Savvy High-End Buyers Send Asian Sales Soaring

Vol. XXX, No. 17                                                                                Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—Intense competition for great objects and strong demand from Japan and mainland China helped fuel record totals for Asian art at a series of spring auctions held, during what has come to be known as Asia Week, by Christie’s and Sotheby’s from March 29-April 1. Christie’s posted $26.3 million, its highest Asian art total to date and comfortably above last year’s total of $20 million. Sotheby’s took $17.8 million, more than double its year-ago figure of $8.3 million.

Observes James Lally, president of J. J. Lally & Co., Manhattan: “The impact of buyers from mainland China was an important dynamic this week. . . . And Japanese buyers, who laid low for some time, have come back strong to bid on Song dynasty (960-1279) pieces.” Lally suggests that the rising market has been a trend “for some time now. People are bidding for the high end of Chinese ceramics rather than for moderately priced items.” An exhibit of early Chinese ceramics at his gallery was sold out by more than half, he reports, citing interest from buyers in town for the auctions as well as for the International Asian Art Fair and the Arts of Pacific Asia show, which were held the first week in April.

Philip Constantinidi, director of Eskenazi Ltd., London, which exhibited Tang dynasty (618-906) works at New York’s PaceWildenstein gallery from March 28-April 9, says private collectors “are in a mood to spend money on quality.” He adds that gallery owners on the whole were upbeat this season about auction sales since “estimates were reasonable and some of the Christie’s lots were priced low.”

Sotheby’s total encompassed sales of fine Chinese ceramics and works of art ($13.36 million) and a $4.4 million sale of Indian and southeast Asian art. Christie’s sale breakdown was: $9.47 million for Chinese ceramics and works of art; $7.2 million, Indian and Southeast Asian art, including modern and contemporary art; $5.6 million, Japanese swords; and $3.9 million, Chinese snuff bottles.

At Sotheby’s in the fine Chinese ceramics and works of art category, Eskenazi Ltd. bought arare copper-red pear-shaped vase (Ming dynasty, Hongwu period, 1368-98) for $2.03 million (estimate: $300,000/500,000); and a large carved “Ding” foliate dish (Northern Song dynasty, 960-1127) for $1.53 million (estimate: $400,000/600,000).

A Chinese private collector picked up a rare set of ten Imperial Bannermen paintings(Emperor’s Honor Guard), attributed to Jin Tingbiao, inscribed by the Qianlong emperor, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-95) for $1.02 million (estimate: $100,000/150,000).

Bronze from India Stars at Sotheby’s

In the Indian and southeast Asian art section a rare, early-seventh-century bronze image of the goddess Prajnaparamita, or Saraswati, in copper alloy with silver-and-copper inlay from the Gilgit region in northwest India, set a record at $553,600 (estimate: $400,000/600,000).

Robin Dean, head of Sotheby’s Indian and Southeast Asian department, was “happy to see continued interest in rare and important Himalayan material,” adding, “We saw a rejuvenatedIndian miniatures section, with several lots selling many times over their top estimates and a continued aggressive market for modern Indian paintings.”

Maqbool Fida Husain’s acrylic-on-canvas painting Shatranj ki Khiladi (Chess Players), signed in Bengali, fetched $144,000 (estimate: $90,000/120,000); and the late Francis Newton Souza’s oil-on-canvas Landscape, signed and dated “Souza 62,” fell for $132,000 (estimate: $60,000/80,000). Both works were purchased by private European collectors.

At Christie’s, among the top ten in the Chinese ceramics auction was a 16-inch-high polychrome-glazed lobed jar, with a Jiajing period (1522-1566) mark, which was acquired for $598,400 (estimate: $300,000/500,000) by a private buyer. A “numbered” Junyao “hexagonal tripod” Narcissus bowl (Song/Jin dynasty, 12th-13th centuries) went for $396,800 to an east Asian dealer (estimate: $100,000/150,000). Theow Tow, deputy chairman, and Tina Zonars, head of the Chinese art department, reported that “the sale was anchored by several private as well as museum collections that were offered,” adding that results indicate “a continuous and strong market demand for quality, freshness and provenance.”

The sale of Indian and southeast Asian art, including modern and contemporary art,established six new auction records by Indian artists Prabhakar Barwe (1936-1995), Bikash Bhattacharjee (b. 1940), Atul Dodiya (b. 1959), Chittrovanu Mazumdar (b. 1956), Akbar Padamsee (b. 1928) and A. Ramachandran (b. 1935).

Stated Hugo Weihe, Christie’s international director of Asian art and head of its Indian and southeast Asian department: “The sale was another milestone for Indian art. The modern and contemporary section totaled $3.7 million from 94 lots, the highest total ever, and was 95 percent sold.”

A European collector bought a sandstone torso of goddess Uma (33 inches high), Khmer, Angkor period, Baphuon style, 11th century, for $486,400, against a high estimate of $350,000; and an Asian buyer picked up a gray schist head of the Emaciated Siddhartha (81⁄2 inches high), Gandhara, second-third centuries, for $284,800, more than three times the high estimate of $80,000.

Matthieu Ricard: The Compassionate Eye

Raj S. Rangarajan



LEAPING MONK DANCERS BY THE SEA (France)


During a European tour demonstrating Tibetan sacred dances, monks from the Shechen Monastery in Nepal express joy at their first sight of the Atlantic Ocean at a beach in France Collection of Madhav and Patty Dhar

The Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) has on display now the photographic work of Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard who is of French descent. The exhibition titled - The Compassionate Eye focuses on a bunch of photographs taken by Ricard during visits to the Kham region of eastern Tibet.

A creative genius who makes his camera talk Ricard has studied photography, classical music and science and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Institute Pasteur. His indelible pictures – a forest of fluttering flags, a swirl of dancing monks and young monks leaping joyously at the edge of the sea – make for great poetry and a momentum that carries a certain permanency and joy.




TALL PRAYER FLAGS WITH TWO MONKS (Bhutan)

Forests of prayer flags on bamboo poles can be found throughout Bhutan -on hilltops, in wooded clearings, beside rivers, near temples, and atop mountain peaks. Printed from wooden blocks and consecrated by lamas, the flags are replaced once or twice a year by the local people - Collection of Madhav and Patty Dhar

Ricard has lived for more than thirty years in the Himalayan region and has used his camera to articulate about people, landscapes, spiritual teachers and the traditions of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan in particular and about India, in general. He is a French interpreter for the Dalai Lama and is also the author and photographer of his books Journey to Enlightenment and Monk Dancers of Tibet.

Ricard’s work will be on display till Summer this year.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

A Lot Like Love: Breezy 20-plus Comedy: Film Review

Raj S. Rangarajan


Ashton Kutcher, Kal Penn, and Ty Giordano





NEW YORK: “Don’t: You’ll ruin it!” is a line Amanda Peet (Emily) uses a couple of times in “A Lot Like Love,” a romantic comedy that also stars Ashton Kutcher (Oliver), being released Friday, April 22 in cinema halls in America and Canada.

Love is a light comedy where the female and male leads are constantly trying to read each other’s minds, each is confused or intrigued as to what the other is thinking and when they really have each other, somehow they miss saying the “right” words, which is a compliment to the writers who have the audience constantly teased. The narrative moves from New York to Los Angeles to San Francisco, and back again. The story seems to be a fuzzy reflection of some folks of the 20-plus generation that is preoccupied with the rational rather than the emotional. Once in a while a movie such as this comes along that addresses romance thematically and one is motivated to discuss the theme at length.

The characters’ insecurities, confidence and repartee are continually tested and reflected admirably where Oliver, after graduation, wants his job, career, house and girl in that order (“ducks in a row!”) but the bohemian Emily, a bold, free spirit is given to spontaneous streaks such as rushing into an airline washroom when it is already occupied by Oliver. What a way to meet.

Ashton Kutcher, who last year starred and produced the box office thriller – The Butterfly Effect has also appeared in Guess Who? with Bernie Mac and Dude, Where’s My Car? Amanda Peet (Identity, Something’s Gotta Give) who just completed a run in the play, “This Is How It Goes” at New York’s Public Theater is also currently co-starring in the Woody Allen comedy, “Melinda and Melinda” for Fox Searchlight.

In his career pursuit Oliver’s business partner is Kal Penn (Jeeter) who played a meatier role in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle as a comic with John Cho. With thick spectacles Penn looks serious and driven about obtaining finance for Kutcher’s venture capital project – Diaperush.com – with the mission statement: sell diapers. Whether the success of this movie will help Kal Penn move up a notch in his career path is debatable. Jeeter’s “moment of madness” in Love however, comes when he orders a Hummer.


(Ashton Kutcher and Kal Penn)












(Kal Penn with Amanda Peet)

Desis will be happy that the Montclair, New Jersey-born Penn is getting more roles in mainstream movies, albeit in supporting roles. Another feature he is currently shooting in Manhattan is The Namesake being directed by Mira Nair, based on a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri who won a Pulitzer for her fiction – Interpreter of Maladies.

Its perhaps a cliché but its karma inevitably – it seems – that keep these two 20-somethings’ relationship on and off over a period of seven years. While they do not complete each other’s sentences, there’s something inexplicable that draws them to each other whether it is in New York’s Chinatown, Los Angeles’s El Matador Beach or San Francisco. Witty, playful conversation – sometimes words that are never uttered by Oliver or Emily – help this romance flower in spite of themselves.

British director Nigel Cole deserves credit for attempting a concept where a great romance could ruin a good friendship, as the ad says, specially with many of today’s young questioning every aspect of life, school, career, family, et al. Cole has handled screenwriter and Los Angeles-based actor, Colin Patrick Lynch’s contemporary theme with panache and sensitivity. Lynch has been writing screenplays for 14 years and this movie – A Lot Like Love is his debut on the large screen. In 2003 under Cole’s direction Calendar Girls was adjudged Best Film at the 2003 British Comedy awards, a movie that was inspired by the real-life story of women who hit the headlines when they posed nude in their women organization’s calendar to raise money for leukemia.

Others who appear are Kathryn Hahn (Michelle) as Emily’s close friend. Hahn was Lily Lebowski in the NBC drama “Crossing Jordan” and on the big screen in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Also appearing is Ty Giordano (Graham) who acts as Oliver’s brother and their interaction is very real when the brothers communicate in American sign language. Kutcher, who spent several months learning the language says, “Graham is a character who just happens to be deaf.”

In order to represent transition of the on-going 7-year story director of photography John de Borman (earlier work with Cole on his feature film debut of Saving Grace), shows a plethora of colors and a certain anxiety in his choice of lighting, which as the relationship matures, brings his considerable skills to a mature and pleasant fruition.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

[Photos by Ben Glass. Copyright Holding Pictures Distribution Company, LLC.]

Serene Tibetan Exhibition Moves Busy New Yorkers

Raj S. Rangarajan


The Immovable One -- Achala -- Slit Silk (Kesi) Textile Weaving -- Xixia (Tangut), early 13th century (before 1227)


If you are into museums and art and the “Mystic East” now is the time for you to plan a visit of a newly-opened exhibition titled Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the World. Sponsored by the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA), the show has among its choice treasures items from Tibet’s three premier collections of art: the Potala Palace and the Norbulingka Summer Palace, both residences of Tibet’s rulers for over 300 years, and the Tibet Museum built in 1999.

RMA opened in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, New York last October and is dedicated to the art of the Himalayas. Chief Curator and Director of RMA Caron Smith said, this new showpiece of eastern art will showcase the serene ambience of an ancient culture. Two floors of the museum have been dedicated to Tibet displaying objects used in Tantric Buddhism and several sculptures and scrolls, large paintings and pictorial textiles. It is indeed a tribute to the provenance of the items and painstaking efforts of the collectors where 9th century objects vie for attention with those of early 20th century.



The All Seeing Lord with Eleven Heads and One Thousand Hands
Avalokiteshvara -- Metalwork Tibet, 19th - 20th century, Norbulingka Palace Collection (A 108)

The exhibition has been organized by the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, California and many of the artworks have never been seen outside China – a tourist attraction. Some of the objects were given as gifts to revered Buddhist teachers by emperors of China for service as religious advisers during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (13th-19th century).

An image of the Buddhist deity Achala (The Immovable One) in silk textile pictorial presentation is so finely woven that if not told, one could mistake it to be a painting. The inscription was offered to a teacher of Sakya lineage by a Tangut disciple and the textile is an example of the slit-silk (kesi) weave technique which was common in the 13th century. The art fell victim to Ghengis Khan’s wrath in 1227.

The resourcefulness and versatility of Tibetans are also manifest in their original art created with materials as varied as wood, conch, metal, ivory, turqoise and perhaps coral. A certain tranquillity seems to descend on the scene and the artlover or museum visitor can witness exhibits and read about their history in an unhurried manner – a definite plus. Any observer of Tibetans knows that rituals and order, discipline and organization are keys to their culture and history.

The All-seeing Lord with 11 heads and 1,000 hands – Avalokiteshvara – in metal represents universal compassion. Another 13th century piece – King Songsten Gampo (circa 618-650) was the first religous king of Tibet who promoted Buddhism. Interestingly, he was also known for having married two wives, one from Nepal and the other from China. Another unique piece of Tibetan art is a portrait of of earthly and divine beings in the 15th century bronze of Manjushri Namasangiti that has four arms and wears a crown of leaves adorned with precious jewels that sumbolizes unlimited virtues.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

Four Girls and Two Weddings in Bride & Prejudice

(Aishwarya Rai with Martin Henderson -- Photo: Miramax Films)

Raj S. Rangarajan

The clever title of the film says it all. Author Jane Austen may not have approved the corruption of her famous book title, but director Gurinder Chadha has gotten away with it. Perhaps. Bride & Prejudice is a light comedy with no objectives to meet. It could qualify as an Indian musical with 8-10 songs in English with a white actor Will Darcy’s (played by New Zealander Martin Henderson) wooing Lalita Bakshi (Aiswarya Rai) and just when he thinks he has her, he loses.

With a script from Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges who also co-wrote Beckham here comes a story that would perhaps appeal to your “soft” side. Chadha says, “while washing the dishes, she was struck by an idea: why not mesh the Eastern mystique of Bollywood with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.” Chadha saw in Aiswarya Rai an Austen character – feisty and independent Elizabeth Bennet with brains and guts.

Bride is a formula story with a twist where an obsessed mother wants her four daughters married. Whether she succeeds and how well she does is part of the narrative. The mother in the movie, Manorama Bakshi (Nadira Babar) does a good job (a woman larger than life, according to Chadha), but Nitin Ganatra’s (“No life without wife” Mr. Kholi) first attempt at humour tends to jar a bit. His earlier roles have been on stage with Sam Mendes and the Donmar Warehouse and in the mini-series version of The Canterbury Tales.


(Caption: Namrata Shirodkar, Nadira Babar and Anupam Kher; Photo: Miramax Films)

Anupam Kher who also appeared as the father in Beckham and several other comedic roles in Bollywood, and Aiswarya Rai have the best lines and they carry them off with aplomb most of the time. Being a pretty face and having a storyline that’s right up her alley Lalita - high strung and incensed about American tycoon Darcy’s seeming lack of respect for India carries the movie up to a point. If you believe that many a romance has started with a verbal duel Chadha has gotten it right with Lalita and Darcy going hammer and tongs at the slightest provocation. Their “now on” and “now off” dalliance sequences carry the story along splendidly with Naveen Andrews (The English Patient, ABC drama Lost) playing a supporting role as Darcy’s friend.

Namrata Shirodkar (Hathyar, Charas) Miss India 1993, (Jaya Bakshi in the movie) plays a subdued role. Chadha’s direction is superb in places, but making a slapstick shtick with translated – rather – transliterated humour is perhaps not easy.

Kher is in his element as father Chaman Bakshi but overbearing Mrs. Bakshi seems to move the story by herself. North American audiences may like the hodgepodge film thanks to songs in English with a Mariachi Mexican band, soul music on the beach in California, the dandia-raas garba and of course the boisterous Bhangra in Amritsar. Whether it will help at the box office remains to be seen. Adults living in North America and kids who have grown up here may want to see the movie more because of the curiosity factor since Beckham raised expectations that Bride does not live up to.

(Namrata Shirodkar & Aishwarya Rai -- Photo: Miramax Films)



Lest you get the impression that Bride & Prejudice is another sentimental mishmash, you are treated to a “dishum-dishum” cinema-hall scene when hero (Martin Henderson) and Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gillies) who is interested in two of the Bakshi girls, mix it up when another movie is on. The scene seems straight out of an old Western, adopted for H(B)ollywood.

“With a multinational crew, challenges differ”, says Chadha. In India there was the dust, the heat, the slowness and the chaos, which the westerners had to get used to, but on the other hand, the director felt “it was even harder for us in America because suddenly there were so many rules…its more organized but more rigid.”

Chadha pays a lot of respect to choreographer Saroj Khan for her active tutoring of dance sequences to Henderson and Andrews and New Yorker Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is singled out for the Goa Groove song on the beach. Santosh Sivan, known for his camera skills was thrilled to be able to use naturalistic lighting for intimate scenes and in the wide western outdoors of London and los Angeles, he improvised to prevent it appearing unBollywood-like.

An ideal film for a lazy weekend or when its cold and snowing. Being released, Feb. 11, in most major cities including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco.

The Canadian Premiere of the film is set for Feb 8, 2005 and proceeds will be donated to Masala! Mehndi! Masti! 2005.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

NRI TV Film Awards Debut in New York

Letter from USA


Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK: Move over Golden Globes, Bollywood Awards and Oscars. Its now the turn of the NRI TV Film Club Awards. For the first time in North America Non Resident Indian (NRI) creative talent among actors, directors, producers was recognized and celebrated with awards.

Till recently, most of the moral support for performers came from close friends, family and well-wishers. We now have a forum – The NRI TV Film Club – which debuted in December, that honored 15 non-competitive films made in the United States. Brainchild of Tirlok Malik - an actor himself - the NRI TV Film Club aspires to encourage local artists (read South Asian) amidst the plethora of avenues and talent potential available in North America.
(L to R): Kishore Dadlaney, Producer of the film, Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar, H. R. Shaw (TV Asia), Tirlok Malik (actor), Lal Dadlaney, co-producer of the movie and Video Sound, distributors and Sreenath Sreenivasan, Professor of Journalism at Columbia University.
This year’s NRI TV Film Awards function “was our first step and we were happy to honor all those who walked this way before us and all the filmmakers whose films reflected the immigrant experience,” said founder-president Malik.
Keynoter Madhur Jaffrey and actor Tirlok Malik
“We not only aim to provide a platform for all related talent to showcase but also to nurture it and project it into the world.” This year’s NRI TV Film Awards function “was our first step and we were happy to honor all those who walked this way before us and all the filmmakers whose films reflected the immigrant experience,” said founder-president Malik, “We not only aim to provide a platform for all related talent to showcase but also to nurture it and project it into the world.” The NRI TV Film Club is for producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, production personnel and everyone else allied with the world of cinema and television. Malik emphasizes the relation between the artist and the audience. “An artist needs an audience to succeed, and we hope our club will create that awareness to help the audience meet the artist.”

Modeled on the Academy Awards, the Awards celebration included clips of films, commentaries, live performances, a comedy routine and two emcees. Films that won were selected based on the immigrant experience theme. The event was presented by H. R. Shah of TV Asia, a well-known community activist in association with Video Sound who have signed up as the distributing arm for the club’s movies.

A splendid standup act by Daniel Nainan (dad is Indian, mother of Japanese origin) carried the day for several people who understood and applauded his kind of humor. While some were riveted to their seats, many were more interested in the cold samosas that were freely available outside the Grand Ball Room of Manhattan Center Studios. Among other performers were Anisha Nagarajan (Bombay Dreams), the play; Sheetal Shah (Arya), Alok Mehta (American Chai) and Padma Khanna, the Bollywood dancer who teaches dance in the United States now.

Fusion Dance


Tirlok Malik has played more than 40 roles from an immigrant taxi driver to a lawyer to a porno shopkeeper. His first film Lonely in America grossed $20 million worldwide and was shown in 74 countries. He is motivated by the hope of helping other up-and-coming actors and producers specially after he had some unpleasant experiences with a distributing company. His second film Love, Lust & Marriage also continued the immigrant experience. A bachelor in Fine Arts, Tirlok has had professional training at the New York Academy of Theatrical Arts, The Actors Institute, the Weist Barron School of Television and the New School of Social Research.

Just as Indians are creating a presence in the world of mainstream cinema such as Manoj Night Shyamalan, Mira Nair, and Gurinder Chaddha, who have managed the crossover Malik, said, “We dream of achieving success together and developing a market for NRI films.”

Among the NRI fims that picked up awards were American Desi, directed by Piyush Pandya, Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar, directed by Rahul Dholakia and produced by Video Vision, Piyu Gayo Paresh (Gujarati) directed by Kanu Chauhan, Lonely in America, directed by Barry Alexander Brown and produced by Tirlok Malik and Chander Malik.

Among the award presenters were Reeves Lehmann, Chair for the Film, Video and Animation Department at the School of Visual Arts, New York, Preeta Bansal, a former Solicitor General of the State of New York, Kamal Dandona, organizer of Bollywood Awards, Sreenath Sreenivasan Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, New York and Kanu Chauhan who organizes concerts for Indian-Americans and others.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]

Playwright Tendulkar – A Major Hit in New York

Window on U.S.A.

Raj S. Rangarajan

The man was relaxed, sporting his trademark beard and clad in a polo neck sweater and scraggly loafers. In his element – in a theater setting with admiring fans – he seemed happy and at peace talking theater. I am referring to veteran playwright Vijay Tendulkar – in town – to participate in the month-long Tendulkar festival presented by Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) and theater groups in Manhattan, New York.

Comfortable in his Indianness and conscious that he was admired for his talent, 76-year-old Tendulkar’s cool demeanour spoke volumes of his confidence and acceptance as a playwright with spunk…a creative original who had reached but had yet to write his last play. Tendulkar reminisced of how even as an infant he had been to plays since “my parents were very much interested in theater.”

The festival is indeed a tribute to Vijay Tendulkar’s prolific genius who has influenced – perhaps dominated – the Marathi stage with his 30 full-length plays, 23 one-acts, and eight screenplays. He has translated nine novels and two biographies into Marathi, and among the plays, eleven were for children and has also written short stories and essays on social criticism.

Apart from Sakharam Binder, at The Play Company in Manhattan, which is currently running, directed superbly by Maria Mileaf, starring Bernard White as Sakharam with Anna George (Laxmi), Sarita Choudhury (Champa) as Sakharam’s women, the festival includes play readings of Kamala, Mitrachi Goshta, Ghasiram Kotwal and Tendulkar’s newest play written completely in English – His Fifth Woman - directed by Sturgis Warner. The program includes screenings of films such as Arth (Shabana Azmi), Ardhya Satya (Om Puri), Nishant (Smita Patil).


Caption: Bernard White (Sakharam Binder) and Anna George (Laxmi) in the play - Sakharam Binder

This versatile screen and television writer, essayist and journalist was much ahead of his times. When his Sakharam Binder was released it 1972 it was surrounded with controversy since Sakharam, a brahmin by birth went against then society’s norms. The central character Sakharam is a bookbinder by profession but he fiercely opposes the hypocrisy seen in the institution of marriage. Through his character and those of the two women - Lakshmi & Champa, Tendulkar reaches into the depths of physical lust and violence in human beings. The other two characters in the play are Dawood, Sakharam's Muslim friend and Fowzdar Shinde, Champa's husband.


Caption: Lark's public reading of Vijay Tendulkar's His Fifth Woman

Interestingly, at a recent showing, thirty-pluses and forty-pluses comprised the audience – folks who were not even born or were just infants when Sakharam Binder debuted in India. Bernard White acquitted himself creditably as a tough, no-nonsense male and Anna George and Sarita Choudhary (Mississippi Masala) as dutiful women.

For the first time Tendulkar has written a play in English titled His Fifth Woman. At a well-attended play reading for Lark Play Development Center in Manhattan, six South Asians of Indian origin strutted their stuff. “Strutted” is being used advisedly because the play ends with actors actually cawing on stage like crows do since the death of a woman initiates a discussion between Sakharam (Sanjiv Jhaveri) and Dawood (Debargo Sanyal) on whether last rites should be performed for a kept woman whose husband had left her.

Tendulkar says, for this production he had to think in English since his normal frame of reference is Marathi - his mother tongue. The play portrays how money changes hands when the priest, performing last rites for the departing soul of the deceased, prior to its passage to the other world, takes short cuts by not reciting certain traditional chants at the cremation ground. Among his memorable experiences, Tendulkar allows with a gleeful glint in his eyes, “the experience of watching your play come to light with good acting.”

Since His Fifth Woman and a version of Sakharam Binder were directed by non-Indians (read non-Maharashtrians) being staged currently, the question, When a foreigner not steeped in the nuances of Marathi theater directs a Marathi play won't the performance suffer in the process? becomes relevant. While a grown Indian may understand the concept of death and crows at the cremation ground and portability of the soul without problem can a non-Indian audience or an audience that has grown up in America understand the concept of an individual’s soul being migrated? Was more explanation needed at some point?

Tendulkar’s candid answers to above questions: “Americans are naturally ignorant about Indian customs and rituals but I write in such a manner as to be understood despite this hurdle. Those who were there at the performance understood what I said. What matters in my plays is the essence and the characters through whom it is conveyed. If a director understands this then other cultural details do not matter so much. An Indian mind watching such a performance of an Indian play will have to adjust to the cultural gap.”

With three crows cawing and playing significant roles in His Fifth Woman, this reporter’s question to Tendulkar was why? Tendulkar’s response: I am a fan of crows and spend my time studying them whenever and wherever I find them. Among animals I have a brotherly feeling for the donkey. Both behave as if they have understood the essence of life and have compromised themselves to its unpleasant aspects. Crows sometimes remind me of wise men who are shunned by society.





Caption: Sarita Choudhury and Vijay Tendulkar (Photo: Carol Rosegg)






Caption: Vijay Tendulkar and Sturgis

At the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre where a staged reading of Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal (set in 18th century Poona) was presented to the accompaniment of drums by Raj Kapoor (of Nepali origin), Tendulkar said, “This play was a parallel but narrative reflection of those times (1972) when an arrogant political party (Congress) in Maharashtra state was ruling the roost little realising that a major political force was forming (Shiv Sena led by its founder Bal Thackeray). Interestingly, the cast included Filipinos, Japanese and two actors of Indian origin – Farah Bala and Bina Chauhan. Ably directed by Tisa Chang, the reading highlighted the arrogance of the Maratha ruler and how a Brahmin was enmeshed in the mix of contemporary politics.

No piece on Tendulkar can end without a reference to the controversy that Sakharam Binder created with the play being initially censored and banned because of its theme and saucy language. With tongue-in-check humour Tendulkar derided “the universal tribe of moralists”, many of whom hadn’t even seen the play but were taking sides. To a question if any play should have a message, Tendulkar’s response: “Actually, a play need not convey a message, but at least it should make a statement.” An ardent fan of famous American playwright Arthur Miller, Tendulkar confessed, “I do not like to watch my play being staged.”

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]