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CHANDALA, The Impure

By Anonymous
An adaptation of the classic ‘Romeo & Juliet’ to portray Indian Caste System.



 What is Chandala, The Impure? 

The Franco-Indian Play Director, Mr. Koumarane Valavane designed and directed the famous play ‘Chandala, The Impure’ as an adaptation of the classic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by William Shakespeare. It discovers the nuances of the contemporary Indian status quo of the youth and their romantic love in the world of untamable caste system leading to hate crimes. This play has been performed at various events, namely Le Festivals des Francophonies en Limousin, France (September 2018), Mahindra Excellence in in Theatre Award, New Delhi (March 2019), The Hindu Theatre Festival, Chennai (August 2019) and has brought laurels with prestigious awards for the same.
The play was recently performed on 13th February 2020 at Bharat Rang Mahotsav, 21st International Theatre festival of India organised by National School of Drama, New Delhi in collaboration with Adishakti Lab for Theatre Arts and Research, Auroville, Puducherry. 

The Backstory of Chandala

The Director-Writer Koumarane Valavane was triggered to adapt Romeo and Juliet as the outline of this play from the encounter of a few heinous incidents of honor killing in Tamil Nadu. The play embarks the real story of Shankar and Kaushalya wherein the family of Kaushalya brutally murdered Shankar in the pretext of honour killing, in March 2016. The discovery of undeniable shocking rituals in the Indian culture borne out of caste system, still practiced in prevalent parts of the country, persuaded him to write the play. When Indianostrum Theatre was commissioned by Festival des Francophonies en Limousin, it inspired Mr Valavane to write, perform and transpose the play that portrays the deep-rooted caste system in the Indian society through the universal love story of Romeo and Juliet. 

Quintessence of Jack and Janani in Chandala

The adaptation of the play into the tamil version introduces the Indianised characters renamed as Jack (Romeo) and Janani (juliet), in the context of the ruthless Indian Caste System. Their love story is set up in one of the Indian villages ruled by an old monstrous demon “who feeds on hate”. There is an overlying symbolism of the demon with the caste system, who sits on a scared throne and divides the world into four varnas (castes) - at the height of purity are Brahmins (the Priests); below them, Kshatriyas (the Warriors), then Vaishyas (the Traders) and Sudras (the Servants)  and creates a fifth one - the ‘Chandalas’, who are deprived from everything as they are perceived as impure and untouchable. To clear the disparity and battle against the demon, there comes ‘Kama’, the cupid who drives the young couple into the naivety and sweetness of love. 
Jack, an educated dalit boy belongs to the community of Chandalas who falls in love with the upper caste beauty Janani. They reside in the same city yet are gauged to be distant because of their social standards in the society. Unconditional love of Janani and Jack allows the characters and the audience to unleash the layers of unquestionable caste system. The shaping of Chandala could strike chords on right beats by a strong ensemble cast of ten actors, inclusive of the protagonists. 
The first half of the play resembles the eternal romance of universal text Romeo and Juliet and henceforth adds on hurdles for the couple, to take it up until their unison. The supporting characters help in exploring the plot on various viewpoints - Youth, their romantic love, how they cope with caste, what are their aspirations, values and how they’re affected by their place in community. Chandala also looks at the role of an individual in community and community’s role in an individual’s life; therefore attempts to throw light on the “Idea of love” for the youth - Is it illusional, commoditized and objectifies the human values and emotions? 
Few dialogues by Janani: ‘What is caste?’ ‘How am I going to live my life with you (Jack) without touching you?’ and ‘What will be the caste of our child?’ are thought provoking and uncomfortable. Also the scene where Jack confesses about his love interest to his uncle, a sewage cleaner and is questioned about his prestige and value in the society, depicts the raw and rustic realities of their lives. Such scenes are gripping and have a striking impact in taking the play forward. The last part of the play diverts from the outline of the original, in consonance with the outcome of honour killing. The play offers the insatiable appetite of the monstrous caste system with two mythical lovers battling for survival and justice. 

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