Aadhe Adhure means incomplete and
half. The story is related to the modern day ordinary middle class family which
is not only half but also incomplete. It is the story of a middle class family
in a modern city which is being pushed towards lower middle class existence due
to its peculiar circumstances. It is the story of its desires, aspirations,
struggles, along with the peculiar situation that is getting out of control.
The family has fallen from middle
class prosperity to a lower status. There are many remnants (leftovers) of
their former bourgeois acquisition—a sofa set, dining table, writing table and
refrigerator. Here money was spent freely by the husband and wife in the past.
The family paid high rents for the house. They travelled by taxis, the son and
daughter had been students of public schools. The family enjoyed liquor
parties. Presently, the head of family, remains at home most of the time, as he
is out of job for the last ten years. The wife now works in a private firm and
is the sole bread winner of the family. This has made her a bitter person. The
son is a college drop out and does not feel inclined to become financially
independent. These days it is a common phenomenon for women leaving their homes
in search of employment and bringing an extra salary into the house in a quest
for a comfortable life-style. But here the husband remains unoccupied and the
responsibility of feeding the children has fallen upon the wife. Mahendranath,
the husband does not feel inclined to work. Meanwhile the main protagonist,
Savitri has made friendship with numerous men friends—Singhania, Jagmohan,
Manoj and Shivjeet, who frequently pay a visit to this house. The son and
daughters are in the know of this. Barring Mahendranath, all the members of the
family are steeped in sexual awareness. Ashok spends his time cutting pictures
of half naked American actresses and pursuing his girl friend. The eldest
daughter elopes from home with her mother’s boy friend. Kinny has a precocious
interest in sexual matters. She openly discusses sex with her friends. But is
this behavior so unusual in the modern context ? it is quite normal for an
adolescent girl to be interested in sex and a boy of twenty one to find sexual
gratification in reading pornographic literature. But it is Savitri’s character
that has caused maximum discomfiture to readers. They feel that savitri’s
abnormal sensuality propels her towards one man after another to satisfy her
urges. No relationship seems to hold her. Her husband, Mahendranath, according
to juneja, loves her deeply in spite of the torment of knowing about his wife’s
liaisons. But savitri does not sem concerned about the effect of her openness.
Whenever a friend comes to visit her at home, Mahendranath escapes. But what is
the most sacrilegious is Juneja’s revelation in the end that Savitri has
enjoyed a level of intimacy with her son in law, Manoj in the past. This is
most unpalatable to us.
Middle class values seem to have a
certain hold on this unhappy couple. Savitri has never accepted Mahendranath
as he is. Within a couple of years of her marriage, she started feeling
alienated from her husband. But why does not she opt for legal separation ? she
is not financially dependent on her husband. In this respect the play is the
tragedy of a middle class marriage gone sour. What are the reasons for its
failure ? In the foremost are the economic ones. It is true that savitri
contributes to a great extent in aggravating the situation. She projects
herself as a martyr, constantly reminds her about her efforts to improve their
conditions. There is constant bickering between husband and wife.
Mahendranath’s helplessness is understandable. He is unemployed and cannot stay
over at juneja’s indefinitely. In his own life, Mohan Rakesh, the dramatist
broke away fram a loveless alliance, not once, but twice. In a middle class
family it was unforgivable.
with Best Regards
K.K Singh
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