Amritlal and Jairaj

The play Dance Like a Man, focuses on three generations -Amritlal Parekh, Jairaj his son, his wife
Ratna, and their daughter Lata and future son-in-law Viswas. It centres on an individual plight where
a dying form of art serves as a backdrop. Amritlal, the autocratic father, a freedom fighter and
reformist he is the representative of the society in the 1930's. Though liberal in thoughts he curtails
the freedom of his son who wants to become a Bharatanatyam dancer. Jairaj seems to be having a
passion for dance which is not accepted by the society of his time. Jairaj and Ratna seemed to be
living with Jairaj’s father, Amritlal, who has full control over the family and always wanted his son to
be under his own control and never wanted his son to be a dancer which was the ambition of Jairaj.
Jairaj follows his heart’s desire and becomes a dancer but has enraged his father in this process.
Amritlal upholds the traditional values, whereas his son Jairaj, seeks to overthrow it through his
course of action. Throughout the play, the old man and his son appears to be living in the different
worlds without any interaction. Amritlal is an autocratic father who does not try to understand the
emotions, the aspirations and the problems of his own son. He does not like his son’s passion
towards dance. The father pursues the traditional values, whereas the son tracks the modern
outlook.

Family is not only an important constituent of Indian society but the nerve centre of Indian life.
Mahesh Dattani examines the relationship among the members of the family with accuracy and
authenticity. . In this play, Dattani explores pathos of human predicament in the subtlest way. It
embodies a brilliant study of human relationships as well as human weaknesses. The play depicts the
clash between issues such as marriage, career and the place of a woman in patriarchal social set up.
It deals with the lives of the people who feel exhausted and frustrated on account of the hostile
surroundings and unfavourable circumstances. The story is unfolded in time past and time present.
The play encapsulates their present tension and past struggle as well as their present efforts and
past discontentment. They reflect upon their past struggle, success and failures as the dancers. This
unveils seeming harmony between the two and puts forth a marriage discord and domestic conflict
that forms the substance of the play. The opening scene of the play provides important information
about all the people of the play and their social and family background. Amritlal does not like his
daughter-in-law Ratna learning the art of dance with the association of devadasi. He fears of his
family reputation being spoiled. He also thinks that they have nothing to do with their art. But Jairaj
has high regard and respects for them and their art. Amritlal has no heart for art. He speaks about
art very contemptuously. He forbids Jairaj mixing with other dancers. The clash between the father
and son symbolizes the clash between tradition and modernity. Amritlal was a loving father as he
makes arrangements for his son’s dance but he cannot adjust himself with the ideas that his son
wants to adopt dancing as a profession. Family name and social recognition are the chief concerns
for Amritlal Parekh, but for his son Jairaj, they are the obstacle in carving his self-identity. He yields
but does not kill his own desire. He craves for self-identity and self-esteem.

Jairaj and his wife Ratna leave the house as a protest against the traditional notions and restrictions
imposed upon them by Amritlal. Jairaj makes himself free from the clutches of his autocratic father.
He does not want to stay even a minute further and resolves to never set foot in the house again.
They go away throwing old restrictions to the wind. His determination and tenacity to adhere to
what he wishes to do compel him to leave the house. Jairaj have realized that the house of their
autocratic father is better than the world that exists outside. After two days, he returns back to his
father’s house. He never makes a compromise with the state of affairs knuckling under the power of
his father who exploits the situation to curtail Jairaj’s individual freedom. However, he continues to
hate his father’s guts till the end of the story. After his father’s death, he removes the gardening to
show his hatred for his father. Thus, the relation between the son and father shows a crucial one as
it focuses on the question of inherited values and assumptions. It becomes a microcosm of the
debate between the generations. Amritlal was unhappy with his son, Jairaj because he looked odd as
a dancer. That is why he wanted his daughter-in-law to help him to look like a man. He tells Ratna,
“A woman in a man’s world may be considered being progressive. But a man in a woman’s world is
pathetic”. Dattani largely focuses on the ‘different’ or the ‘handicapped’. Jairaj struggles in quest of
freedom and happiness, under the weight of tradition, gender constructs and repressed desire. “The
individual versus society, I guess, is a theme that’s in all my plays” asserts Dattani himself. He
perceives the family structure as a macrocosm of microcosmic society, with unwritten laws of
conduct. Jairaj follows his heart’s desire to become a dancer, but this infuriates his father who
nurtures a different set of opinions.

The play largely focuses on the conflict between Amritlal Parekh, embodying the attitude of the
older generation, and Jairaj and Ratna representing the younger generation. However, it is Amritlal
who wields power in the play, as well as in society. Dattani’s play is also about patriarchal
domination and Amritlal stands for the repression initiated by orthodox patriarchy. He holds the
financial and paternal authority to stop his son from dancing and prohibits Ratna from visiting the
old devadasi that might bring ill repute to his family. Therefore, there is a power equation at work
reminiscent of Foucault’s theory, according to which all relationships are power relationships.
Amritlal is the oppressive master while Jairaj is the victim whose long-cherished dreams are crushed
by the former’s colossal power. Amritlal’s character is largely associated with the theme of
appearance and reality in the play. When Amritlal pleads to Ratna, “Help me make him an adult.
Help me to help him grow up", it is quite clear that he is not as omnipotent as he declared. He is
exposed as a vulnerable man seeking aid to have his son discover his inherent manliness, which
according to Amritlal is lost owing to his love of dance. He is revealed not as a “liberal-minded
person” but a vehicle of subjugation and repression that he blindly patronizes under the facade of an
upholder of ‘progressive’ ideas. His mask is ripped off when Jairaj confronts his hypocrisy, “Don’t
pretend. It suited your image...to have a daughter-in-law from outside your community”, revealing
the discrepancy between what Amritlal is and what he pretends to be.

As Dattani deals with the various hurdles on the path of a progressive society, he employs symbolism
and metaphors in abundance to communicate those truths that cannot be explicitly talked about in
the traditional milieu of India. The ‘shawl ’is a significant metaphor of autocracy perpetrated by
Amritlal Parekh and also stands for Jairaj’s unfulfilled desire to be recognised as a dancer. Every time
Jairaj puts on the shawl his tussle with his father is enacted and thus the shawl symbolises the
menacing past.

Dhattani puts Amritlal and Jairaj in a completely contradictory positions, where the former upholds
the traditional values, whereas the latter, seeks to overthrow it through his course of action. The
intricate father son relationship is brought forth by the attitude they hold towards dance.