Character of Rani in Nagamandala by Girish Karnad

 


In the play, Rani is a naive and submissive girl who falls prey to the unjust social order through marriage. In the story she goes through period of domestic violence and abuse. But later rebels and takes control of the situation, though with the indirect help of the Naga and Kurudava. In the initial phases she is described as a helpless, abused Indian housewife. She is imprisoned by her spouse in a routine manner. She is confined, violated and regulated by her husband Apanna. She is ex-communicated on a social level, neglected at a personal level and violated at the sexual level. She finds it very hard to have healthy marital and social interaction as her spouse, Appanna keeps her “locked up like a caged bird”. She is isolated and lives without any future and identity. She is lost in her search for love and identity as a wife. She  longs to have freedom from the clutches of Appanna. She is left with no voice and choice as a member of human society. She is seen seeking refuge in her dreams, where her parents were waiting for her.

At a later stage she steps up to improve her situation and takes Kurudava’s advice. She feeds Apanna with the magic roots hoping he would be attracted to her. By accident the Naga consumes the magic root and gets attracted to her. He deceives her in the form of her husband. When she gets pregnant, she is taken to the counsel and proves her fidelity. She rebels, subverts and negotiates her space in society. 

Through her actions in the last part of the story, Rani is seen to be in command of the household with some authority and decision making power. Appanna even agrees to her rather strange demand that their son should perform an annual “pind-daan” in the memory of the dead snake.

To conclude, Rani is a typical Indian woman who is ready to suffer at the hands of her  husband without complaining, in the hope that her husband will return to her in the end. She expects  nothing, yet she is ready to make any sacrifice. If she comes to commit a mistake, she holds herself guilty and ever remains repentant for the lapse. She never revolts  even in thought. In the case of the heroine of Naga Mandala, she suffers a crisis initially and instead of being shattered, she emerges from a meek bride into a strong woman  struggling for survival.

Comments

  1. Tapas Singha10 December 2019 at 06:50

    She is so tolerant of her husband Apanna, I don't like it.

    ReplyDelete

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