Powerpoint on Halfway house - Mohan Rakesh

Powerpoint on Halfway house - Mohan Rakesh

1. Playwright – Mohan Rakesh Dr. Neelam Mulchandani

2. List of Works

3. Halfway House Poignant saga of a dysfunctional family on the verge of splitting Set in the urban milieu of 1960s in New Delhi Deals with the unfulfilled dreams, shattered aspirations, insecurities, incompatibility, dissatisfaction and conflicts within a family Centres around a nuclear family Mahendranath and his wife Savitri and their three children viz. elder daughter Binni (23), Son Ashok (22) and youngest daughter Kinni (17)

4. Summary The play depicts a dysfunctional family Savitri is the sole bread winner of the family Mahendranath is unemployed since a long time Ashok left his job on a whim is not interested in searching or getting another job. The elder daughter Binny has eloped and married Manoj, a one time lover of her mother and older to her by 15 years. Her relations with her husband are cold and she returns to her maternal house within a year of marriage. The younger daughter Kinny remains defiant and erratic in her behavior all the time with her family members

5. The Female Protagonist - Savitri Middle aged, well educated working mother of 3 children struggles to provide her family a decent lifestyle but fails miserably. Highly dissatisfied with her life conditions and desperately tries to find a panacea to all her woes. She indulges in Wheeling dealing, hobnobbing with the powerful men, fake sweet talking to her boss so that her unemployed son gets a job and financial stability. She struggles to juggle between work and home and tolerates her abusing ‘good for nothing’, ‘sit at home’, husband of many years. She leaves no stone unturned to upgrade her family’s lifestyle and social standing but with zero success

6. The Male Protagonist - Mahendranath Failed entrepreneur Has to face constant and perpetual insults and accusations from Savitri due to loss of job Is in search of his identity and meaning of life through his relationship with Juneja Greatly resents loss of control and influence as the head of the house Seeks solace in temporary acts of rebellion like leaving the house time and again

7. The Elder Daughter - Binni Is in constant search of identity and sanctuary Ran away some years back with Manoj, who at one time, was her mother’s admirer, only to find disharmony in her marriage Due to her husband’s strict conservatism and restrictive control constantly rebels and is not able to find desired happiness in her marriage Is conflicted because she wants to retain what is hers and her families even as she attempts to become a new independent person

8. The Son - Ashok Ashok, hates his Mother’s Boss Singhania, and does not want his help to join the workforce He spends the better part of his life scouring magazines to aimlessly cut the pictures of Audrey Hepburn, Marlin Munro and other glamorous actresses Searches his identity in an amorphous world, detached from reality and need, in the realm of idleness, impulsivity and romance For no reason quits his job at Airfreeze and has no respect and concern for his parents and his sisters

9. The younger daughter - Kinni The young pubescent is a rebel who is disobedient, high on hormones, bubbly and spends the better part of her life figuring out what adult man and women do with each other Is rebellious teenager who frequently raises hell just so that she gets the attention that she constantly craves for

10. Other characters in the play Jagmohan Savitri’s friend and companion Is an affluent and sophisticated person Shivjeet Savitri’s one time paramour Manoj Ex-lover of Savitri current husband of her daughter, Binny Singhania Savitri’s current Boss very rich and exploitative person

11. Themes in the play – Marriage as an Institution In modern society, there is breakdown of marriage as an institution due to the growing individualism of the partners Lack of inter-personal adjustments produces a situation of crisis Lack of principles, values and morals which give rise to infidelities among the partners and trust issues The children lack adjustment qualities due to constant conflicts between the parents

12. Search for Identity and Meaning As Mahendranath fails to provide financial stability and companionship to Savitri, she constantly searches for fulfillment in other men Moves from one man to other in search of perfect partner Mahendranath searches for new identity and meaning in his life through his relationship with Juneja The Children Binny, Ashok and Kinni , are incomplete and are constantly in search of ‘that’ something which can complete their existence

13. Other themes in the play Patriarchal and Traditional family structure and mindset of Indian Middle class families The scope of Individual freedom Conflicting perspectives Significance of the title

14. Thank You