Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
By focusing attention on the consciousness of an outcast girl, the play sensitizes the viewer/reader to the injustice of distinctions based on the accidents of human birth. Discuss how individual conflict is highlighted against the backdrop of social reality.
Solution
The instance when Prakriti is moved by the monk’s humane values is when she is left thinking of the act of kindness in the backdrop of the social insult and insulation that she has lived with all her life.
That moment had a strong influential effect on the desires of Prakriti. So much so that she was insulated from the wrath she might have to face from society. So strong was her desire for the monk that she was ready to take on the entire world including putting her mother’s life in danger.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
How does Prakriti’s mother react when she hears of Prakriti’s encounter with the monk?
Will Prakriti resign herself to her lot?
Will the spell work? What will happen when Ananda is made to come?
Why does something so ordinary and commonplace as giving water to a wayfarer become so significant to Prakriti?
Why is the girl named Prakriti in the play? What are the images in the play that relate to this theme?
How does the churning of emotions bring about self-realization in Prakriti even if at the cost of her mother’s life?
How does the mirror reflect the turmoil experienced by the monk as a result of the working of the spell?
What is the role of the mother in Prakriti’s self-realization? What are her hopes and fears for her daughter?
‘Acceptance of one’s fate is easy. Questioning the imbalance of the human social order is tumultuous.’ Discuss with reference to the play.
How does the dramatic technique suit the theme of the play?
‘I will enthrone you on the summit of all my dishonor, and build your royal seat of my shame, my fear, and my joy’. Pick out more such examples of the interplay of opposites from the text. What does this device succeed in conveying?
‘Shadow, mist, storm’ on the one hand, ‘flames, fire,’ on the other. Comment on the effect of these and similar images of contrast on the viewer/reader.
Answer the following question in 120-150 words.
"Chandalika" is a powerful exploration of the intersection of caste, gender, and identity in Indian society. Elucidate.
