प्रस्तुत नाटक "गज बहादुर"हमारे स्कूल में जूनियर स्कूल के बच्चों के साथ किया गया था । कोई अध्यापिका दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी से मेहमान के रूप में हमारे स्कूल में एक साल के लिए आईं थीं , उन्होंने यह नाटक बच्चों के साथ किया था । मुझे उनका नाम याद नहीं है । मैंने उनसे इस नाटक को लिया और सोचा कि आप को शायद अच्छा लगा और आपके लिए भी उपयोगी हो । आशा है कि आपको मेरा यह प्रयत्न पसंद आएगा ।
Gaj Bahadur
Cast of Bahadur
Clown one
Clown two
Gaj Bahadur
Prince
Princess
Matadin
Buddhihin
Moochhappan
Cyber Hero
2 Newsreaders
Citizens
Chorus
N.B: The “chours” is made up of all the members of the cast.
Except for the first 6 characters, the rest can be interchanged and played by
the actors.
(Clowns enters, chorus.)
Clown 1: सुनो कहानी!
Clown 2: सुनो कहानी!
Clown 1 and 2: (Song) सुनो सुनो रे कहानी!
(Enters
all)
Chorus: सुनो सुनो रे कहानी!
1 & 2: हम सब को है कहानी!
Chorus: हम सब को है कहानी!
1 & 2: नहीं बहुत ये पुरानी
Chours: नहीं बहुत ये पुरानी
1 & 2: राजा रानी की कहानी
chorus: राजा रानी की कहानी
(हैं) राजा रानी की कहानी॥ (Repeat
twice)
Clown 1: राजा रानी की कहानी | - That means a fairy tale.
Clown 2: But not quite.
Clown 1: It’s all make believe, imaginary. Nothing to do
with real life-all fantassy .
Clown 2: But not quite.
Clown 1: ऐ..... ये क्या ‘but not quite’
‘but not quite’ लगा रखा है ? Are we
telling the same story here?
Clown 2: I am
not sure-what’s your story about.
Clown 1: My
story’s about a prince and a princess.
Clown 2: Mine is
about a mad elephant!
Clown 1: Mine is
a love story.
Clown 2:
.....Between the princess and the elephant.
Clown 1: (gapes
then) No way! A love story between a princess and an elephant! Are you mad
or..... तुझे dialogues
तो सारे याद हैं ना?
Clown 2: हम्म.......कहानी तो याद है।
Clown 1: Dialogues भूल गया?........अब क्या करें?.. चल भागते हैं यहाँ से!
Clown 2: अरे रुक जा, वो देख ( points to stage right where by now
an actor has put on an elephant mask to become Gaj) वो आ रहा है-
Clown 1: कौन?
Clown 2: Gaj Bahadur!
Clown 1: Gaj Bahadur!
Clown 2! GAJ BAHADUR!!
Clown 1: अरे, पर ये Gaj Bahadur है कौन?
Clown 2: Hero है, इस story का
Clown 1: मतलब.......
Chorus:
Run! There’s a mad elephant coming!
(General
panic and running around. Gaj walks up calmly to centre stage and blows his
whistle. All freeze.)
Gaj- But
people, I’m not mad anymore. I’m just a nice, normal, friendly elephant. Look.
(Everyone
crowds around and inspects him. Sounds of approval.)
Clown 1:
This is strange. Can a mad elephant be cured? How?
Gaj: When
do you call someone mad? When you can’t understand the way they behave, right?
(Clowns
nod) Well, I’m an animal, and most humans can’t understand the things I do
anyway. I’m just supposed to obey orders. And when I don’t……..
(1 actor
comes up as Matadin the mahout, mimes whipping Gaj. Gaj cries out in pain.
Chorus also cries out.)
Gaj: And
yet if I try to break free, you call me mad. Oh it’s a sa ad life…….
Clown 1:
Great! Now your blessed elephant is crying pools of tears. Shall we all start
swimming?
Clown 2:
I have an idea! Let’s sing him a song to cheer him up!
Chorus:
Yes! That’s a good idea!
(Song) There’s never any trouble if you SMILE (2)
And if there’s any trouble
It will vanish like a bubble
If you only take the trouble
just to SMILE
(Repeat
song, putting in “HA-HA-HA-HA-HA” instead of S M I L E)
(Gaj
joins in the general laughter after the song)
Chorus:
Yeah Gaj! He’s laughing! That’s the way to be Gaj!
Clown 2:
That’s how he used to be in the old days with the prince.
Clown 1:
Yes, when the two best friends were always together.
(1 member
of the chorus steps out as the Prince and he and Gaj dance together. The chorus
claps in rhythm. 2 actors step out as citizens A & B.)
A: Have
you heard? The king of Happy land has bought an elephant for his son!
B:
Yes-one that was born on the same lagna and muhurtam.
A: I hear
the two are the best of friends already!
B:
Yes-the prince looks after all the elephant’s needs himself!
Chorus:
What a happy pair! May you be spared the evil eye!
Clown 1:
Princes, however, are busy people.
Clown 2:
They have to do boring things like look after the state.
Clown 1:
The prince soon found that he lacked the time needed to look after Gaj.
(The
prince and Gaj mime a separation)
Clown 2:
He needed someone to look after Gaj. A Mahout.
Clown 1
& 2: Matadin.
(1 actor
comes up slowly as Matadin while the chorus hums the theme from “Pink
Panther”.)
Matadin:
Heh-heh- you don’t worry Prince ji. I will look after Gaj Bahadur jest fine.
Everything will be jest fine. Heh-heh. Come here Elephant! (Gaj goes up to him)
What a good looking हाथी
you ar. What nice long ivory- I mean teeth- you have! We will get along jest
fine, huh? We will share our food and home, hmm? Heh-heh-heh-jest fine.
Chorus- (Whispers) Matadin! Matadin! Matadin!
(As chorus whispers, we see Matadin stealing Gaj’s food.
Gaj is shocked, then angry. He stumps his foot. Matadin chains him.)
Chorus: (Song)
हाय हाय Gaj!
बन्दो है Gaj!
कहाँ गया रे तेरा prince?
दोस्त तेरा
यार तेरा
state के वास्ते गया रे prince
Chorus 1: Poor Gaj!
Chorus 2: Poor Gaj!
Chorus: Poor Gaj!
1.
He stopped working. (Gaj turns his face.)
2.
He stopped eating. (Gaj kicks his food.)
3.
He stopped listening to Matadin.
Matadin: Prince ji- you get another elephant. This one
doesn’t obey orders, doesn’t eat, doesn’t work……
Prince: What’s wrong, Gaj? Are you angry with me?
(Gaj nuzzles the prince.)
Won’t you come for my wedding, Gaj? I’m getting married
next week, you know, to a wonderful princess. Won’t you let me ride on you?
(Gaj nods vigorously)
(The prince rides on Gaj as the chorus hums wedding
music.)
( 1 actor becomes the princess and prince and the
princess mime getting married. The prince brings the princess to Gaj, who
salutes her.)
Prince: Here, Gaj- meet the princess, my wife. When I am
gone, it will be your duty to take care of her, o.k?
(Gaj nods and triumphs.)
And you, my dear- will you take care of my dear friend
Gaj?
Princess: Yes, I will. I’d like to spend a day with him
every week, if I may.
(Matadin comes up.)
Matadin: Why bother, princess ji? Once a month is only
fine for him- he’s only a हाथी
after all!
Princess: His also my husband’s friend, and now, mine. So
I will spend a day with him every week, if you don’t mind.
(Matadin and the Prince go and join the chorus. The
princess is seen playing with Gaj and taking care of him as the clowns speak.)
Clown 1: Once a
week!
Clown 2: Gaj had enough to eat!
1.
The princess took care of him and Gaj behaved like a good elephant.
2.
But for the rest of the week………Matadin ruled.
1.
Matadin, and his brother-Buddhihin.
(Princess goes back
to Chorus. Matadin and Buddhihin come up. They beat Bum, steal his food and
make him carry heavy things, as clowns speak.)
Clown 2: They treated Gaj very badly.
Clown 1: They made him work to smuggle out logs of wood
from the royal forest.
2: Wood from trees that they were not supposed to cut.
1: And Gaj knew that. And felt very angry.
2: But what could he do? He was only an elephant after
all!
1: And the princess too, was busy these days, with things
happenings n the state.
(The clowns go back and citizens C & D come up as newsreaders.)
C: Good morning. The news headlines. The famous cyperhero
Hane has been kidnapped by the not so famous petty this Moochhappaan.
D: The petty thief has only one demand- a shocking one.
C: In the happily clean-shaven Happy land.
D: Moochhappan wants to see everyone grow a मूँछ!
C: The integrity of Happy land has been threatened!
D: The country has come to a standstill.
C:
Farmers-grocers-potters-courtiers-cartdrivers-engineers-doctors-milkman.
D: Everyone has dropped all work to show support to the
valiant cyber Hero Ham!
C: The prince and princess are now negotiating with
Moochhappan.
(There is a tug of war between the prince and princess on
one side and Moochhappan on the other with Ham in the centre. Ham falls on the
princes’side. Cheers from the chorus citizens E and F come up.)
E: Yeah! Victory to Happy land!
F: Finally, we can get back to work!
E: Moocchappan has agreed to trim his मूँछ! He will be
the new law minister!
F: We can all get enough to eat, at last!
(E and F go back, cheering clowns come up.)
Clown 1: Hey man, in all this excitement, one person’s
suffered terribly.
Clown 2: Who, buddy?
1. Gaj Bahadur.
2. Yeah? How so?
1. Matadin made him work overtime, and cut down on his
rations really badly.
2. Gaj must have been furious.
1. Oh yes- he was boiling MAD. Then one day……..
(They go back. Gaj stands in his place, and
Matadin comes up with some water which he splashes in Gaj’s face. Gaj picks up
Matadin and flings him away. Then he breaks his chain and runs out.)
Princess: Gaj! Stop Gaj!
(Gaj stops and turns to her. She goes up to
him.)
कहाँ जा रहे हो भैया? क्या तुमने Matadin को मारा?
(Gaj bends his head
and nods.)
क्यों? क्या वो तुम्हें मारता था? तुम्हें खाने नहीं देता था? तुमसे ग़ल्त काम करवाता था?
(Gaj nods
for each question.)
That’s
what the guards told me, too.
पर तुमने उसे मारा क्यों भैया? अब तुमको मुझे सज़ा देनी पड़ेगी। No food and water for 3 days.
(Gaj hangs his head.)
But after that, you will be looked after like my own son. We shall expel
Matadin and Buddhihin from the country. And I shall look after you and love
you, Gaj. You won’t mind, that will you?
(Gaj harrumphs and hugs her. Princess goes back to the
chorus.)
Gaj: Mind? I’m ecstatic!
Clown 1: Does that mean you’re happy?
Gaj: Very happy!
Chorus: वो गया Gaj! वो गया Gaj! Ha..........
(Chorus
becomes the panicking crowd.)comes up to them.
Chorus:
Run! there’s a mad elephant coming!
(Citizens
E and F become policemen chasing Gaj. The princess comes up to them.)
Princess:
Stop! Stop! What’s happening here?
E:
There’s a mad elephant running loose!
F: We’re
going to shoot it!
Princess:
Shoot Gaj! Not on your life!
E: But
he’s scaring the people!
F: He’s
dangerous!
Princess:
May be he’s scared himself! Who has he hurt?
E:
Matadin, the mahout!
F: And
now he’s arriving for Buddhihin’s house!
Princess:
Take me on your jeep!
E and F:
But it’s dangerous!
Princess:
Gaj would never harm me!
(They
mime a jeep ride and reach Gaj)
Clown 2:
But haven’t you just been punished?
Gaj: Yes.
But it could have been worse, you know. I might have been shot for hurting
someone. But she……she loves me! I’m so….oo lucky!
(Song)
I’m lucky to be loved-and are you?
Chorus:
And are you?
I don’t
speak her language.
And I
can’t call out her name
I have
four legs and she- two, we’re different;
just the
same- She knows that all I need is love
And I’ll
serve her all her life;
I’ll
stand by her and defend her
And
protect her against strife:
‘Cos what
animals can do
(And
humans can do too)
Is speak
the language of love unconditionally.
(All come
together and sing, arm in arm.)
Chorus: हम प्यार करना जानते हैं
(क्या) तुम प्यार करना जानते हो?
जो जान से तुमको चाहेंगे
क्या तुम हमको पहचानते हो?
जिसने हमको दु:ख दिया कभी
उसको हमने भी पीटा है
लेकिन हमको समझाओ तो
हम सर भी झुका, हम सर भी झुकाना जानते हैं
हम बच्चे हैं, हम सच्चे हैं
जो लब पे आया, कह डाला
ये गज तो अपना दोस्त है
उसको हमने ही है पाला॥
ये मिट्टी हमारी अपनी है
वो आसमान भी है अपना
दो पैर चार पैर मिल जाएँ सभी
तो सारा जहाँ ही है अपना ।
ये मिट्टी हमारी अपनी है
वो आसमान भी है अपना
दो पैर चार पैर मिल जाएँ सभी
तो सारा जहाँ ही है अपना ।
BOW
