A Donkey’s Marriage---(Gadhavach Lagna)
This has been a great skit in Marathi and a great play in our native language that is called Marathi. Z TV has presented this wonderful play in a most beautiful manner. The story is simple. A potter by the name of Sawala Kumbhar is residing in a village. The village is replete with unsocial elements and crooked characters. Sawala’s wife is very charming and sexy so a number of people in the village have an eye on her. As is wont with wives, she is very quarrelsome and loudmouthed woman. Her name is Gangi or Ganga. She is always guarding her husband and pestering him to do this thing and that so much so that he is tired of her and he contemplates suicide. So he goes in the forest where he meets a God man. Sawala Kumbhar talks with the Baba and Baba offers to take him to Heaven( swarga) without dying. He asks Sawala to close his eyes and lo! The next minute they are in heaven, in the court of Indra maharaj. Now Sawala is totally unprepared for all this, is very much shabby and manner less in the company of Gods. As is the habit of villagers, he talks also loudly with them. He is charmed by the Apsaras (the courtesans in the court of Indra). He enjoys the dance of Rambha sitting near Indra. He says loudly that he has done a serious mistake in marrying with Gangi hurriedly. A God Chitrasen holds the hand of Rambha and Indra is red with anger. The God of Gods, Indra curses Chitrasen to take birth on the Earth as a donkey. Then Indra has pity on Chitrasen and tells him that if he marries the daughter of the king of the land, then he would get man’s life again but he would have to spend rest of his life on Earth before returning to heaven.
Accordingly Chitrasen is born on Earth as a donkey and comes to Sawala Kumbhar. Potters normally keep donkeys to fetch earth for them turn their wheels and shape earthen pots and the like. Then the king’s young and pretty daughter takes into her head to marry the donkey in Sawala’s possession. Sawala seeing the opportunity to mint money, imposes several conditions for the marriage. Then king also tells Sawala to build a building with seven stories. But with the donkey’s help Sawala builds the mansion with seven stories. At last the grand ceremony of the donkey’s marriage to the princess is solemnized. In the marriage a fight ensues between the queen and Ganga on the matter of give and take. But everything is well that ends well. In the marriage donkey become Chitrasen and looking at the handsome prince, everybody is astonished.
The skit is very well written with punches at the right moments. The play is replete with double meaning sentences. The play is also rich in costumes and jewelry and stately sets. Thanks to Z TV for picturing this wonderful play. The star cast is appropriate and the girls very beautiful. We enjoyed the play very much and laughed a lot.