The Lone Royal Swan…
The Life of Bal Gandharva
Manjusha Amdekar
Translated from the original Marathi (“तो राजहंस एक…”)
1.Rise of the morning star, Venus…
Rise in fortunes for Kirloskars
This is a story from roughly 120 years ago… and yet the magic of its marvel casts its spell over people even today…its enchantment has not faded from the hearts of the connoisseurs…
Not merely the Marathi musical stage but in fact, the history of theatre itself had witnessed the rise of a morning star–but one who brightened the stage like a star of the night sky! A man by birth, yet upon the stage, so exquisitely beautiful and memorable a female impersonator, that for over a century, his name has illuminated the world of theatre like a star that blazes and shines unwaveringly. This is the life-story of that extraordinary singer-actor.
He gained worldwide fame under the moniker “Bal Gandharva” but the original name of this extraordinary singer-actor was Narayan Shripad Rajhans. This thoroughbred artist, like the royal swan upon the Manas Sarovar, dwells in unfaded splendor in the hearts of connoisseurs to this day, even after his passing, just as he dwelt in the hearts of music theatre lovers during his lifetime. He has become, as it were, immortal.
Around 1906, a performance of the play Shakuntal by the Kirloskar Natak Mandali was to be staged at Miraj. An immense crowd had gathered to see it. On February 13th 1901, when Bhaurao Kolhatkar — the handsome actor who used to play the role of Shakuntala — passed away, it was as though all the luster had gone out of the Kirloskar Natak Mandali. Against this backdrop, the manager Shankarrao Mujumdar was overcome with joy when he witnessed the huge crowd that had gathered that day. For, a new actor was to play the role of Shakuntala on this day. People had gathered eagerly from every village around Miraj. From Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj had come in person. This was because, even before “she” had stepped onto the stage, the fame of the new Shakuntala’s beauty and her sweet voice had spread and reached everywhere.
Govindrao Deval, Nanasaheb Joglekar, Chintoba Gurav, Ganpatrao Bodas and the rest of the company were busy dressing up the new Shakuntala and, since this was her very first performance, in boosting her morale. She had even received the blessing of Lokmanya Tilak himself. Therefore, the eagerness, impatience, and suspense among the audience had reached its pinnacle! And… and within a few moments, the new Shakuntala, together with her companions, made her very first entry upon the stage…the crowd devoured her performance with complete devotion with every eye in the room fixed on her…such that she never once looked back ever after!
In the simple costume and adornments befitting a hermit’s daughter, the Shakuntala who sang songs like “The tree and the creeper, the two together look lovely,” “O friend Anasuya, my dear girl,” and other such famous natyageet, cast such a spell that the audience fell in love with her at first sight. When she gently freed her sari from the koranti bush where it had got caught, casting sidelong glances, and walked behind her companions with the swaying gait of a stately elephant (gajagamini), not just Dushyant’s but the heart of every single spectator skipped a beat.
After the demise of Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Shankarrao Mujumdar had said, “We have lost our good fortune!” But after this performance, good fortune had returned to the Kirloskar Natak Mandali with Lakshmi’s footsteps. The Kirloskars’ fortune was on the rise once again. The actor playing Shakuntala, was Narayan Shripad Rajhans — alias Bal Gandharva!
New era for musical drama
In 1843, Vishnudas Bhave introduced the play Sita-Swayamvar to the stage. His plays had a distinct style of their own, which other playwrights began to adopt. The plays selected a single episode from ancient scriptures dealing with deities and demons. These episodes were elaborately presented in the plays which tended to have one jester for comic relief. The responsibility for singing rested with the narrator (sutradhar) alone. Although the audience tended to enjoy these plays, they were in a sense unrefined and unsophisticated as a form of theatre.
Before long, those educated in English-medium schools started to feel that such plays rang false. Some new experiments were tried, but as they were entirely in prose, people did not find them wholesome or laden with emotions. Reading the changing taste of the public and putting his finger exactly on their pulse, Annasaheb Kirloskar brought the play Shakuntal — blending prose and verse — to the stage on the 31st of October 1880. This began a new era of musical drama!
Those were the days when women acting in plays was out of the question. In fact, women did not even go to watch plays. Therefore, male actors had to take on the responsibility of portraying the female characters. The first Shakuntala had been played by Shankarrao Mujumdar. But as he was no singer, Shakuntala was presented but not in her complete state of adornment. Annasaheb Kirloskar himself played the role of narrator and Sharangarava. Annasaheb left an indelible mark in the field of dramatic art. He proved to be the very founder of musical theatre. He was able to make theatrical art socially respectable. In a single night, he had been able to consign the older theatrical style to history.
The renowned writer N. S. Phadke had said, “Annasaheb gave the connoisseurs of Maharashtra new ears and new eyes… he began a new era upon the stage…!”
After this, in 1882, Bhaurao Kolhatkar — an actor who was as comely in appearance as melodious in voice— joined the Kirloskar Natak Mandali. Once he began to play Shakuntala, Shakuntala began to sing as well. Perhaps no one ever made the stage resound as he did, right to the very end. The audience would be spellbound when they heard him sing. After this, Annasaheb brought the play Saubhadra to the stage. This play touched the very summit of popularity. Moroba Wagholikar, Balkoba Natekar, Annasaheb himself, Shankarrao Mujumdar and Bhaurao Kolhatkar all contributed to making Saubhadra a triumph.
Annasaheb’s departure
Then, in 1884, Annasaheb brought Bhaskarrao Bakhle on board with this same troupe, and staged Ramrajya-Viyog. But after this, Annasaheb’s health declined, and he passed away on the 2nd of November 1885. The man had been a visionary, an innovator, a substantial actor — and additionally, a connoisseur and a generous soul. He never raised any objection when others performed his plays and nor did he ask for payment. He would say, “I have planted a field of saffron — so what if the donkeys graze in it…!” After his demise, whenever any play of the Kirloskar Natak Mandali came to the stage, it became the custom to first of all worship Annasaheb’s portrait–the first actor would step onto the stage only after bowing to his portrait.
Even after he was gone, the drama company’s income continued steadily. After Annasaheb, the role of playwright and director was carried on by his disciple, Govind Ballal Deval. The plays Vikramorvashiya, Shapasambhram, and Mrichchhakatika came to the stage. From the play Veertanay onwards, Bhaurao stopped portraying female roles. Now that he was past 30, he had come to feel that such roles would no longer suit him. It was during his time that Ganpatrao Bodas joined the drama company.
Bhaurao’s Demise
Later, while the play Sharada was in full bloom, Bhaurao left this world. Those were the times when everyone grieved the loss of a co-worker as though a close kinsman of their own family had passed away—it was that kind of atmosphere. From the company’s owner down to every person who did the smallest odd jobs, everyone considered the Natak Mandali to be their own family. No work would begin without first bowing to Annasaheb’s photograph. The arrangements for meals used to always be excellent of course; and through the ten days of the Ganpati festival, there would be a grand spread of rich festive dishes every single day. Maestros such as the singer Gauhar Jaan, the vocalist Alladiya Khan saheb, and tabla-players of the rank of Kaulprasad would visit. A great big family of some fifty or sixty people would live together as one. Whenever this company travelled somewhere for a performance, the leading men of that town and its surrounding region would be the first to visit them. Although in ordinary matters no one was bound by any prohibitions, every single person was scrupulous in guarding the sanctity of the stage. On the day of a performance, no one would touch even a drop of liquor. In short, precisely because this was the domain of art, no one behaved willfully; the principles, the ideals, and the codes of conduct that had been laid down were observed with the utmost care.
Although Annasaheb had founded this Natak Mandali, he never once regarded himself as its owner. And so, after he was gone, the company offered a pension to his family, and Moroba Wagholikar, Bhaurao Kolhatkar and Rambhau Kinjawadekar became the owners of the company. Later Moroba retired, and he too was granted a pension. After that, owing to Bhaurao’s illness and death, Rambhau alone became the owner. Later still, Nanasaheb Joglekar joined the company. From 1893 onward, Shankarrao Mujumdar took up the work of the company’s manager.
After Annasaheb’s death, the company had not exactly fallen apart, yet the audiences felt Annasaheb’s absence. Still, for some time at the start, the plays kept running and the income kept coming in. But later, after Bhaurao was also gone, many fine actors came, yet the old aura did not return. Audiences had begun to throng to the plays of other drama companies. Even by bringing out plays like Mooknayak, Saubhadra, Shakuntala, Gunamanjusha, Chandrahas, and Sumati, the Kirloskar company could not hold its ground. To make matters worse, Krishnarao Gore too left the company and joined the Swadesh Hitchintak Mandali.
Against this backdrop, in 1906, Bal Gandharva’s entry onto the stage through the Kirloskar Natak Mandali brought about a complete transformation — for the company and for the history of Marathi theatre alike. His entry proved to be significant and the company gained a new radiance.