By: Showkat Shafi *
Drama: MAAG
A Kashmiri adaptation of the play in verse
Adapted from Shakespeare Macbeth
Director-writer: Arshid Mushtaq
Mokhpron and Mokhprein as Macbath and Lady Macbath, Seen in the picture.
Just a fortnight back a drama in verse MAAG, inspired by William Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth was played at Tagore Hall Srinagar by Kashmiri theatre organisations Pather Barayi Kasheer and Sath. The play has been adapted for theatre by one of the noted Kashmir theatre professionals Arshid Mushtaq.
Let me first give my readers a glimpse of what original work is like and then I will talk about how it has been adapted artistically for the local audience.
Background
Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, explore themes of ambition, power, guilt, and fate. Interestingly the play was part of my syllabus during my MA in English Post-graduation programme at the University of Kashmir. Therefore I was keen to watch the Kashmiri rendering of the play and the organisers were kind enough to invite me to the show. The play follows Macbeth, a Scottish general, who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king of Scotland. Driven by ambition and spurred on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan to seize the throne. However, the guilt of his actions and paranoia about losing power lead Macbeth into a spiral of more violence and madness. Eventually, his tyranny causes rebellion, and he is overthrown and killed by Macduff. The play ends with Malcolm, Duncan’s rightful heir, becoming king. Macbeth is a dark exploration of unchecked ambition and its destructive consequences.
The destructive power of unchecked ambition is the central theme of the play. Macbeth’s desire for power leads him to murder and tyranny, ultimately causing his downfall. The witches’ prophecies suggest fate, but Macbeth’s actions are driven by his choices, exploring the tension between destiny and personal control. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are haunted by guilt after committing murder, leading to their psychological unravelling. Once Macbeth gains power, he becomes paranoid and tyrannical, showing how power can corrupt those who seek it. The witches, visions, and prophecies add a sense of fate and the supernatural, influencing the characters’ actions and contributing to the eerie atmosphere of the play.
A daring deed
A daring deed indeed to adapt Macbeth into regional languages like Kashmiri where one may face obvious challenges like language nuances to begin with: Shakespeare’s language is rich in wordplay, metaphor, and rhythm, which may be difficult to translate while preserving the original meaning and poetic quality in Kashmiri. But Arshid Mushtaq, deciding to give it the treatment of a poetic verse drama, has succeeded in breaking the bottlenecks of adaptation and has brought it closer to the local audience.
Maag is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, set in a dystopian realm that mirrors the disturbed psyche of Mokhpron and Mokhprein, representing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, as they find themselves manipulated by forces of deceit exploiting their fears and desires and making them vulnerable. In Maag’s visual texture, the performance space transcends conventional boundaries, creating an immersive experience that tries to dissolve the line between the audience and the stage. The design invites the audience into the world of the play, blurring the distinction and making them a part of the unfolding drama. Portrayed as marionettes, their actions dictated by unseen powers form the crux of this presentation. The play features only a few characters resembling the original from Shakespeare and instead creates its universe.
The narrative merges post-modernist, long-form collaborative performance art with Kashmir’s rich traditional folk theatre and places it in the immediate space we inhabit.
Instead of navigating through the whole play during adaptation, the director has caught the tread in the opening scene of the classic play where the witches appear and meet amid thunder and lightning. They speak cryptically about their next gathering, planning to meet again after a battle, where they will encounter Macbeth. This scene sets a dark, ominous tone for the play
The directors Note
“The three witches of Macbeth have always intrigued me, manifesting in various forms in the spaces around me. Here Macbeth’s character embodies the fears and greed that lie dormant within each of us.” Says Arshid Mushtaq the director of the play. The narrative explores how these fears come to life in our world, challenging perceptions and making the extraordinary seem ordinary, He adds.
Maag is reflective of contemporary Kasheer in every line and act. A Kaw – The grand old salahkaar of the King with no clothes.A Leassh – The stooge who licks the King’s feet, and lives with mice. A Halkier Hoon The one who hunts for the King. Mokhprein: The greedy power and money-hungry tajraan/ drall – MokhPron – The soul seller and turncoat who aspires to rule what may come.
The beauty of this adaptation is that it features only a few characters resembling the original from Shakespeare and instead creates its own universe
The narrative merges post-modernist long-form collaborative performance art with Kashmiris’ rich traditional folk theatre and places it in the immediate space we inhabit. The treatment reimagines the play in a dystopian imaginary mental space but located in the past far gone. Each part is envisioned as a unique performance in its blocking and design.
The conversations are all written in verses. This has made it a musical, composed of unique arrangements where the ancient instruments are created with earthen elements and material, especially for this.
The tones create melodies that echo the early evolutionary stage of musical genres. The dances and movements have been choreographed in unique and singular movement patterns and rhythmic interludes with a spiritual celebratory ritualistic aura. The chorus all along creates a vocal orchestration while using acoustic-like instruments.
A beautifully created set for the play consists of a megalith centre – Some scarecrows – A few hides hanging -A large Hangul skull suspended in the centre a tall idol made with mud and terracotta. Some raised spaces like flattened stones. Some torches at various places and clay lamps too added to the beauty of the set
A single set for nearly all acts and scenes with minor changes reflected a focus on themes, characters, and dialogue rather than the setting itself. It symbolized that the events could happen anywhere or at any time, emphasizing universal themes. It also reflected the inner world or emotional state of the characters, keeping the audience’s attention on their development. The decision of the Director Arshid Mushtaq, and other set production team members Banshika and Manasa to strip down physical space helped invite the audience to focus on abstract ideas or the essence of the narrative. The characters seem to be trapped in a specific environment or condition, reinforcing a sense of confinement or limitation and the action of the play is centred on ideas rather than external change, which makes the play a success story. These ideas through Kashmir verses, continuously hammer the monstrous head of evil which is shown in forms like greed, ambition, betrayal deceit, guilt corruption tyranny and of course moral decay. The images created through powerful dialogue show things happening around us rather than giving the idea that they are far-fetched.
The play Macbeth is deeply rooted in Scottish culture, beliefs, and historical references that may not immediately resonate with a Kashmiri audience. However, Arshid Mushtaq has skillfully adapted Macbeth, reinterpreting its themes and settings to make them culturally relevant and accessible to the local Kashmiri audience. By doing so, he bridges the gap between the Scottish context of the original play and the distinct cultural, social, and political landscape of Kashmir.
Mushtaq’s adaptation
Mushtaq’s adaptation likely emphasizes universal themes such as ambition, power, betrayal, and moral dilemmas, while integrating elements of Kashmiri folklore, history, and contemporary realities. This artistic approach not only preserves the essence of Macbeth but also transforms it into a narrative that resonates with the sensibilities, emotions, and cultural identity of Kashmiri audiences. His reinterpretation allows the timeless struggles and human nature explored in Macbeth to be experienced in a way that feels deeply relevant and personal to Kashmiris.
(wan wan assi karr kati bei samkhun
wan wan assi keh keh az wetchnun
siyah rood jarrien?- ya gagraayein?
yeti viezmail nab – manz naar traaTun)
(Say, when and where we got to meet again,
Say what we got to discuss today, whether in the black drizzle or thunder, in the lightening split sky).
This sets the ominous tone for the play as the witches discuss when they will meet again.
And then this how moukh proun is incited through these dialogues to do the inevitable
“Tse SHoobukh tseii chuk na SHoobi-Daar
Tseai aakhir chui na – ganDun dastaar
Raazuth chui tse leekith bakhtus
Tse bihun chui wain jal jal taqtas
( you are the one , versatile, set to be crowned, destined to be the king and be on the throne )
The adaptation has largely ensured that witches and supernatural themes presented in the original have been adjusted to fit Kashmiri folklore or mythology, ensuring the adaptation feels authentic and that they do not clash with local beliefs. Costumes all along follow a pattern, very simple graceful but highly economical.
In Kashmiri society, traditional gender roles and social structures might differ, so characters like Lady Macbeth have been reinterpreted to align with regional values while maintaining their complexity.
Look at the original text from Macbeth
“Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires;
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”
(Act 1, Scene 4 Macbeth )
In these lines, Lady Macbeth implores the stars to conceal her true intentions and desires, asking them to hide their light so that her dark deeds may remain unseen.
And feel the way way how these lines have been adapted for MAAG for the Kashmiri audience is Wonderful if we have to use one word only.
“Aie nab’kev taarkav – panun gash tsevraaviv
Yeni meyoun su anndurr – kansi nish bhaviy”
(“Oh, stars, veil your light,
Let not your gaze fall upon my dark intent.”
And may my desires in shadows be kept, silent, unspent.)
These lines have deliberately been made powerful by the director as they unfold the scheme of things to come. Like from Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello his first soliloquy:
“For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart on my sleeve
For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.”
(Othello, Act 1, Scene 1)
In these lines, Iago is expressing his deceptive nature, revealing that he hides his true intentions behind a facade. This is a powerful Shakespearian technique and Arshad Mushtaq has held it firmly in the above verses.
The Dialouge
Dialogue in verse is vital to MAAG. Given the resources we have in Kashmir for theatre, it is next to impossible to create multiple sets for different scenes of the play. This is where the wisdom of writers, and directors has to show up and the MAAG script is a typical example of how powerful dialogues can let the audience imagine for themselves and create visuals for themselves rather than relying on the play showing them.
This dialogue from MoukhProun is a representative of such a phenomenon
kya ti asseya gomuth-ye oss gatchun
kya ti korra tim – yee oss karrun
(Did that happen, what was to happen
Did he accomplish what was assigned to him?)
And this one :
sui gaam chu soorui -dazzith piyoomuth
tati gare’gare’ Qahar -bassith goomuth
range’sheeshun rath – chu kunun bazir
tati APUZ chu Poz – baskeen keil zeirr
( That whole village lies as silent ash,
Blood-stained glass sells as art in the marketplace,
While lie is taken as truth and inhabitants are deaf and dum)
This powerful dialogue in poetic form is symbolic of dark times and creates powerful images of how our state of affairs is and the words are enough for the audience to re-create images, they are familiar with.
Ending:
Our teachers teaching drama always used to say to us that great art should restore our faith in life. And that is what happens in Macbeth.
At the end of Macbeth, Shakespeare restores faith and reconciles the moral order by showing that good ultimately triumphs over evil. Macbeth, who embodies tyranny and evil, is defeated by forces representing justice and righteousness.
In Act 5, Scene 8, Macbeth is killed by Macduff, fulfilling the prophecy and symbolizing the end of his tyrannical reign:
Macduff: “Hail, King! for so thou art. Behold where stands / the usurper’s cursed head: the time is free.”
(Act 5, Scene
This line reflects the restoration of peace and order after Macbeth’s death. Malcolm, the rightful heir, is declared king, signifying the victory of legitimate rule and moral justice.
And here is how beautifully MAAG shows this restoration of the good scheme of things to come. A man enters the set with a candle and stands in the middle of the set. All characters with candles in their hands sing this Kashmir lekhut…
(man’us chess aash – Su Yee
heth akh nov ghaash -Su Yee
karrini chu aamuth azzich bei kath
tass che Dil’us wini kuss’taam sath
jigrukh rath tseaing zalaan
ARSH chu dramuth taarakh heth)
(We have faith, he will come with a new dawn, a new hope a new sky)
All characters keep on singing in chorus, the wind settles and another tale is born, below a different sky, the sky of hope justice and truth. Curtains fall.
Peather Baraye’ Kasheer and Saath organizations dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Kashmiri arts, culture, and aesthetics need all kudos for their efforts. Through their efforts they indeed celebrate and sustain the rich artistic heritage of Kashmir. Cast Tahir Najar ,Azalna Arsh,Faizan Bhat ,Junaid Nazir ,Shakeel Naqash,Damin Arsh,Nasir Khan,Sheik Irshad ,Bilal Bhagat , Backstage Chief Assistant Director Riyaz Ahmad Mir and Assistant Director Bilal Bhagat needs kudos for their great work. Lights from Tariq Hajne and sound by Ajaz Samoon where wonderfully handled. Tagore Hall management must ensure to get rid of the midway hiccups hiccups in sound and lighting which created bottlenecks in message fidelity. Afnaan, Pranjal, Hayaan and Tanisha associated with photography and videography of the show deserve a pat. Styling and makeup by Ananya, Banshika, Aleena and Manasa were simply superb.
It may be in place to mention that Arshid Mushtaq has earlier brought Su Yee, a Kashmiri adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot to the local audience. Originally written in French by Beckett, Waiting for Godot is a tragicomedy involving a long exchange between two characters who wait for a mysterious being “Godot”, who never arrives!