Bhikhari Thakur was immensely popular as a ballad singer in Bihar and the Bhojpuri-speaking region of Uttar Pradesh in the `20s of this past century. His themes, ranging from patriotism to social issues, became a powerful vehicle to awaken anti-colonial feelings among the masses during the British Raj. His Bedesia and soul-stirring music continue to captivate the audience as well as to inspire contemporary theatre practitioners like Satish Anand to carry forward his legacy in the changed socio-economic milieu.
In Bhikhari's works what is most striking is the prevalence of the alienation effect and hence is India's Bertolt Brecht who is attributed to pioneering the concept of epic theatre that deals with alienation effect in detail.
The original ballad of "Ganga Snan" is short. Bhikhari Thakur is introduced as a character in the play who opens the production with a couplet, expressing the irony of human destiny. The storyline in the original is simple. The central theme of the play is the utter failure of a son to fulfil his filial duties, which breaks the heart of the audience.
At the behest of his wife, the son inflicts cruelties on his mother and even forces her to give him a piggyback to go to the Ganga to get rid of all kinds of sins.
The catastrophe comes in the form of the death of the old mother which brings about a change of heart of the son and his wife. This can be described as moral realism in tune with Munshi Prem Chand's short stories.
The idea of the backdrop of "Ganga Snan" is to use to highlight the element of satire to expose the inhumanity of man against man.
But this satirical element does not come to the fore in a powerful manner. However, Waseem's production unfolds itself without any interruption.
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