Or so it would seem from the frenetic buzz in the studio of a TV news channel, as anchors and journalists vociferously sift through various feeds to decide the best spin on the day’s story.
This is the preamble of Saeed Naqvi’s fanciful tragicomedy, The Muslim Vanishes, the Hitchcockian allusion in the title more than justifying itself.
While some quarters of the Hindu population are evidently relieved and delighted at a dream fulfilled, the celebration seems to lose its fizz and give way to the looming prospects of another kind of divide.
Eventually, in the effort to redefine the emerging identities of Hindus and Muslims, the dividing lines get blurred and the notion of a ‘Mohammadiya Hindu’ emerges.
Picked from the proponents of multiculturalism across eras spanning medieval through pre-modern India, the jury includes the likes of Sant Kabir, Tulsidas and Mahatma Phule.
About four decades ago, I had acted in a show for Doordarshan called Guftagu which featured ghazals penned by the legendary shayars of India and composed by the sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
Anyway, in the play, Amir Khusro seems to be the obvious choice to represent the jury as his illustrious CV includes his efforts towards Hindu-Muslim amity by writing in the Hindvi language, a precursor to Hindustani aimed at standardising the Hindi and Urdu dialects.
Naqvi’s play is a universal plea for empathy, while fully recognising the apathy that prevails like dark matter in the universe.
In fact, by the author’s own admission in the foreword, the play structure was a choice made to conveniently present the complexities of the material at hand: ‘All of this can make the head swim.
The sutradhar can also help in a big way to expunge some of the dialogue and incorporate plot points into the narration as a third person account.
2.
It might help if the tertiary characters, especially those who make brief and passing appearances, are merged with the relevant main characters, without compromising on their intent.
Akash Khurana has a diverse experience of over four decades in films, theatre, television, academics and corporate affairs.