter. Sarma wanted to show humanism and the hope of building a
progressive new society through the play , ‘ Siraj.’
Phani Sarma was born in 1910 at Tezpur. He was an Assamese theatre
actor, playwright , film actor and director. His first movie was Jyoti Prasad
Agarwalz’s ‘Joymoti’ in 1935. He acted and directed Siraj in 1948 with Bishnu
Rabha and Pioli Phukan in 1955. He also memorably acted the lead in the film
Pioli Phukan, as a legendary prince-turned-patriot.
Indian Theatre Personality Phani Sarma was a prominent figure of
Assamese theatre. He was a bright cinema actor , director and playwright .
Endowed with great physical presence , he was credited with the ability to
virtually mesmerize audiences. Phani Sarma was one of the first professional
actors in 1930 and also one of the first to act in cinema. He did a prominent role
as the villain in Jyoti Prasad Agarwalz’s Joymoti in 1935.
He wrote four successful full- length plays. Bhogjara i.e ‘Ceremonial Jug’
in 1957 was one of the last and best Assamese historical plays. He did not deal
with the usual patriotrism but revolved around palace intrigue , adultery , and
revenge . Sarma was unforgettable as the ugly king Lakshmi Singha.
Film Career of Natasurya Phani Sarma
 In 1933 Phani Sarma played a significant role in the first Assamese feature
film Joymoti directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, where he played the role
of the historical figure of Gathi Hazarika , the villain of the film .
● In 1948 Sarma , along with Bishnu Rabha made a feature film Siraj , based
on a popular short story written by Deshaparan Lakshimidhar Sarma.
 In 1955 he directed and started in Pioli Phukan also playing the films
protagonist Pioli Phukan . His last film was Ito Sita Bahuto in 1963 where
he appeared as an actor rather than taking the director’s helm.

Siraj as a Social Play

Victor Turner defines the social drama as “ a sequence of social interactions of a
conflictive , competitive or agonistic type” and he delineates its stages as a
breach, crisis , redress and reintegration or schism. More simply put, the social
drama begins when a member of a community breaks a rule ; sides are taken for
or against the rule breaker ; repairs – formal or informal- are enacted; and if the
repairs fail, the group breaks apart. The category of plays that focus on social
events is called ‘Social Play’. In social play, real problems of society are
decorated with dramatic materials and given theatrical form . Such plays depict
various problems such as social inequality , caste discrimination , conflict
between rich and poor, love between young men and women etc. This category
of the plays emphasizes the conflict of social situation as well as psychological
conflict. Social play is any play in which children of the same age interact with
each other . Social drama can be broadly divided into two categories , namely
satirical or humorous social drama and serious social drama . Social dramas in
which humorous portrayals are made external or superfluous faults of individuals
with a light view of them are called satire or humorous social dramas.
Therefore it is important to understand the importance of these plays in the
development of society.
The play Siraj is based on the famous short story ‘Siraj’ by Laximidhar
Sharma. The theme of this play is entirely social. The play successfully portrays
several realistic and burning images of society . The play depicts the lifestyle of
the rich and the poor , the love of young men and women , harmony between
Hindus and Muslims , humanism and the hope of building a progressive new
society free from superstition .
There is a perpetual discrimination between the rich and the poor in
Assamese society. Where the rich tread , the poor cannot sleep. So in the first
scene of the play , the servent Aghona lies on the floor in the Barua’s living room
and says :-
“Oh , oh , oh come on , I’m falling asleep . Oh as if he were the eternal
shary of the lotus flower of Vishnu . Oh , what a comfort.”
Secondly , the image of love is the main image of the play . It depicts the
love of a boy named Kandarpa. He is the only child of an elite family. He
graduated from Calcutta who was born into an aristocratic family . He fell in love
with his maid Savitri and had sexual relations with her. Savitri becomes pregnant
. Love is an innate feeling . This feeling arises unconsciously in the hearts of
young people. This feeling does not judge caste. The same thing happened to
Kandarpa and Savitri. Their hearts met but society does not recognize it .
Finally , Kandarpa’s father learned the matter and sent him to Calcutta for fear of
losing his caste and identity and arranged for Savitri to be married to the son of
the Jamadar who worked in the Barua plantation . But Savitri refused to agree to
the marriage and ran away from Barua’s home. Savitri and Kandarpa love could
not succeed because of the discrimination between rich and poor in society.
Thirdly , there are a people of humanity and generous character in the play .
There are a small number of such people . Savitri fled from the Barua’s house.
She was lying unconsciously near a mosque in an Assamese Muslim village far
away. When a man named Siraj saw her he took her to his home and called a
doctor who treated her and cured her. In that home , she not only found shelter
but also she found full of human dignity. Later , Siraj learns that she is a Hindu
girl. So, on the advice of some village chiefs they wanted to send her to a Hindu
village but Savitri refused to go . But an old man in the village objected when he
learned that Savitri was a Hindu but Siraj said that –
“Ah what do I need to judge Hindus and non – Hindus. People are seeking
shelter in peoples homes . Wouldn’t I be inhuman if I didn’t give them shelter ?”
In addition to this statement , Siraj’s character reflects the progressive and
humanitarian nature and also embodies a sense of communal harmony in the
play.
Savitri , whom Siraj took shelter at home , gave birth to a daughter about
six months later . Siraj named her ‘Sita’. Savitri died after two days of giving
birth to her daughter . After raising her for about eight years , Siraj found her
father Kandarpa and handed her over to him.
It is a rare example of great humanism that a Muslim man Siraj raised a
Hindu girl as a child of his own household.
Kandarpa took his daughter Sita from Siraj’s house and placed her in
Calcutta where she was educated . In Calcutta, Sita falls in love with a boy from
a Hindu family named Anil . Before the marriage of Anil and Sita , Kandarpa
reveals his secret love and the mystery of Sita’s birth. In the third scene of the
third act of the play, Kandarpa says that-
“ I have made a mistake by hiding these things from you. You can give me
any punishment for that. But Sita is as holy as Sita. May she not share my
punishment”
Socially children born out of wedlock are illegal in the eyes of society.
Therefore, Anil’s uncle Subimal does not want the marriage between Anil and
Sita. And Subimal said that-
“No – never . You have become her father against the norms of the society .
There will be no need for marriage in society to acknowledge your actions . If a
girl born in a Muslim family is married to my brother-in-law , adultery will be
condoned .”
In response to Subimal’s narrow traditional prejudice , Siraj says
“ If you are right , it would be better to burn the Hindu epic Ramayana , Sir , If
love before marriage is adultery , if natural love is illegal , then the cows of most
of the charioteers of the scriptures , chaste and great chaste women , are lying in
the clutches of illegal love and adultery sir. If love is adultery in the eyes of the
society , if you look closely , you will see that a new society has taken shape in
the heart of that decayed society .”
Siraj says again –
“ You are wrong sir, there is no community in that society – no Hindu ,no
Muslim, no Parsi , no Christian , no caste , no non- caste , no rich , no poor. The
great society that brings the blessings of Allah is the great human society.”
Therefore, through the character of Siraj perfectly portrays progressive and
communal harmony.
Another character of the progressive , humanistic modern outlook is
Kandarpa Barua. Kandarpa’s parents do not approve the love affair between
Kandarpa and Savitri, but Kandarpa insists to marrying Savitri. Kandarpa says to
Savitri –
“Come out with me to Guwahati today. We will get married in court, a civil
marriage.”
Kandarpa was determined to marry Savitri but the marriage could not take
place because of his parents. But Kandarpa has not remained silent and has
become a protester against caste discrimination. Therefore , he admits without
any hesitation to his wife Saraju that Savitri was his wife and places Sita in the
seat of his daughter .
The character of Kandarpa is a proud voice of protest against traditional
social norms.
 The play is also a document of reformist and progressive thought. Towards
the end of the play , Anil and Kandarpa’s wife Saraju who are educated in
modern education , easily accept Sita from Savitri’s womb against the customs of
the society and Anil is ready to marry her. Saraju embraces Sita as his own
daughter .
Anil is a another character with a progressive and liberal attitude towards
the communal harmony . Anil is ready to marry Sita despite learning of the
mystery of her birth and says in the protest of his uncle Subimal –
“If you don’t , we will build a new society. A society that has no
judgement , no conscience , no punishment , no forgiveness , no flesh and blood ,
no heart can only be accepted in the past , not in the future”.
Anil says again :
“ People build society , society does not build people. A society that
doesn’t let people belong should been a disgusting memory of the past.”
Another progressive female character in the play is Saraju. She is the wife
of Kandarpa Barua. Initially , Kandarpa kept Sita secret from Saraju, but later ,
when Kandarpa revealed the whole past , Saraju initially showed her feminine
anger and jealousy , but later she was able to accept Sita. What she says to Sita
and Anil reflects her progressive , reformist attitude. What she said to Anil was –
“ Sita says that society will not allow her to be yours. Do you have the
strength to leave that society that doesn’t allow you to belong and build a new
society?”
When Siraj announces that he will take Sita to his house after Anil’s uncle
stands in the way of their marriage , Saraju says to Sita –
“Where are you going Sita ? To your house ? But your grandfather’s house
is not your own house Sita . That was your mother’s house. This is your own
house.”
Saraju says again –
“ I was play as a mother of daughter’s when I was a child , I heard the word
‘mother’ in their mouths in my imagination . Why should I be an aunt today
when I have a bride and groom made of flesh and blood? Call me ‘mother’ Sita ,
call me ‘mother’ Anil”
 The above analysis showed that although Saraju behaves like a woman by
nature , she has evolved into a generous woman in accepting Savitri’s daughter
as her own .
Conclusion
Thus , Phani Saram’s play Siraj portrays a strong protest against
communalism , narrow caste discrimination etc and advocates the formation of a
community – free liberal humanist society in its place.
Therefore the play is a tribute to the late Phani Sharma , who is able to
portray various aspects of society – darkness and light , the emergence of the new
against the old – in a very clear and logical manner. Therefore , Phani Sarma’s
play ‘Siraj’ can be considered as a successful social play.
Work Sited :
●Sarma , Phani . Siraj , 17th Edition , Publication – Guwahati : Assam
Publication Board , 2004 .
●Sharma , Laximidhar . Siraj short story
● https://masrur360.com.

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