Charandas Chor (चरणदास चोर)

The play charts the tumultuous life of a petty thief, Charandas. Curiously he is a man of principles – an honest thief with a strong sense of integrity and professional efficiency. He makes four vows to his Guru that he would never eat in a gold plate, never lead a procession that is in his honor, never become a king and never marry a princess, thinking all of them are far out possibilities for him. Later, his guru adds a fifth one - never to tell a lie and sets him of on his lifes journey which leads him to a kingdom, where the turn of events make him famous, and eventually he is offered the seat of political power which he has to refuse. Later, the local princess gets enchanted by him, and proposes to marry him.

This is when his refusal costs him his life. As he is put to death, he illustrates the inherent paradox in human existence, where truthful existence becomes an impossibility, for the truthful and the accidentally truthful, alike.

Note:

Mandala theatre had first performed this play in May, 2010. That time, this play was performed in 10 cities of Nepal as a part of Mandala Mobile Theatre Tour program.

Charandas Chor is written by famous Indian theatre artist Habin Tanwar in 1975. This play is based on a life story of a famous thief of Rajasthan named Charandas. The play hits with a direct satire do many wrong doings and corruptions in the society. The play shows the honesty, humanity and compassion for the truth of a ruthless thief who has always run far away from responsibilities.