Loona, being an untouchable and a
woman, claimed his entire sympathy and he wanted to write the
story from her perspective.
Keeping this in
view, Batalvi effected important changes in the old story that
he inherited from Kadaryar. Adopting the dramatic form, he
decided to end the play when Puran’s limbs are severed from
his body and justified it in the name of realism and dramatic
effect. Though Batalvi was very eager to distance himself from
the old tradition, yet the main features of the old story still
formed part of Batalvi’s play. The main characters such as
Salwan, Ichran, Chaudal and Puran are not common people but
kings, queens and princes. He added another king and his queen,
Varman and Kunte. The locale of action is Syalkot, which is said
to be the capital city of the Greek Satrap Seleukus. This was
perhaps why Batalvi thought that the Greek influence on these
legends was evident. But there is hardly any evidence of this.
assertions in the introduction create a number of problems of
intention and execution. Batalvi obviously manipulates the
elements of the story to make them fit vehicles for his ideology
and relate them to our historical context. Our society and
beliefs have undergone a sea change. Today we swear by
individual freedom, equality of sexes and democratic norms. The
bold innovation of having a female protagonist brings the
question of Dalit and women’s emancipation and empowerment to
the fore. Batalvi’s core argument in characterising Loona is
her claim to her sexuality and its assertion as a badge of her
individuality and freedom, irrespective of the distinctions of
caste and class, exposing the old social structure based on what
some may call male perfidy. The play thus becomes a document of
gender revolution. In this sense it is not only modern but also
wanted to write a tragedy. His play ends with the death of Puran
but he is not presented as a hero, the protagonist here is Loona.
Puran is a victim. His death cannot create the tragic emotions
of pity and fear nor effect their purgation. The death or
sacrifice of the tragic hero is supposed to cure "all that
is rotten in the state of Denmark", but in Loona
Salwan continues ruling and also having both his wives. Nothing
changes. And what sort of tragic heroine is Loona? She is a
victim, no doubt, belonging as she does to the untouchable caste
and married to an old impotent king. She is terribly sex
starved, so much so, that when Puran arrives on the scene she
pounces on him. Puran’s refusal to act according to her plan
infuriates her. She falsely accuses him of physical assault on
her and gets him executed. She becomes a criminal not a helpless
victim. It was Salwan who had wronged her. There would have been
justification if she had avenged herself on him. But it seems
that she is afraid of the king’s might. In the end Puran being
a soft target becomes the scapegoat. The sympathy of the reader
is not with Loona any more.
was thinking of writing a play in the tradition of Ibsen, Shaw
and Miller. This is why he talks of treading a new path by
making his story modern, rational and realistic. Is Loona, then
a Shawian "Unwomanly woman" who is expected to
repudiate all social conventions to achieve emancipation? Does
she have the grit and courage for this unconventional role?
Unfortunately, Loona does not repudiate anything. When her
accusation becomes public she becomes a conventional loving and
loyal wife to Salwan, swearing her love for him. Is she then
comparable to Ibsen’s great heroines like Nora, Mrs Alving,
Rebecca or Hedda? Ibsen’s heroines question traditional
morality. They dare and suffer as responsible individuals. Loona
questions old conventions but she behaves most irresponsibly
towards Puran and does not dare to say even a word to Salwan.
She has no courage.
in its present form, is neither a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy
nor a revenge play or domestic drama. It is not a drama of ideas
or a modern play in the tradition of Shaw, Ibsen and Miller,
though Batalvi might have consciously or unconsciously wished it
to be so.
Batalvi has used
symbolism rooted in Indian psyche both as a structural device as
also for thematic exposition. Its dialectical nature and
philosophical depth have imparted a unique richness to the play.
It helps in creating dramatic tension and reinforcing the theme.
Batalvi posits some polarities such as the modern vs the
traditional, pre-destined vs free will, the carnal vs the
spiritual, the court vs the forest, modesty vs immodesty etc.
These polarities are reinforced by the symbolism of the sun,
snake and fire. Sun symbolises energy, heat, passion and shade
quite the opposite. Snake, a sexual symbol, is further polarised
as Passion viper and Dream snake. Life and death are matched by
wakefulness and sleep. Wholeness is juxtaposed against duality,
sunny life against amnesia and depression, unripe fire against
passions flame, revolution against status quo.
The basic symbolic
polarity on which the play’s structure rests is Puran vs
Apuran i.e. the wholeness, purity and perfection symbolised
in the character of Puran (though he says he is not perfect)
versus the half-way men and women, who struggle and suffer and
burn in the fire of lust because of their being what they are.
Loona, Ichran, Salwan, Varman, Chaudal, Kunte all are half-way
men and women. Puran, being perfect, is out of reach for all of
them. They don’t have the capacity to understand what he
stands for. He has conquered craving therefore he cannot be a
party to Loona’s designs. When he is accused and questioned
about his being guilty of assaulting Loona and he does not
respond or gives only vague and evasive replies, it is obvious
that he knows that his questioners won’t understand.
Explaining the truth to them would require their moral and
spiritual development, which is not possible in the wasteland of
an unjust and oppressive society that Batalvi depicts in the
play. Puran as a symbol of perfection cannot flourish in this
wasteland, he has to wither and die. Thus a grave-yard calm
prevails and nothing changes.
It is also
important to note the ideological polarities. The pure world of
the celestial beings and their pure mirth is juxtaposed against
the lust, violence and sinfulness of human nature. Salwan’s
justification of his marriage to Loona and Varman’s pleading
about his moral responsibility towards Ichran and the debate
about the domestication of passion and its free play, offer
interesting insights. Loona’s justification of her views and
conduct is hotly contested by an opposite point of view
presented by Ira.
acceptance of the traditional role of a deserted wife and her
suffering is matched by her maids’ outright condemnation of
male perfidy. Puran and Loona debate the meaning of true love
and the opposition between the carnal and the spiritual, the
fake and the real. The dialectical pattern in theme, symbol and
ideology is woven with rare virtuosity in the play.
rendering which is the hallmark of Punjabi folk literature and
ensures its continuity has been retained and enriched by Batalvi.
The play has some really heart-rending songs to enthrall the
audience. The songs and dialogues of different characters are
appropriate to the mood and create the corresponding emotional
therefore, has succeeded in creating a new genre — the modern
kissa which translated into English may be called Punjabi
verse-drama. The ingredients that make this literary form are
purely indigenous. Batalvi’s assertions in the introduction
notwithstanding, the play is not based on any concept of Western
poetics. Actually it is the classical rasa theory that
unlocks the secret of its popularity. Three main rasas which
dominate are shingara, which is generated by the
interplay of passion and all that is luxuriant in nature, which
is evident in the opening scene and the portions where Loona and
Puran interact, virah, which expresses the pain of
separation and the agony of deprivation, and karuna which
is the outcome of deep sympathy for those who are subject to
undeserved pain and suffering. The rest of the scenes distil
these two rasas or a combination thereof, depending on
is modern because it takes up the ideological exploration of a
modern theme viz the condition of women in a male dominated
society and their fight for their rights. The traditional kissa
had no agenda of this type. While the old form was a narration
of affirmation, the new is dramatic, disruptive and
revolutionary. Batalvi is obviously influenced by the West in
formulating his ideology on the issue and he frankly
acknowledges his debt in the introduction. This theme is
vehemently articulated by a number of characters in the play.
Loona, therefore, becomes a symbol of suffering for all women,
more so because she belongs to the untouchable caste. In her
case the deprivation is double. This is why Batalvi says that it
is Loona’s story, not Puran’s, and gives the same title to