Wada Trilogy

by Mahesh Elkunchwar, Shanta Gokhale (Translator)

With this trilogy, the author achieves a feat unique to playwriting in this country: developing a cycle which moves between many registers to unfold the evolving history of a family in present-day India mirroring the social and cultural shifts and changes that mark the 20th century. From "Old Stone Mansion", to "The Pool", to "Apocalypse", we follow the fortunes and struggles of the Deshpandes of Dharangon. This new edition supplements the text with a new introduction and an interview with the playwright.

251 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Mahesh Elkunchwar is an Marathi playwright, screenplay writer with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter. Today along with Vijay Tendulkar, he is credited as one of the most influential and progressive playwrights not just in Marathi theatre, but also in Indian theatre. In 2014, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in performing arts in India.

Considered a successor to Vijay Tendulkar, Elkunchwar's plays are written in Marathi. The plays have been subsequently translated into multiple Indian and Western languages (including English, French and German).

Reviews

[Shinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decay of a Brahmin family from riches to rags, from snobbery to sniveling & back. The 3 part theatre drama follows the Deshpande family.
1st book deals with bickering, bitching and nuanced power struggle between the rustic elder brother and city younger brother upon the death of their father. The former feels bitter, burdened and betrayed while the younger is aggressive-defensive but equally greedy for his share. Their wives and children have their own complex issues.
2nd book focuses upon the love-hate relation of 2 grandsons and their diverse marital experience.
The 3rd (the least effective) is largely full of philosophical monologues as the village battles drought, superstition and ethics while the city boy battles his loneliness.

Need to see the theatre play for better effect.

[Pranav Sakulkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Those who sin in secret are the most eager to punish those who sin openly." - Parag in Apocalypse (Yugant).

So much to say about these 3 plays. Need to take time, digest it all and come up with a coherent review after a while.

[Nomad nimrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

It got bit messed up at the end but otherwise a great reading experience.