Madhavi

by Bhisham Sahni

Reading books is a kind of enjoyment. Reading books is a good habit. We bring you a different kinds of books. You can carry this book where ever you want. It is easy to carry. It can be an ideal gift to yourself and to your loved ones. Care instruction keep away from fire.

Genres: Mythology, Fiction, Plays

68 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Bigsna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play I read on the insistent recommendation of a colleague at work, Madhavi is the story of one woman's sacrifices in the face of the duties that all the men in her life must fulfil. The play is based on the story of Madhavi, King Yayati's daughter from Mahabharata.

Munikumar Galav is an accomplished disciple of Rishi Vishwamitra, who stubbornly insists on giving him "gurudakshina", even though Vishwamitra does not want any. Galav's relentless insistence angers the sage and he demands 800 "Ashwamedha" horses as his gurudakshina. And so begins Galav's quest to perform his duty and fulfil his teacher's wish - it becomes a matter of pride that he fulfil the nearly impossible task and won't give up till it is done.

His search takes him to King Yayati, who is known for his generosity, and now lives in an ashram after renouncing his title and the material life. Upon hearing what Galav seeks from him, he is dismayed, but at the same time not willing to give up his reputation of being the most generous king in the land. His pride takes over and he resolves not to send the man empty handed; he gives Galav the only thing of value that he has left - his daughter, Madhavi.

Madhavi is a gifted being, blessed with the ability to produce sons for kings and magically renew her virginity and youth. She becomes the perfect bargain for Galav to offer to a king in exchange for the 800 Ashwamedha horses. The catch however is that only 600 such horses exist, with three kings owning 200 each.
As Madhavi changes hands from her father to Galav, to the first king, the second and so on, she becomes the sacrificial lamb, fulfilling her duty towards her father's command and her love for Galav. She is tormented and torn, but her resilience and sacrifices go unrecognised and unconsidered, obscure in the pride and vanity that each man feels - albeit on her account, because without her they could never have fulfilled their respective duties.

In the end, everyone has fulfilled his duty, but what does this mean for Madhavi? Is she rewarded for her patience and suffering? What does she settle for? Who does she settle for, in this world of proud and conceited men?
Read to find out.

I read the play in Hindi (a rare occurence), the language it was originally written in. But I believe the translated version (in English) is also very well done. Definitely worth a read.

[Mihir Chhangani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play from a part of Mahabharata which portrays how women are objectified and used as a means to an end which serves the men. A great and sad commentary on the status of women in a patriarchal society which, to an extent (and sadly so), still seems pretty relevant. Recommended and quick read.

[Raj Bairwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

समीक्षा : माधवी (नाटक)
लेखक : भीष्म साहनी जी
प्रकाशक : राजकमल प्रकाशन समूह
प्रथम संस्करण : 2018
कुल पृष्ठ : 120
___________//___________

प्रेम में पाने या खोने की कोई सीमा नहीं होती, एक व्यक्ति प्रेम में वो सब कुछ भी करता है जो शायद कभी वो अपने लिए सोच भी नही सकता। हमारा समाज और इसमें फैली पितृसत्तात्मक सोच महिलाओं के प्रति किस तरह की मानसिकता रखती है और कितना महत्व देती है उनकी भावनाओं को इसमें आदिकाल से अब तक काफ़ी हद तक बदलाव तो आया है परंतु आज के समय में भी शहर से लेकर गांवों में महिलाओं की स्थिति, उनके प्रति समाज और घर के पुरुषों का व्यवहार बिल्कुल शोषण से भरा है। पितृसत्तात्मक सोच की उन्हीं बारीकियों को भीष्म साहनी जी के लिखे नाटक "माधवी" में संवेदनशील तरीके से दिखाया गया है। मुनिकुमार गालव से उनके गुरु विश्वामित्र द्वारा 800 अश्वमेघ घोड़ों को गुरू दक्षिणा के रूप में मांगने से शुरू होती है। इसके बाद राजा ययाति और उनकी पुत्री माधवी इस कहानी में किस तरह जुड़ते है और माधवी का पात्र गालव की अपने गुरु दक्षिणा के प्रति हठधर्मिता के चलते किस किस तरह के उपायों द्वारा अपनी गुरु दक्षिणा चुकाने का प्रयास करता है साथ ही माधवी का पात्र गालव की किस तरह मदद करता हुआ अपने अस्तित्व और अपने जीवन के कटु सत्य से अवगत होता है इसी का "माधवी" नाटक में भीष्म साहनी जी ने बहुत ही मार्मिक चित्रण किया है। आप ययाति, विश्वामित्र, गालव और बाकी पुरुष पात्रों निर्लज्जता और उनकी आत्ममुग्ता के चलते माधवी के साथ होने वाले अन्याय या कहें की अधर्म को पढ़ते हुए क्रोध से भर जाते है। माधवी का गालव के प्रति निस्वार्थ प्रेम और उसके मातृत्व को दर्शाने वाले सभी दृश्यों में भीष्म साहनी जी के लेखन ने प्राण फूंक दिए है ऐसा पढ़ते हुए लगता है हमें, वहीं गालव के किरदार को शुरू से अंत तक मोटा माटी एक ही रंग में रखा गया है। माधवी के पात्र के अलावा ययाति के के पात्र की भी गहराई आपको समझ में आती है उसके भीतर के राजा की दानवीर कहलाने की इच्छाओं को बखूबी निकाला गया है आप पढ़ते हुए उसके झूठ को पकड़ पाते है। वहीं दूसरी तरफ माधवी के पात्र के प्रेमिका, बेटी और मां इन तीनों अवस्था में उसके मन में चल रही उथलपुथल, एकाकीपन, निराशा , खुशी और गहरे अवसाद को कहानी में उसके संवादों के जरिए बताने की कोशिश की गई है माधवी का पात्र आपके साथ रह जाएगा किताब खत्म होने बाद भी। संवादों की बात करें तो गालव और माधवी के बीच के संवाद कमाल के है और अंत में गालव को माधवी का पात्र जिस तरह से उसके दोगलेपन और झूठ से अवगत कराता है वो पूरा दृश्य कमाल का है माधवी का क़िरदार अपना दिल खोलकर रख देता है आपके सामने और गालव के भी साथ ही आपकों भी समाज में महिलाओं की स्थिति पर सोचने पर मजबूर कर देता है। विश्वामित्र और ययाति के बीच के संवाद भी पुरुषों द्वारा ख़ुद के अहम को संतुष्ट करने की झुठी शान दिखाने का प्रयास करते है जो काफ़ी रोचक लगता है। मेरे लिए ये नाटक पढ़ने के बाद इसके मंचन को देखने की उत्सुकता बहुत अधिक बढ़ गई है उम्मीद है कहीं कभी इसका मंचन देख पाऊं। बाकी अगर आप भी कुछ अच्छा पढ़ना चाह रहे है तो राजकमल प्रकाशन समूह द्वारा प्रकाशित इस नाटक "माधवी" को अवश्य ही पढें। भीष्म साहनी जी के लेखन का एक और बेहतरीन रंग आपकों इसमें देखने पढ़ने को जरुर मिलेगा।

- साहित्ययात्री
(०६/१०/२०२४)

[Ira46 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tale from Mahabharata but in a play form. It is from Galav’s point of view but more so third person rotating with different characters. I had heard about her many years ago and remarked about the injustice she faced but never revisited it. I felt a lot of rage while reading about this book and thinking about the trauma that Madhavi would have endured time after time without anyone caring about her feelings. The only thing that anyone and everyone focused on was their self-interest. Galav, Vishwamitra’s disciple, was completing his Guru Dakshina and he would go to any lengths to achieve it while her father only cared about maintaining his image. It was devastating to read about his heartless attitude whenever Madhavi was leaving a child behind and lamenting about it. He invalidated her feelings and placed his interest above hers and reminded her of her duties, completely disrespecting her as a mother after already disrespecting her as a woman. It was disheartening to see Madhavi slowly realize that everyone around her only saw her as a commodity to be bartered for gains - a commodity without feelings and autonomy of her own or so they would pretend. In the final pages it was astonishing to see the audacity of her father to expect more even after everything that she had already given up. Her last attempt of extending an olive branch to Galav only for it to be thrown back at her face was the last straw for her and me. Her decision to leave everything behind was a way for her to take back her agency and seemed a rather fitting end to an overall interesting tale. I’m glad that I picked up this book and was able to answer any questions I had about her as there is so little information about her. I’m not sure if this story is accurate or not but it's alright if it's just speculation on the author’s part.

[Animesh Priyadarshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

भीष्म साहनी रचित “माधवी” [नाटक] एक पौराणिक उपाख्यान पर आधारित है जिसका ज़िक्र महाभारत में आया है। ययाति एक श्रेय लोलुप सम्राट है जिसने अपनी पुत्री माधवी को एक वस्तु की भाँति एक ऋषि को दान कर दी ताकि उसके दानवीरता का यशगान हो! माधवी ने पुरुष समाज के पाखंड को उजागर कर दिया है। ९५ पृष्ठों के इस नाटक को आप एक बैठक में पढ़ सकते हैं।

कालक्रम में हिसाब से इसमें कुछ विसंगतियाँ मुझे स्पष्ट दृष्टिगोचर हुई हैं जिससे मन तिक्त हो उठा।

[Mahender Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on a story from Mahabharat, this play exposes the way in which the society and politics treat the women, just as a disposable commodity
Bangla drama group Nandikar presents this drama in excellent way

[Bharat Kataria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suggest to my friends to read this

[S K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you accidentally come across some books that bowl you over. Madhavi is one such book. Picked it up just because Sankars didn't have too many 'best-sellers' at the time, and, boy! was I impressed. Of course, Bhisham Sahni needs no introduction or validation. But, this was my first of his works, so took me by a storm.

[Shubhika Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women exploitation is the very much in the roots of Indian History but none but Bhishma Sahni alluded it while others had more important things to do , yelling the valour of men .

Madhavi is a MUST read! It will wrench your heart !