The Lone Royal Swan…
The Life of Bal Gandharva
Manjusha Amdekar
Translated from the original Marathi (“तो राजहंस एक…”)
6. Few More Pieces
Sabotage attempts
Until then, any theatre company had been nothing less than one vast family. Living together, eating together, merry-making, joking and teasing one another, nursing each other through illness… that was how it went. Everyone had the others for company. The company was a constant thoroughfare, with great artists, the wealthy of society, and devoted connoisseurs forever coming and going. Whenever they camped in a new town, new people would be met. They got to see the finer spots of the surrounding region. New experiences came their way. Sometimes even the families of the proprietors travelled along with them.
But the nature of partnership here was different from that of other businesses. Here, one quickly gauged the flaws in one another’s temperament. Additionally, the opinions, leanings and certain self-interests of other people around them also bore upon the partnership. That Bal Gandharva was the good fortune of the Natak Mandali — on this there was not the slightest disagreement. Khadilkar and Pandit, from the very beginning, felt that Bal Gandharva alone ought to be the company’s proprietor. But one partnership or another kept carrying on. Since Swayamvar and Ekach Pyala were plays that ran with great force, the company’s profits suffered no shortfall. Even so, there was no doubt that, from behind the curtain, work was being done to sabotage the partnership of Bal Gandharva and Ganpatrao. Balasaheb Pandit’s notion was that, alongside the theatre, there ought to be some side-business or other so that the income would keep growing. He would make efforts accordingly. But the efforts would backfire and the burden of debt would mount. To repay these personal debts, gaining complete control over the income of the Bal Gandharva Mandali had become unavoidable for him. But as long as Ganpatrao was in the partnership, that was not possible.
Balasaheb’s Manoeuvres
From the standpoint of running the business, it was necessary to stay in Mumbai and form a working alliance with the Gujaratis. So Balasaheb insisted that they should make Mumbai their permanent base. His plan was that Bal Gandharva would play his roles on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and that a secondary troupe should be readied for the other days of the week. But this would have raised expenses, so Ganpatrao opposed the plan.
When Balasaheb had been at the Solapur Bank, a criminal case had been initiated against him in connection with a fraud in one of the transactions. He needed money to clear himself of these charges. In the early days, Balasaheb had never hesitated to spend his own money on Bal Gandharva. Now, he was compelled to use Bal Gandharva’s money to meet his own needs.
Both Bal Gandharva and Balasaheb knew Ganpatrao’s worth. It was precisely because of Ganpatrao’s prudent nature that all the debts had been cleared and the company was now free of debt. Though this was true, the question that they now faced was what to do about the personal debt Balasaheb had incurred through the side-business ventures.
Dispute
Additionally, Bal Gandharva himself had come round to the view that, if one wished to run things according to one’s own will, it was better to have no partnership. Moreover, ever since the two of them had begun living in the company along with their families, differences of opinion too had started arising between him and Ganpatrao. After the splendid performances of Ekach Pyala, the company had taken its annual break. After the break ended and the date for the first performance on November 15, 1919 arrived, the details of the dispute within the partnership had reached the advisory committee. The first complaint against Ganpatrao was this: ‘Even when expense has to be incurred for the stage, since Ganpatrao objects on occasion to taking out a loan, Bal Gandharva is left frustrated.’
The problem had reached a point where it was felt that either Bal Gandharva or Ganpatrao should remain in the company. Vaidya and Lad made many attempts at a compromise between the two. This did not work and it was decided that on November 24, 1919, Ganpatrao would be freed from the company and the partnership. Bal Gandharva agreed to pay Ganpatrao Rs 27,000 for his share of the partnership. From December 1, 1919, Bal Gandharva became the master of the company in every respect. He became its sole proprietor.
After Bodas left the company, Krishnappa Bhandarkar began playing his comic roles and Vidyadhar Joshi the role of Sudhakar. But since those roles were not carried off as well as by Ganpatrao, a difference appeared in the response the plays drew. Even so, apart from Sanshaykallol, there was no effect on the income of the other plays. People’s verdict on the plays was this: ‘Bal Gandharva’s performance as Subhadra has now become more special, and, just as with Swayamvar, audiences are being drawn powerfully to Saubhadra as well. Saubhadra is a sumptuous play, and thanks to the Gandharva company it looks more sumptuous still.’
At Pune the Gandharva company celebrated its seventh anniversary on a grand scale. But everyone felt the absence of Bodas. In keeping with his plan, Balasaheb created a double troupe. He began having the company’s calendars printed and announcing the company’s monthly programme. Balasaheb also began the practice of the season ticket.
Draupadi
After Bodas had left, the play Draupadi came to the stage. Bal Gandharva had developed almost a passion for adorning the stage. In the period before the Second World War, nearly Rs 70,000 were spent on this play. On the very first day, tickets for the play were not available at the window, because they had already sold out. Who knows why, but Draupadi did not impress the audience. It seemed that the Rs 72,000 spent on this play were likely to go waste. But soon Bal Gandharva poured such life into the role of Draupadi that, before one’s eyes, the play became as popular as Swayamvar and Ekach Pyala.
In 1906, when Dr. R. M. Bhatkhande, had seen Bal Gandharva for the very first time, he had described him as ‘an image with a simpleton’s face’. Now, before one’s eyes, that very boy had been transformed into a royal swan. Even if Bal Gandharva had appeared so to Bhatkhande, to Lokmanya Tilak, however, a royal swan had been visible in him. Tilak had given Narayan the name Bal Gandharva on seeing his beautiful form, the celestial-musician’s quality in his voice, and his childlike innocence. Bal Gandharva went on to make that name worthy of itself. His face was extraordinarily expressive and fluid. Whatever role he embodied, the audience would be entranced by him. Bal Gandharva was innately a gifted actor and singer. He would merge with every role and bring it to life with utmost absorption.
Bal Gandharva was a spontaneous artist. To carry off his roles, he never brought to bear any kind of reflection or contemplation. He did not discuss the role with anyone. He did not gather information. Yet the very moment he received a cue, he would slip naturally into the inner being of a role and, becoming one with it, embody it with complete absorption. In those days, a theatre company was like one vast family. The person who belonged to it would devote himself to the art. He would hold a loyalty toward his theatre company. The rehearsal-master held the place of a guru. To disobey his command was simply not possible. It was a kind of school of acting. Even the actors who were not performing in the play would be present at rehearsals. So, if some difficulty befell an actor at the last moment, these actors — who were present merely to watch the rehearsals — could step in and play his part.
So great was Bal Gandharva’s good fortune that, from the very beginning, he got to learn under teachers such as Deval, Khadilkar, Kirloskar, and Bodas. He also got to learn from Govindrao Tembe and Bhaskarbuva Bakhle. In his first 13 years, he had the chance to play 9 unforgettable roles. Shakuntala, Sharada, Subhadra, Vasantasena, Bhamini, Devayani, Revati, Rukmini and Sindhu — these heroines he portrayed have become immortal in history.
On the strength of these roles, Khadilkar gave Bal Gandharva the role of Draupadi. This role too was made hugely popular by him. But this proved to be the last play in which he dominated the stage with such command.