Badal Sircar's "Evam Indrajit" as a Play in the Absurdist Tradition

It is a typical absurd play such as "Ionesco's" Amedee"or Beckett's "Wating for Godot" in that it exemplifies the hollowness and futility of a pseudo-modern existence.

Badal Sircar was asked in an interview whether he considered "Evam Indrajit" as a political play, or an existential play.; he said that he never considered the play as a political play, and he did not know the philosophy of existentialism. Therefore the play can be perceived as an Absurd play. The play keeps on echoing that"our existence is a pointless particle of dust". Therefore the play is unconsciously coloured with Satrean Existentialism. The theme is evolved through the dreams, despair and disillusionment of the protagonist Indrajit.

The theme of identity crisis is echoed by the very title "And Indrajit". He is ...."and Indrajit", a part of the whole. He is described in terms of society, and not in terms of his own existence. He prefers to be called Amal,Kamal or Vimal and conform to the dictates of society or the doctrines of tradition. His identity is yet again questioned by his teachers by a mere roll number. He can therefore easily pose as Amal and answer his roll-call.

The monotony and mechanical nature of the contemporary times is stressed by the repetition of "one-two-three", words like "From home to school. From school to college. From college to the world" and "after files tea-Then files-then snacks -then files-then tea." and phrases like "going round" . The language of "Evam Indrajit" transports us to the world of Absurd Drama with its cyclical and repetitive pattern. The stichomythic design adds to the phenomenon where single lines or parts of lines are spoken by alternate speakers. The utterance of comments of desperation with lack of emotion add to the Absurd. Amal ,Kamal and Vimal become cogs in the wheel of society. Indrajit's endeavour to write a play at the cost of neglecting significant biological functions, is an attempt to do something meaningful in life. Thus his attempt at penning a play transforms itself to the metaphor of living life evocatively and meaningfully. He attempts to impart meaning to the daily activities of life, love marriage, profession and prevents himself from submission to a humdrum existence. The protagonist eventually realizes as in Sartre's "No Exit" that there is no escape. The fulfillment of his love too does not provide him with a refuge for escapism, His visit to London further frustrates him, and he verges on suicide; he fails in this regard too. He concludes:"The past and present are two ends of a single rope."

Therefore, the play is in the absurdist tradition in that we do not comprehend anything significant, meaningful and traditional in it. Neither does it possess a logical or coherent plot. The inadequacy of language echoes the lack of meaningful human associations. The language verges on word-play and is playful at times. The dialogue becomes purposefully elliptical. Like Pirandello, Sircar utilizes meta-theatrical techniques of writing a play within the play, and discovering the apt hero for the play. In Rhinocéros, Berenger remains the only human on Earth who hasn't turned into a rhinoceros and refrains from conforming like Indrajit. There is no realism, and the play rather portrays a psychological realism, where external conflict reveals internal chaos. There is no concrete characterization. The various characters around appear to be the projection of the protagonist himself.

According to Martin Esslin, Absurdism is "the inevitable devaluation of ideals, purity, and purpose" Here too the play "Evam Indrajit" is deduced as "nothing but an expression of despair". Nevertheless, we can discern a ray of hope in the dreams of Amal, Kamal and Vimal. Indrajit is no exception in this regard. As critics perceive him as the mythical Sisyphus preparing to carry on the burden of his existence, we discover a ray of hope in his words. "This is the keynote of our initiation. There is no pilgrimage, just journey. No destination but only the road which itself is our pilgrimage. Herein lies both deity and destination."