Shakespearean Tragic Grandeur: A Reading of ‘Natsamrat’
Author : Dr. Ashutosh Patil
Abstract :
Shakespeare’s influence on world drama is incomparable. In Indian literature, particularly in Marathi mainstream literature, Shakespeare’s influence has played magic in the form of adaptations. Shakespeare’s King Lear inspired a stalwart in the world of Marathi drama, V.V. Shirwadkar to write a play named Natsamrat which has been casting its spell on Marathi mind since generations. Though some critics are of the view that Natsamrat is neither the translation nor the adaptation of King Lear but King Lear’s story and Shakespeare’s perception of human life and human psyche definitely reflects in Natsamrat. Shirwadkar has massively succeeded in grasping the tragic grandeur of Lear in the protagonist of Natsamrat, Appasaheb Belwalkar. Unlike Lear Appasaheb is the uncrowned king of the limelight world of Drama. He has enacted the heroes of Shakespeare during his career as an actor on Marathi stage. The huge applause and the social recognition and the resultant image of him gives him the feel of a king. Like Lear he receives the betrayal, insult and disbelief at his children’s hand. Shirwadkar has minutely depicted the human understanding of relations and perception of life through his characters and this is achieved through Shakespeare’s influence on him. Of course, the play being independent creation by the playwright has added the dimension of Indian family context. Though Shirwadkar tries to discuss the problem of old people in Indian context, it does disseminate the awareness of universality of human treatments to the person when he has stepped out of the glory of life. When Lear, the King and Appasaheb, the king of the world of drama, grow dependent on their children, the tragedy does not remain of an individual or national but becomes universal.
Keywords :
Translation, Transformation, Shakespeare’s Influence, Tragic Grandeur
