The Lone Royal Swan…
The Life of Bal Gandharva
Manjusha Amdekar
Translated from the original Marathi (“तो राजहंस एक…”)
4. Founding of the Gandharva Natak Mandali
A Notice Was Served
By this time, Tembe and Bodas had formed a firm conviction that, as long as the company carried debt, there was no guarantee of livelihood: there would not be proper respect of their artistry. As long as ownership of the institution did not pass into the hands of the artists, their advancement too would never take place. Khadilkar and Pandit too had arrived at this very same conviction, taking Bal Gandharva’s interests into account. In short, two camps had formed. In one were Bodas, Tembe, Dada Ladu, Purohit and others. On the other side stood Mujumdar and the camp of the second troupe he was assembling. Additionally, since Mujumdar had failed to satisfy Bal Gandharva’s fondness for a new brocade sari, Bal Gandharva had naturally been drawn toward Tembe’s camp. Khadilkar and Pandit had even given the warning that if Bal Gandharva were neglected, he would not stay on in the company. Yet even this had no effect whatsoever upon Mujumdar.
By now, the situation was growing steadily more inflamed. In the midst of this, on June 19th 1913, Govindrao Tembe, Ganpatrao Bodas and Bal Gandharva served Mujumdar a notice that “they were leaving the company.” This took place within 20 days of Vidyaharan reaching the stage. In no time at all, the news spread everywhere like wildfire. In those days, the Kirloskar Natak Mandali commanded as much importance as Kesari. Since Lokmanya himself had recognized the importance of the dramatic art, this drama company too enjoyed his patronage. In the fear that, if Bal Gandharva did not remain in this company, the company would sink to ruin, vigorous efforts were initiated in order to bring about a reconciliation. Ram Ganesh Gadkari too was making strenuous efforts to bring them together. If these efforts succeeded and Bal Gandharva returned, then Tembe and Bodas would lose all standing. Bodas had firmly resolved that he would go into a Gujarati troupe, but would not remain in the Kirloskar Mandali in such a situation.
Because Bal Gandharva held firm to his decision, “Lord, it cannot be done now,” no such occasion arose for Bodas. Bal Gandharva would only say that it could not be done, but as for why, he would say nothing at all. He had faith in Khadilkar and Pandit. He believed they would do nothing against his interests. Bal Gandharva’s mother too gave him permission to leave the Kirloskar Natak Mandali.
In the end, Mujumdar laid this whole situation before Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. He at once summoned Bal Gandharva to Kolhapur. But since it was felt that Bal Gandharva would not be able to put his case properly, Ganpatrao went along with him. After hearing everything in detail and with patience, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj too was persuaded by what they had to say.
While all this was happening on the one hand, Mujumdar was hurrying along to earn as much money as possible. He was staging performances of plays such as Saubhadra, Manapaman and Vidyaharan. In the fear that, if this troupe broke up, they would never again get to see these plays, the audiences too thronged in great crowds. And the artists, who looked upon the audience as their own parents, were performing with all their hearts.
In the end, the last day of the notice period dawned. Tatyasaheb Kelkar resolved to make one last attempt. He told Mujumdar to take a pension. But Mujumdar rejected this proposal.
Gandharva Natak Mandali
From July 19 1913, Bal Gandharva and his like-minded companions were to be free from service. But as for what would come next, arrangements had already been made in advance. On July 5 1913, the coconut was broken (inauguration done) and a new theatrical institution was born. People had expressed their opinions on what name should be given to this drama company. But in the end the name suggested by Khadilkar, “Gandharva Natak Mandali,” was the one settled upon. The ownership right of this company was divided among the three — Bal Gandharva, Govindrao Tembe, and Ganpatrao Bodas.
On the day the Gandharva Natak Mandali was inaugurated, an old actor named Balwantrao Pethe had given a short speech to welcome the invited guests. On learning of this, Mujumdar, mocking him, said sarcastically, “When Duryodhan was born, a donkey brayed, you know…” But in his heart, he had come to understand that, with Bal Gandharva’s departure, the good fortune of the Kirloskar Mandali too had left in a huff, so to say. Because the audiences who came to the plays would spit here and there and make a mess, signboards reading “Do not spit here” had been painted by the painter. When the painter came and asked Mujumdar where they were to be put up, he had said in dejection, “Now stick them on my own face. With Bal Gandharva gone, the audiences are going to spit in disgust.”
The split that had taken place had left everyone abashed. For Mujumdar, the question of how to face the audiences had indeed arisen. But Bal Gandharva, Tembe and Bodas too felt ashamed even to walk down the street. Although Gadkari had remained behind in the Kirloskar company, Ganpatrao had ventured to ask him, “Master, will you write a play for us?” To that Gadkari had retorted sharply, “That is impossible for all eternity!”
Permission to Stage a Play
The Gandharva Natak Mandali invited Deval and appointed him as their rehearsal-master. When coming over to the Gandharvas after leaving the Kirloskar Mandali, Krishnappa Joshi, who worked in the kitchen, had even quietly carried off the arrow from the Kirloskars’ shrine. Vinayak Shivram, also known as Babasaheb Dharkar, the landholder of Pen, was in truth an old admirer of the Kirloskar Mandali. But he too had a leaning toward Bal Gandharva. As a result, Pandit obtained from him the first capital for the Gandharva Mandali. He made Rs 7000 available to this company. After this, the buying of materials: costumes, ornaments, etc., began. All company members agreed that there should be an oil painting of Radha and Krishna upon the front curtain. The renowned singer Kesarbai Kerkar had such a picture in her drawing room. Raghuvir Painter worked from this paining and prepared the first front curtain for the Gandharva Mandali.
Although all the other surrounding preparations were proceeding apace, the question of the main play itself was still hanging in balance. No matter how much the people loved Bal Gandharva, the fact was that there was no play ready with a good plot and excellent theatre-songs. Deval’s Sharada, Mrichchhakatika, etc., were plays that had become a part of Bal Gandharva’s very being. Bal Gandharva went to meet Kolhatkar and obtained permission to stage the plays Guptamanjush, Mativikar, Mooknayak and Premshodhan. In any case, Annasaheb had never raised any objection to others performing his plays. He would say openly, “The field has been sown; let anyone graze it.”
But Annasaheb’s heirs were under the control of Mujumdar, who promptly sent the Gandharva Mandali a notice forbidding them from touching Annasaheb’s plays. The Mujumdar–Khadilkar dispute over the money for the plays Manapaman and Vidyaharan was still ongoing. Once this dsipute was settled, the Gandharva Mandali secured the ordinary right to perform both plays, and many of the questions concerning the plays were resolved.
Shantaram
Khadilkar bluntly refused to write any play in a hurry. Gadkari, for his part, had turned his back on them. Therefore, Bal Gandharva approached Deval. Deval advised them to bring the old play Phalgunrao onto the stage in a fresh garb. Dattopant Pethkar, Dada Ladu and Rajarambapu had also left Kirloskar and come over to the Gandharva Mandali. Jagannathbuva Pandharpurkar, blessed with a sweet voice, was working at the Parvati estate. On Bhaskarbuva Bakhle’s advice, he gave up that job and joined the Gandharva Mandali. Dada Ladu too, with great enthusiasm, toured Goa, Kolhapur and other towns and gathered some fine, handsome boys. Among them, the boy Govinda Mulgaonkar was exceedingly handsome. Shantaram, the son of Rajarambapu Vanakudre of Kolhapur, joined the company, and it was he who later made history in the film world under the name V. Shantaram. But as he did not take to the theatre, he left the company within a year.
Support and Patronage of the Royal Houses
Bal Gandharva was very fond of fine, rich garments. It was a subject of special affection, indeed a passion for him. But Tembe, with great resourcefulness, solved this problem without any expense. Sardar Waghojirao Shirke of Baroda was a great connoisseur and a generous man. His daughter, Mrs. Sumatibai Pawar, was generous just like her father. The daughter of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, Akkasaheb, was also a great admirer of the plays. To win their support, Tembe made a round of Kolhapur and Baroda and obtained some 15 or 20 fine brocade saris (shalu). He also obtained a large number of gold-bordered saris (lugadi). He advertised these garments so cleverly that people began coming just to see the costumes. Since the beginning was thus made with such garments from the royal houses, the expectations of the already passionate Bal Gandharva only grew.
In those days, all the dramatic companies ran on public patronage. The Gandharva Mandali too received such patronage in abundance. Shrimant Sayajirao Gaikwad himself, out of his fondness for Bal Gandharva, resolved to extend his patronage to the company. On the other hand, Damodar Yande tried hard to turn the flow of his generosity toward Keshavrao Bhosle’s company. But Gaikwad’s manager Shirgaonkar watched the plays of both companies, and recommended the Gandharva Mandali. It would not be wrong to say that, for Bal Gandharva, this was not so much patronage as an honour. It was settled that whenever the Maharaja summoned them, the Gandharva Mandali would go to Baroda and put on 3 to 5 shows for the Maharaja and receive Rs 5000 as remuneration. It was further stipulated that in any year in which no summons came, they would receive neither that money nor an annuity. But since Bal Gandharva would otherwise earn about Rs 1000 from the audience for a single one of his shows, he accepted this condition. To obtain this patronage, the Gandharva Mandali neither curried favour with anyone nor refused the good fortune that came their way.
In order to receive guidance from time to time, a committee of five (a panch) was appointed for the Gandharva Mandali. It included N. C. Kelkar, Dattatray Lakshman Vaidya, Shrimant Sardar Abasaheb Vinchurkar, Vinayak Shivram Dharkar, and Krishnaji Parshuram Pandit.
Khadilkar and Pandit insisted that Bal Gandharva alone should be the proprietor. But Bal Gandharva had nothing to say about it. Hence, in this matter too, the committee gave its decision. It was settled that the partnership should be: Bal Gandharva 7 annas, Tembe 5 annas and Bodas 3 1/2 annas. All 3 accepted this. Of this, half an anna remained over. That was set aside, reserved for charitable purposes. Thus, the account of 16 annas was finalized. In those days, 16 annas together made 1 Re.
No one had any objection to Bal Gandharva receiving the largest share. For everyone had acknowledged his worth. Indeed, Tembe himself would say, “Bal Gandharva is our good fortune. He is also our sudarshan-chakra (discus).” Gandharva’s face was attractive and expressive, to be sure, but it was his heavenly singing, that refined and extraordinary gift within him, that had made him the amulet at everyone’s throat — the darling of all. That was why opponents could never hold out long against him. It was because of him too that the new company gained new well-wishers, audiences, advisers and patrons.
In short, everything that needs to be done to set up a company was put into place. Now, all that remained was for a play to actually appear on the stage. And that date was soon announced.
Gandharva Mandali’s First Performance
On September 3rd 1913, at the Elphinstone Theatre in Mumbai, the Gandharva Natak Mandali announced the first performance of the play Mooknayak. An auspicious day and an auspicious moment had been fixed for the play. Madhavdas of Mumbai bought the first tickets, worth Rs 105. The theatre was packed with an enormous crowd. Sir Bhalchandra Bhatavadekar inaugurated the company. The theatre-lover Vinayak Trilokekar gave the opening speech. The play began after that at 9.15. The play was such a hit that it became clear the audience harboured no grudge whatsoever against Bal Gandharva for leaving the Kirloskar Mandali. After that, Shapasambhram and Manapaman too were equally well received. Mrichhakatika in particular won the audience’s great favour. Husbands and wives began to come in hordes to watch the plays.
That same year, Keshavrao Bhosle’s play Rakshasi Mahatvakanksha won an overflowing response from the public, and Keshavrao and Bal Gandharva began the journey of their era side by side as equals. After the start in Mumbai, over the next 2 years the Gandharva Mandali gave a huge number of performances at many places. Performing town after town — Pune, Jalgaon, Baroda, Indore, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Umravati, Yavatmal — the company reached Nashik. During their stay at Indore, they heard some good news. The Gandharva Natak Mandali had been granted permission to bring Annasaheb’s plays Shakuntal, Saubhadra, and Ramrajyaviyog onto the stage. Around this time, the Gandharva Mandali also acquired 2 more handsome actors who played female roles named Keshavrao Devdhar and Sadashivrao Ranade. And before one’s eyes the Gandharva Mandali’s popularity rose to its zenith.
The people had already exalted Bal Gandharva’s beauty, acting and singing; but along with these, his costume and his hairstyle had begun to cast a spell over the modern women of that age. Women began to imitate him. Dada Ladu was an excellent photographer. He had even taken a pen-name, “D. Ladex,” for the purpose. He would click photographs of Bal Gandharva in his various guises and looks, in his costumes, hairstyles and roles, and put them up for sale. They received an enormous response — so much so that Dada Ladu easily earned Rs 15 or 20 from the sale of photographs at every play. Not only that, but in those days the sons of wealthy families had developed a fancy for dressing up in women’s costume like Bal Gandharva, and having their own photographs taken. Ladu then had to do everything for such clients from dressing them up to clicking the photographs. He naturally charged a good fat fee for it.
Meanwhile, in 1911, Bhaskarbuva Bakhle founded an institution in Pune called the ‘Bharat Gayan Samaj’ and began a program of imparting musical education. Although Bakhle was no longer working in the drama company, both Bal Gandharva and Tembe held him in the deepest respect. Hence, whenever the Gandharva Mandali came to Pune, they would give the proceeds of one performance to the ‘Bharat Gayan Samaj’ as a contribution. It had indeed become an established custom. Tryambakrao Sathe was to manage the company’s affairs for only one year. As soon as the year ended, Pandit was appointed in his place. But he was also on the committee. Since one person could not take on both responsibilities, he stepped out of it, and in his place, the solicitor P. S. Lad was appointed. It was Lad’s daughter who later became the celebrated film star known as Durgabai Khote.