Did we ever ask ourselves while reading Kabir, who or what kind of a woman was his inspiration? The answer was there but we the chauvinists never bothered to bring Loi, his wife from the darkness, into the light.
Fortunately, Pratap Somvanshi resolved to unveil the characters, which were pushed into oblivion. And then he began with Loi. This is what a sensitive writer does when scratching history.
Reading his Hindi play “Loi Challai Kabira Saath” suggests that “Loi” is history but she is present also, boldly peeping out of 600 years of Indian hypocrisy.
We know that Kabir fought against the convention; against social disharmony; against the caste system and orthodoxy but the playwright digs out that Loi did it more vibrantly against the pandas of Kashi, and even Sultan Sikandar Lodhi.
Mesmerized by her personality, the author tried his hands at writing a poem on her and then turned to a novel but he failed both times. Finally, he settled for a play on her. He imagined her after researching extensively on her. He imagined her challenging fanaticism and this was how the play was born.
It is a journey into Kabir’s indomitable spirit. The spirit that dares him to write:
जो तू वामन वमनीं जाया, तो आने बाट हवे काहे न आया।
जो तू तुरक तुरकनीं जाया तो भीतरि खतना क्यूनें करवाया।।
But such kind of poetry without Loi to Kabir’s side wouldn’t have been possible.
I don’t want to play a spoiler and would suggest the readers to themselves possess the 156-page book published by VVani Prakashan