Tripti Mitra in the Realm of Bengali Theatre: an Interpretation of Her Art and Role in Women’S Emancipation

Home , Bisarjan, Gananatya, Hindi theatre, Nabanna (drama), Shobha Sen, Tripti Mitra

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

Journal Homepage: www.katwacollegejournal.com Tripti Mitra in the Realm of Bengali Theatre: An Interpretation of her Art and Role in Women’s Emancipation

Sujit Kumar Pal, Bengali, Vidyasagar University, India

Article Record: Received March 30 2016, Revised paper received May 20 2016, Final Acceptance June 3 2016 Available Online June 7 2016

Abstract

The variations in the applications bring much more success to the actor/actress and it surely makes its profound impact on the dramatic world. Such an acting artist is Tripti Mitra. From the time of Independence or a little prior to the Independence, the Bengali drama underwent a change due to the public drama. It started with "Nabanna" by Bijan Bhattacharya. At this time Tripti Mitra joined the Bengali theatre, as an educated actress, when various social taboos made women abstain from joining theatre. The arrival of Tripti Mitra at the theatre gave impetus to the women of the educated and elite families to join the theatre. Besides, Mrs. Mitra herself taught many a women at her own residence and thereby, brought them to the acting arena. There have been some discussions regarding Mrs. Mitra but no such research work on the use or skill of her acting art and her feminine issues has been done as to unveil the variations of her voice, costume and movements on the stage. In the proposed paper I shall highlight these aspects.

Key Words: Tripti Mitra, Bengali theatre, Acting, Voice, Costume, feminine issues

1. Introduction

In this paper I venture to deal with the voice of Mrs. Tripti Mitra, used in the art of acting, as well as to explore how the theatrical career of Mrs. Mitra secured a prestigious place not only for herself but for other actresses as well. As a Bengali actress Mrs. Mitra was the first to get the chance of delegation in The World Theatre Conference in Bombay. Her first direction was Daakghor (The Post Office by Tagore) in 1957. In 1958 her role as Nora in Putul Khela (Henrik Ibsen's Play A Doll's House) attracted the attention of all. By playing a role in Setu in 1959 she emerged as a professional actress. This drama was enacted for 984 nights and brought about immense commercial prospect. It is really a matter of great prestige for a female artist. As an addition of a new feather to her crown her 1962 play Sangeet Natak brought her the Academy Award. Then the drama Kingbadanti directed by her reached the state of success. Then in 1971 she directed Aparajita and it also became successful. This year she was honoured with 'Padmasree' by the Government of India. This award secured a respectable position for the women of the dramatic world, as a whole.

In the world of acting the voice, costume, dance, movements on the stage are of special importance. Tripti Mitra‟s vocal music testifies to the fact that she mastered the Low Octave, Mid Octave and High Octave. Even she was equal to the male actors, in scale change. As a proof of her voice one may play and listen to some of the speeches and songs used in her dramas.

Besides, the movements on the stage, costume, dance – all of Mrs. Mitra immensely enriched the art of acting. Her art of acting brought about a great change in the tradition of acting in the Bengali theatre. It was her acting that influenced a great many women to take acting as a profession. So, they have tried to be financially self sufficient by pursuing the career of acting.

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

2. Objective

There have been some discussions regarding Mrs. Mitra but no such research work on the use or skill of her acting art has been done as to unveil the variations of her voice, costume and movements on the stage. In the present paper I shall highlight these aspects.

3. Discussion

The art of acting is based on human life. It is used for cultivating that such expression in human behaviour. Again acting is also an amusement item for man. In short, people immitate themselves for their own sake. The world is like a stage, and in form of this stage another stage is formed in the art of acting. The acceptability depends on the purpose of delightment and instruction. The market of jatra (Bengali folk drama), drama and film are based on the art of acting. In this respect the most popular form is film. Drama is comparatively less popular and the condition of jatra is now pitiful. Anyway, the power of these arts is judged on the basis of acting. “So the art of acting is a bridge— on one side of the bridge is the dramatist, and the audience on the other. The bridge in between connects the two. The actors and actresses present the views of the dramatist before the audience through their utterances, walking and the movements of their limbs. ” (Islam, 1996) (Trans. mine). The art of acting has two forms; one is called presentational form and another representational form, The presentational form is to communicate by uttering the speeches, and to communicate by taking ingredients or citing examples from the real life is the representational form. To present the life truth by judgement of experience, through these two forms may be termed „acting‟. The artists may be categorized as real actor or actress if they make the two forms realistic by acting properly.

Acting mainly are of four types—ahari, bachyik, angik and satwik. If the actor or actress wears the costume as per the character, the acting is called „ahari‟. To act any character it is necessary to express the individuality by the style of uttering the speech; this individuality makes the character wide-ranging. This is why the style of uttering the speech is called „bachyik‟. In case of „angik‟ the speech is not of much importance; the mood of the character has to be expressed by body movements. Very few actors/actress are capable of mastering the “satwik‟ acting. In acting, this phase occupies the topmost palce. In this phase there is created a mysterious world between the artist and the audience. This is why this phase cannot be defined. The audience and the actors/actresses stay in this world. But all the actors or actresses do not or cannot exist in this world in the same acting. It possible to stay in this world only in favourable time or circumstances. In rare moments this acting skill is revealed.

Acting in Bengali in prosenium theatre started in 1795 with the stage performances of “Kalpanik Sangbadal”, the Bengali translation of Gerasim Lebedof‟s “The Disguise”. At that time the actresses were given entry to the public theatre; but the actresses were brought from the brothel houses. “In Lebedof‟s theatre the actresses particiapted with the actors. The actors probably came of the mainstream of the society but the actresses were brought from the brothel houses.”(Ghosh, 1998) (Trans. mine). The emergence of the actresses in Bengali theatres took place in this way. Thereafter in two hundred and fifteen years the Bengali drama has been performing in various ways. Upto 1872 the theatre as an hobby was very much important. Thereafter in the stage performance of Bengali theatre came the importance of individual. It started mainly in the age of Girish Ghosh and Amarendranath Dutta (1872-1916). Then in the Sisir age also the importance of individual reamained the same. But at the end of Sisir age the acting in Bengali drama underwent various changes. These changes were brought about by various factors like politics, economics, societal ideology and contemporary incidents. But it deserves mentioning that a deluge of the mass also came to the tradition of acting. It is also true that the World War-II also played an important role in this transition. This is why in this period there was a vacuum in the Bengali drama. “Whatever may be the causes after the World War-II there was a vacuum in the Bengali drama. Although the people‟s theatre personalities like Bijan Bhattacharya, Digindra Chandra Bandyopadhyay, Tulsi Lahiri et al supplied with some plays the Bengali dramatists as a whole could not fill up the vacuum. ”, (Sarkar,

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

2008) (Trans. mine). Yet the deluge of acting came to Bengali theatre after the WW-II. From this time the actresses from the educated sections came to Bengali theatre.

In the tradition of stage performance of Bengali dramas the actresses were necessary from the beginning. So in scarcity of actresses the male artists performed the role of the female characters. It is is evident in the Sisir age also. Again it is also noteworthy that in the Sisir age the educated actress Kankabati Sahoo came to theatre. In 1925 an advertisement created an excitement in the world of Bengali theatre: „Srimati Kankabati Sahoo, B.A., in Star‟. This incident proves that the educated ladies wanted to enter the field of acting for sake of art and also for profession. So the history of Bengali drama is also a history of women‟s emancipation, imbued with a strong feministic voice, since the stage was transformed from the place of the „patitas‟ into the platform for the celebrities and artists having aesthetic appeal.

In the post-Independent period and even a few years before Independence the acting in Bengali theatre underwent a vast change. It started with the stage performance of Bijan Bhattacharya‟s „Nabanna‟. At this time Tripti Bhaduri as an educated actress came to theatre. But even that time the ladies did not come to theatre unhegitatingly. Not only Tripti Bhaduri herself came to the treatre, she was able to bring to theatre a good number of her female relatives as well, by her own effrots. Judged from this point of view the name of Tripti Bhaduri as a lady comes first in the Bengali theatre. Because at that time it was quite difficult for an actress to bring the other ladies of the mainstream families to the theatre.

Tripti Bhaduri had changed her surname to „Mitra‟ after she got married to Sambhoo Mitra on 10th of December, 1945. She had already come to Bengali theatre. After Matriculation she played a role in Binay Ghosh‟s „Laboratory‟ in “Natyabharati” in May, 1943 and, thereby, served in removing the scarcity of female artists in Bengali theatre. After that she played the role of Benda‟s wife in „Jabanbandi‟ directed by Sambhoo Mitra and, thereby, won immense fame in the world of acting. In the same year on 24th of october her role as Binodini in „Nabanna‟ was widely acclaimed. As a whole in the Pre-Independence period she became famous by acting in Bengali and Hindi theatres.

In the post-Independent period (1947-48) as a member of the ITPA she acted in „Muktadhara‟. Just after that she left ITPA. In 1949 she took a role in „Pathik‟. In 1950 after the nomenclature of „Bahurupi‟ theatre group she acted in “Ulukhagra”. In this context it may be mentioned that Tripti Mitra is a founder menber of „Bahurupi‟. But the one of the most significant chapters in the acting career of Tripti Mitra is her role of Nandini in „Raktakarabi‟ (Red Oleanders) in 1954. She, as the first Bengali actress attended “The World Theatre Conference” in October, 1956 in Bombay. Her first direction is “Dakghar” in 1957. She attracted the attention of all by playing the role of Nora in “Putulkhela” (translation of Henrik Ibsen‟s play “A Doll‟s House”) in which the heroine who had been ignorantly „silenced‟ in the semmingly „love world‟ of her „happy‟ family, expresses a robust feministic voice at the past portion of the play. Here we may recall Helene Cixous who in her article “The Laugh of the Medusa” (1976) expresses her feministic concerns regarding the act of writing and condemns that the phallocentric literary tradition is essentially masculine and in it female representation is very rare. (7) Cixous unequivocally exhorts the women to write on woman subject. Cixious‟s statement is appropriate in the case of drama also, since drama, needless to say, is based on literary texts.

Cixous‟s refusal to define feministic writings is historically grounded. First, as Cixous says, ransacking the whole history of literature of several languages she found only a poor number of female writers but their writing also resembles the male writers‟ ones and it “either obscures women or reproduces the classic representation of women.” The history of writings is the history of suppression of the natural physical feelings of the women. She also condemns that the very act of writing is dominated by masculine economy which has been trying to perpetuate the repression of the women and gave the women no chance of self expression. The very rare pieces of women writings could not be typically feminine and are exceptions in no way. But Tripti Mitra in her theatrical career re-produced the plays and dealt with the feminine issues and thereby gave the women a voice of their own.

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

In 1959 she acted in “Setu” in professional theatre. The 984 shows brought the drama enormous commercial success. In 1962 she won the Sangeet-Natak Academy award. In 1970 she directed “Kingbadanti”. In 1971 “Aparajita” directed by her was perfected by mono-acting. In this year the Government of India honoured her with „Padmasree‟ award. She was the first Bengali actress to win this award which undoubtedly enhanced her importance in the world of acting. In 1973 she, as the cultural delegate of the Govt. of India she underwent a journey to East Germany, England and Russia. She also showed the stage performance of “Aparajita” in East germany and Russia.

In 1974 she performed “Aparajita” in America, Canada and Bangladesh. In this period she worked as the acting ambassador of Bengali drama incessantly all over the world. She was the producer Emeritus of Akashbani from 1975 to 1980. She severed her relationship with „Bahurupi‟ in 1980. She was nominated as a visiting fellow in Santiniketan in 1981. She founded the “Arabdha Natya Vidyalaya” in 1983. In 1988 the West Bengal Natya Academy awarded her the Dinabandhu Natya Puraskar. This year she acted for the last time in “Aparajita” on her birth day. In 1989 the Madhya Pradesh Govt. awarded the Kalidas honour. On 24th of May,1989 the greatest actress of India left the world due to Cancer.

The role of Tripti Mitra is noteworthy not only as an actress but also as a director, dramatist, and editor. We may furnish a list of the plays directed by her— Dakghar(1957), Kingbadanti (1970), Aparajita (1971), Teroductil (1972), Gandar (1972), Durasha (1973), Ghare Baire (1974), Sutarang (1970), Bagh (1975), Jodi Aar Ekbar (1976), Sedin Bangalaxmi Bankey (1976), Pakhi (1977), Boli (1977), Guria Ghar (Hindi, 1980), Raktakarabi (1983), Hajar Churashir Ma (1984), Sanjh Dhaley (Hindi, 1985), Sarisrip (1987), Rahugras (1987). As a director she worked with Bahurupi, Arabdha Natya Vidyalaya and various Hindi theatre groups.

As of a perfect actress her creativity transcended the barrier of mere acting. Tripti Mitra achieved her skill through acting. In 1960 her one act play “Bali” was published in the „Bahurupi‟ journal in the eleventh volume, under the pseudonym „Sibtosh Bhaduri‟. In 1963 in the seventeenth (special) edition of „Bahurupi‟ the play “Ke Banche, Ke Banche? Ke Banchay” was published. In 1964 also in the twentieth edition of „Bahurupi‟ her full length play “Satek Barash porey” was published under a pseudonym. In the Nabanna Commemoration volume of „Bahurupi‟ in 1969 the article of Tripti Mitra was published under her real name. She published many articles on various issues in “Desh”, “Bartaman”, “Natyachinta”, apart from „Bahurupi‟. She wrote the story book “Ei Prithibi Rangalay” and dramatic book “Indur O Sotarang”.

Tripti Mitra took roles in Bengali films namely “Pathik”, “Subha Bibaha”, “Manik”, “Surya Snan”, “Kanchanranga”, “Charan Kobi Mukunda Das” “Jukti Takko Gappo”, “Britto” (unfinished), “Rickshawala”, “Joy Ma Kali Boarding”, “Bodhaday”, and Hindi films namely “Dharti Ke Lal”, “Gopinath”, “Munna”, “Our India/Hindustan Hamara”, “Jago Huya Sabera”, English film “Death in a Tiny Thing”. He had paved her path to film from Bengali theatre. Apart from acting in radio broadcast she composed plays for radio and television as well.

Tripti Mitra is the first successful actress who trod all over the world in order to act, and thereby, publicized the Bengali theatre. The account of the activities of her whole life reveals what a true actress mean. In her time there emerged a good number of skilled actresses. Aparna Debi joined Star Theatre in 1943. She was appreciated for her role in “Rani Durgabati) written and directed by Mahendra Gupta. She acted skillfully till 1963. Gitasree Debi performed her debut role of Hemangini in Sarat Chandra‟s “Baikunther Will” in Kalika Theatre on 15th of December, 1944. She acted in Bengali theatre till 1991. Sipra Mitra revealed herself as an actress by performing her roles in 1950 in the plays like “Shahjahan”, “Chirakumar Sabha” and “Mantrasakti”. Till 1978 she acted in various professional and non-professional stages. Sabitri Chattopadhyay played the role of Sofia in “Tipu Sultan” in 1948 and won the status of the first female artist of the ameateur theatre. But she was more successful in professional theatres. Nibedita Das acted in Bengali theatres till 1957 in various plays of the people‟s theatre groups. She founded a theatre group named “Shoubhanik” in 1957. She remained in this group till 1964 and acted in many plays.

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

Shobha Sen started her acting career by performing the role of Radhika in “Nabanna” on the 24th of October, 1944. She was active in organising the theatre as well. She wrote a healthy number articles on this topic. Her works that deserve mention are “Smaraney Bismaraney”, “Nabanna Thekey Laldurga”, “Ora Amra, Era”. Her acting brought her the Sangeet Natak award in 1974, and Dinabandhu award in 1995. Molina Debi was appreciated for her role as Bandana in Sisir Bhaduri‟s “Bipradas” in 1943 in Srirangam. She acted in “Yugadebata” in 1948, Bidhayak Bhattacharya‟s „26 se January ‟ in 1951, in Gorkir Ma in 1952 and in many other plays and films. She won the Sangeet Natak award in 1976. She wrote stories and poems. She published some lyrics in “Amod” magazine under the pseudonym „Purnima Debi‟. Santi Gupta took roles in many plays from 1933 to 1960. Her roles in “Bingsha Shatabdi” and “Santan” were very much significant. Reba Roy Chowdhury started her acting acreer by playing in Salil Chowdhury‟s “Janantikey” in 1949. Thereafter she acted in “Noukadubi”, “Neeldarpan”, “Debigarjan”. She also composed some plays. Sadhana Roy Chowdhury entered the theatre in 1943-44. Her genius of acting was flourished through her roles in “Nabanna” and “Jabanbandi”. She took various types of roles till 1970. She took role not only in Gananatya Sangha, but in Roopakar, Abhinetri Sangha, Theatre Unit as well. The names of the plays in which she acted and which deserve mention are “Tapoti”, “Fariad”, “Atithi”, “Janmabhumi” etc. Arati Moitra acted in Bahurupi, Gananatya Sangha. The important plays in which she acted are “Rakhibandhan”, Neeldarpan”, “Ajkaal”, “Raktakarabi”, “Muktadhara”, Bisarjan” etc.

Apart from these artists the other contemporary actresses of Tripti Mitra are Jayati Sen, Tapati Ghosh, Basabi Nandi, Juthika Basu, Banani Mukhopadhyay, Putul Nag, Gita Nag, Chandra Dastidar, Kajol Chowdhuty et al. In this context it deserves mention that in Tripti Mitra‟s time many successful actresses came to Bengali Theatre but no other actresses blooming from the Bengali theatre could be recognized all over the world. Shobha Sen was her contemporary but centring the Bengali theatre Shobha Sen could not spread her genius to so many directions. So it may be said that Tripti Mitra is the greatest actress not only of her age but of all times.

A great quality of Tripti Mitra is that she could equally uses the swargrams of music with the speeches and so her acting achieved naturalness. For this she did not undergo any training. “She did not believe in any kind of „made-easy‟. She had not any theoretical training also. She underwent her journey to the world of acting by preparing the crossings by her own hands. The tune of the feelings of the pleasure of art and the feelings of the pleasure of life are created by combining the tune of two fat threads. So touching the layers of various sorrows, pains and feelings it has emanated” ( Roy Chowdhury, 2010) (Trans. mine). She became successful in all the four types of acting— Ahari, Bachyik, Angik and Satwik. The combination of the souls of the audience with that of Nandini of “Raktakarabi” transcends even the sphere of Satwik acting. Here the drama is performed in both presentational and representational forms. Tripti Mitra‟s sheer acting skill has combined the two. She could, with ease, change the scale, with the male actors.

4. Conclusion

Although most of the audience were spellboung to witness the performance of Tripti Mitra some critics have pointed out some of her „habitual defects‟. In this context we may quote the criticism by Prof. Ajit Kumar Ghosh:

“Tripti Mitra‟s acting has some habitual defects and as a result it been criticised though it has the power of creating spontaneous manners of revealaton and the feelings of pathos. Making the voice damp all of a sudden, to get frustrated at emotional moments, to reveal the ecstasy again and again in long tuned manners— all of these have become her habitual defects because of their repetitions in almost all of her actings. Her Ela, Sudarshana, Nora in Putulkhela all are well performed but her Nandini, like a rhymes verse, like a embodied spring has left a dazzling effects

International Journal of Research on Social and Natural Sciences Vol. I Issue 1 June 2016 ISSN (Online) 2455-5916

on the souls of the audience ... Mrs. Mitra has made her acting and dianamic through the varieties of many moods and pleasures” (Ghosh, 1998) (Trans. mine).

Sometimes some of the habitual defects of an artist become arts; it has happened to Tripti Mitra also. The low octave, mid-octave and high octave of her mellifluous voice were as powerful as those of the male co-artists; we may rather say, in this point she surpassed her male co-artists. This happened also to the songs in her voice in dramas. She is a real artist and so she cannot be relegated for her habitual defects. “In a certain drama she kept her expression unaltered from the firstday to the last with the same voice and the same body movements.Another remarkable characteristic of her acting is her retrospectiveness. This is why her acting in “Sutarang” has surpassed the weight of the narrative and intended to take the play to the level of the subtle feelings. So she became perfect at the topmost points of the dramatic moments” (Roy Chowdhury, 2010) (Trans. mine). This is why it may be said that in Bengali theatre Tripti MItra is the herald and impetus to the other actresses. Her acting itself has enabled the Bengali theatre a special importance.

References

Audio CD (1966). „Raktakarabi‟, HMV, Kolkata Cixous, H (2014). “The Laugh of the Medusa”. Sign 1.4 (1976). The University of Chicago Press. Web. 26 Feb. Ghosh, A. (1998). Bangla Natyabhinayer Itihas. Kolkata. Sahityalok, pp. 237. Print. Ghosh, A. K. (1988). Bangla Natyabhinayer Itihas. Kolkata. Sahityalok, pp. 11. Print. Islam, S. M. (1996). Abhinay, Dhaka. Shilpakala Academy, pp. 13. Print. Roy Chowdhury, D. (2010). Tripti Mitra Shilpe O Jibane, Kolkata. Ratnabali, pp. 3 Roy Chowdhury, D. (2010). Tripti Mitra Shilpe O Jibane, Kolkata. Ratnabali, pp. 35. Print Sarkar, P. (2008). Natyamanch Natyarup, Kolkata. Dey‟s Publishing, pp. 269. Print.