The die is caste

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The caste system is real. We might not understand it in our cocooned existence in an urban milieu, since we take something as simple as shaking hands for granted. But hit the hinterland, and it will stare you in the face. Forget about shaking hands if there's a caste division. Forget about sharing food. Forget about marrying. People instead tend to be drunk on pride and high on prejudice. That's what ails a large part of the Indian citizenry. And a play called Lassanwala that will be staged this week tries to remedy the situation in its own way by holding up a mirror to society, showing its ugly face when it comes to the treatment of the "lower caste".

It's called Lassanwala because the plot revolves around Kallu, a Brahmin who sells garlic. His belief in the caste system is so strong that he doesn't consume his own wares, since garlic is forbidden fruit for his ilk. He has a son, Dhanua, and a daughter-in-law, Rani. Both feel that he is wasting his time growing a product that ultimately won't feed their stomachs. But Kallu is staunch about his profession. "My forefathers have done it and hence I must carry the family tradition forward," he feels.

But then the factory that's his biggest client shuts its doors on him. Kallu is in a fix. He doesn't know how to make ends meet anymore. That's when Pandey, the factory's gatekeeper, comes to his rescue. "Pandey tells Kallu that he has an uncle who can help sell his garlic in the wholesale market," says Hemant Pandey, the play's director, adding, "Kallu feels so relieved that he tells Pandey that only a Brahmin can stand up for a Brahmin in his hour of need."

But unbeknownst to Kallu, Pandey was cooking only malafide intentions with the garlic he had taken. He and his uncle have no real intention of helping out. Rather, they want to keep the product for themselves. So when Kallu enquires with Pandey about whether he's been able to sell the stocked-up garlic, the latter flat out refuses to acknowledge that the garlic was in his possession at all. So much for a "Brahmin standing up for a Brahmin."

Instead it's Kallu's domestic help, Gullu, who comes to his rescue - the same Gullu who dotes on his master, but has never so much as touched him since he belongs to a lower caste. Gullu decides to steal the garlic back from Pandey at great personal risk, since even his wife warns him that robbing an upper caste person is not just criminal in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes of God as well. Gullu's loyalty is set in stone, though. He throws caution to the wind to help his benefactor out. And that's when Kallu realises that the whole caste system is a load of bunkum. A fellow Brahmin has stabbed him in the back. Even his own son tries to fleece him. And yet, here's this seemingly lesser mortal who is the only person striving to seek justice for him, regardless of the fact that he's been treated as a second-class citizen all his life.

Hemant Pandey

There's more to the play that, among others, stars Himanshu Talreja, Nargis Nandal and Ved Prakash, who are all part of a theatre group called Adamya Rangmanch. The plot ends in a heart-warming manner that opens your eyes to the fallacies that we, as a society, have perpetuated over centuries. But it's not our place here to reveal how the cookie crumbles. Instead, we will leave you with what Pandey has to say about the play's message. "Don't discriminate between people. Love is the only thing that matters. We are all going to die and turn into ash anyway. But heaven and hell are both here on earth." So, it's kindness that makes the world go round.

On February 4, 6 pm and 9 pm
At Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu.
Log on to bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 175

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