- Written by Bhimnidhi Tiwari
- Characters
- Ranabahadur Shah – The king, 23 years
- Laxminarayan Dahal (Jaisi) – Subedar with Samarjug Company, bichari of the Itachapali court, and bull doctor, around 40 years
- Jitman – cowherd
- Gore – cowherd
- Setting: Three scenes:
- Scene 1: House yard of Laxminarayan, morning time
- Scene 2: A courtyard of Basantapur Palace
- Scene 3: A cowshed of Thulo Gauchar
About the Play
This play is a one-act play written by Bhimnidhi Tiwari, a Nepalese writer (1911-1973). King Ranabahadur Shah of Nepal, who ruled in the late eighteenth century, is known to have been fond of bulls. In this one-act play “The Bull,” Bhimnidhi Tiwari dramatizes an incident related to Ranabahadur Shah’s craze to make a biting satire on the feudal system of the time, which dehumanizes human beings to such an extent that their existence depends on their deferential treatment towards the four-footed animals like bulls. Back then, no common man could go against the king’s order or desire, and one could earn life or favor only by making the king happy by all means. In this play, we see a Brahmin nobleman outsmarting the king in order to save his own and his cowherds’ lives.
Summary of the Plot
The play begins with Laxminarayan Dahal, a Brahmin nobleman, squatting on the carpet in his house yard one morning. The cowherds Jitman and Gore arrive running and inform Laxminarayan about the death of Male, King Ranabahadur’s favorite bull. Laxminarayan, who is also a bull doctor, has been treating Male. Now if the king knows that the bull has died, there’s chance he will order the Brahmin to be shaved and the cowherds to be beheaded. All the three become very much afraid. After a while, Laxminarayan calms down the cowherds and tells them that he will go to the palace right away and find some way to save them all. Meanwhile, the cowherds should continue to take care of the bull.
In the palace Laxminarayan meets King Ranabahadur Shah and tells him that the Male bull neither eats nor moves, but keeps sleeping, and yet is still alive. For the improvement of the bull’s health, he recommends the change of the climate, and for this, he asks the king to allow him to move the bull to the hill. The king grants permission. But as Laxminarayan is about to leave, the king stops him for he has changed his mind and wishes to go with Laxminarayan and see the bull once himself first.
In a cowshed at Thulo Gauchar, the bull is lying dead on a thick mattress. Jitman and Gore see from a distance the king’s convoy coming towards them. Laxminarayan comes running ahead of all others. He instructs Jitman to sit and massage the hind feet of the bull and Gore to wave the fan from the front, and in no way to utter the bull has died. King Ranabahadur arrives. He calls Male several times, but the bull doesn’t respond. After examining it from close, he finds it dead, and tells others that the bull has died. After hearing it right from the king’s mouth, Jitman pretends to lament the death of the bull. He starts crying and wailing saying the bull sir has left him an orphan. In order to console him, King Ranabahadur announces a tip of four hundred rupees for him. Right after hearing that Jitman has received a handsome tip, Gore too starts sobbing, falling at the feet of the bull. Drumming his chest he proclaims that he will go and get buried along with the bull sir for he can’t leave without him. In order to console Gore too, King Ranabahadur announces a tip of five hundred rupees for him. Then, expecting such tips, Laxminarayan also begins to cry and lament. But he doesn’t get any tips, instead, gets scolding from the king for being weak though he is a governor and supervisor over many things. Thus angered, the king orders Laxminarayan to bury the bull with his own hand and perform its funeral rites with his own money. Then, he leaves followed by others. When all are gone, Jitman and Gore express relief and thank God for their survival.
Q. Is the one-act play ‘The Bull’ a satire against the feudal system of Nepal? How? Justify your answer.
Ans. Yes, ‘The Bull’ is a satire against the feudal system of Nepal. The play depicts and makes fun of the fear, oppression, inhumane treatment, sycophancy and favoritism, which were the characteristics of the feudal system of Nepal.
In the play King Ranabahadur represents the head of the feudal system. Laxminarayan is one of the feudal lords. Gore and Jite are the commoners who live by mercy of their feudal lords. Male, the bull, is treated far better than its caretakers Gore and Jite. The animal has much higher value than the human beings just because it is the favorite of the king, whereas, Gore and Jite risk their life for not being able to cure the animal. King’s wish and order is final; nobody can challenge his authority. All the feudal lords below him, though powerful in their own domains, do fear King’s supreme authority. Even Laxminarayan can’t confidently talk to the king and explain him the truth. He has to find ways to save his own head. Gore and Jite make living by serving Laxminarayan as his cowherds; they are a little better than slaves. Laxminarayan, Gore and Jite, all are sycophants, who try to please the higher authority by all means and gain favor. The three combinedly outsmart the king and save their lives. While Gore and Jite earn tips too from the king, Laxminarayan is ordered to pay for the funeral rites of the bull. In judging Laxminarayan not suitable to be mourning like the cowherds, King Ranabahadur, who at first seemed foolish, acts sensibly at last. On the other hand, Laxminarayan, who was acting clever from the very beginning, acts foolishly at last. Gore and Jite, who are the greatest victims of the feudal system, become the greatest achievers at the end. Thus, by employing humor, wit, light subject matter, and unexpected twists, the play has satirized the feudal system of the time.
Ramrowriter 