Emperor Ashoka is an English translation of Sahitya Akademi award-winning Hindi play, Samrat Ashok This is another historical play authored by Daya Prakash Sinha and dramatises some lesser- known yet significant episodes from Emperor Ashoka's life Ashoka is remembered mainly for his change of heart after the Kalinga War and turn to Buddhism. Many other facets of his life are reserved only for diligent students of history and it is to the credit of the dramatist that he is able to bring them to mass audiences in an organic manner. Although Ashoka has been the theme of several works of fiction, film, etc., this play is refreshing in its treatment of the almost mythic character of the protagonist and evokes not just awe but empathy for the emperor. It brings home the reality of the living presence of history in the life of an individual and the life of a nation. Sinha's telescopic vision is able to link the past, present and the future together to demonstrate a fluidity of movement and make the past contemporaneous. Not only does our past shape our present but it is also a legacy to guide us. An added philosophical dimension in the play touches core issues concerning all humanity. The dramatist also breaks the western mould of playwriting into acts and scenes and divides the play into twenty seamless scenes that highlight different aspects of Ashoka's life and times.
Daya Prakash Sinha is a retired IAS officer with an interest in history and theatre. Nurtured in a creative environment, he took to acting in, and writing and directing plays quite early in his bureaucratic career. He is a noted Hindi dramatist and theatre personality and his remarkable oeuvre of plays have been translated into many languages and published and staged for several decades. He has been awarded the Padma Shri apart from multiple awards for his contribution to literature and arts.
After reading, listening to, and watching Emperor Ashoka After 'Katha Ek Kans Ki (The Tale of a Kansa), 'Seediyan (The Stairs), 'Itihas Chakra' (The Circle of History), and Rakt-Abhishek' (Anointed with Blood), based on history and mythology, Daya Prakash Sinha has now presented 'Samrat Ashoka' (Emperor Ashoka) in the series. This does not mean that there are no plays in a different tone and tenor; 'Apne Apne Daanu' (One's Own Ploys) and 'Mere Bhai: Mere Dost' (My Brother: My Friend) come to mind immediately. But his natural inclination is towards history. The reason for that may be that he studied Ancient Indian History at the postgraduate level. But in my view, mythology and history appeal to him more as a vehicle to evoke the inner contradictions, inner dilemmas, and internal conflict of human life by penetrating the background, lore, and myths well known characters. Indications of this were given by him long ago in 'Katha Ek Kans Ki', and Emperor Ashoka is a successor of that.
Ashoka is a character in Indian history around whom countless novels, stories, monologues, and dramas have been written and several films have been made. Among these Agyeya's 'Uttar Priyadarshi', Rameshwar Prem's 'Antarang', and Shah Rukh Khan's film, 'Ashoka' may be mentioned. Agyeya's 'Uttar Priyadarshi', in accordance with its title, is based on the later years of Ashoka; that is, about his change of heart after the Kalinga War Rameshwar Prem's 'Antarang' is primarily about the low story of Tishyarakshita and Kunala. The film 'Ashoka' i Mumbai-like cinematic version of history about which one www may comment independently.
It cannot be denied that Emperor Ashoka is completely different from all the creative pieces written on this character so far. The play is not a depiction of the Kalinga War, the stories of Ashoka and Tishyarakshita or Kunala and Tishyarakshita have not been given prominence, nor is the conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism the centre of focus. This is perhaps the first play that has tried to weave together the time from his ascension to the throne to his last days when he is left totally alone in his own prison just as Tughlaq and Shah Jahan were. All the events and incidents have been threaded together in 20 long and short scenes by the dramatist instead of the traditional division into acts because the play, without any background and preparations, begins right in the thick of action and is followed by rapidly ensuing events. This has led to Scenes 10, 14, and 16 to be very short. In fact, the craft and structure has largely been influenced by the medium of cinema and television. In spite of that, the first meeting between Ashoka and Tishyarakshita, their last meeting, and the last scene of the play are intensely profound and poignant.
The most powerful aspect of the play is its dialogue. Historical plays are often filled with long, tedious dialogues and soliloquies, but Emperor Ashoka creates a distinct identity in this regard. The dialogues are so simple, easy, and pithy that the action does not lag or become turbid at any point of time and the fast pace of narration is retained. Only in the last scene do we hear Ashoka soliloquising and there is no denying the fact that the lack of such self- meditative comments would have stuck out like a sore thumb in the mental state that Ashoka has reached at this point in the drama.
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