As Grishma Manikrao Khobragade in her essay “
Social Reality of Caste Hierarchy: Girish Karnad’s
The Fire and The Rain” wrote that “Girish Karnard
is one of the prominent dramatists of the Indian
younger generation. He is leading playwright and
a practitioner of performing arts. He has many
plays to his credit. His creative and performing
abilities have developed the Indian theatre.” And
“The latest play The Fire and the Rain is based on
the myth of Mahabharata. He takes as his subject
the chain of murder, revenge and jealousy in the
families of Raibhya and Bharadwaja.This family
broken only by the kindness of Nittilai, a Shudra
girl and her lover Arvasu. Girish Karnad presents
this myth with new dimensions which are related
to our lives. The story is centered round a seven
year long fire planned to influence the gods to
send rain.
The play portrays the Brahmins, as of contrasting
nature to that of what we have knowledge about
them. Generally brahmins are considered of
someone who belongs to the high stature caste,
performs sacrifice for the universal good of
people, is not interested in lust or love, a man
who does not run behind women they love and
are very disciplined, but in the play we see a
contrasting image of the brahmins, we see
Arvasu, being madly in love with NIttilai, wanting
to marry her, then Yavakri, who sacrificed for
10yrs, not for the universal good but for his
quench of revenge.
Brahmins are meant to do good for people, they
perform sacrifices so that people could be saved
from famines and droughts, bring peace and
harmony , all that they do is for the good of the
people and the society, then why is it that the
sacrifices they perform are performed in a
secretive sight?
Why no common man is not allowed to that area?
Why these things hidden from people when they
are performed for the good of the society? In the
play we see that Parvasu, going for the sacrificial
fire ceremony goes to a secretive place, then
Yavakri too goes to a secretive place in jungle to
ask for his boon from lord Indra. We are told that
Yavakri has talked tolord indra, then why does he
not asked for rain? Knowledge is something that
should be universally shared but, in the play,
secrecy is maintained about knowledge.
The play shows a contrasts between the
knowledge of Vedic and tribal knowledge. On the
other hand Nittilai, a girl belonging to the tribal
community, is shown using her knowledge for
universal good of the people, her knowledge is
accurate and is always used in a positive way, she
gets a sense that something is wrong with
Vishashaka just by seeing her footprints and she is
not in a position where she could be seen by her
family members and so she asks Aravasu to come
with her. Then with her knowledge of jungle she
helps providing food for the actor manager’s
children. On the contrary, Paravasu, Yavakri
having so much knowledge of scriptures and
vedas, performs sacrifices, goes to penance to
please Lord indra, could not bring rain for the
people, could not do good for the people, what is
the use of their knowledge if they cannot use it
for the good of people?
In the play, through the characters of Parvasu,
Yavkri and Aravasu it is potrayed that knowledge
can be only gainedwhen one is away from the
society, but the women in the play, Nittlai and
Vishaka represent that knowledge can also be
gained while being with the family, with human
bonds, and the knowledge gained by them cannot
be gained somewhere else.
Brahmins, worship spirits, knowledge and work
for purity of the soul. In the play the women are
objectified by brahmins which is something that is
not usual for this caste, Vishaka is potrayed as an
seductress, her body is used for desire, how she
becomes th reason of conflict between the two
cousins, which is very uncommon, as brahmins
respect women. Vishaka was used by Yavakri and
raibhaya, so that they can take revenge from each
other.
Thus, the play is a critique of knowledge,
everything in the play is contrary to what we
think is common.
