PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 27

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Interview with Moloyashree Hashmi

Machine

The play Machine being performed in Faridabad in the early 1990s. Last scene
where the guard and industrialist shooting at striking workers

nearby Central Government offices
watched the play. This was
probably a kind of precursor to a
street play. Not that we thought of
it like that, at that time.
When did the path breaking play
Machine happen?
After the Emergency was repealed,
the trade union movement which
hosted and supported JANAM’s
work were still struggling with the
aftermath. JANAM did two big
stage plays in 1977-78. The first Jab
Firangi Laut Aye by Asgar Wajahat
and Ab Raja ki Baari Hai, a
translation of Ebaar Rajar Pala by
Utpal Dutt. These plays were
received very well but the trade
unions could not host the shows. In
mid 1978 we were talking about
how to get more shows of our plays
and to keep the group together. It
was then that Safdar said “agar
hum janta ke beech bade natak
nahin le ja saktey hai, tou chottey
natak le jayenge”. And this was a
very important moment for the
group.

choice, but were not satisfied with
anything. Meanwhile a trade union
comrade told us about the struggle
of the Herig India union and of the
incident in the factory where 6
workers died in a police firing
during a strike. This was after a
long protracted struggle on
demands for improved working
conditions, notably a canteen and
a parking stand for cycles. Safdar
and Rakesh Saxena wrote Machine
on this incident.
The first show of Machine was on
15 October 1978 in a conference of
progressive writers. The second
show was incredible, even we were
surprised. In
November, 1978
there was a large meeting in the
Talkatora stadium, of all the trade
unions across the country. This
meeting was to discuss trade union
rights as well as to protest against
the Industrial Relations Bill.

There were about 7000 delegates
in the stadium. We went in ѡ