Present Day Romance Tragedy

Shailendra and Pushpanjali from Patna in India, eloped in February 2006 and married. They returned to seek blessing of their families, only to be dragged to the Hindu temple and beaten to death, Shailendra dying at the time, and Pushpanjali later in hospital. It was seeing a report in the early 90s, of an Indian man who hanged his son in public in front of the village temple with a crowd of onlookers that first took my attention. This was added to in 1993 by the sniper shooting of Admira Ismic, a Muslim girl and her Serb sweetheart Bosko Brkic at the time of the Balkan Wars. Admira and Bosko attemped to leave the besieged city after receiving permission from both sides of the conflict, but together were killed by sniper fire. The bridge they were trying to cross is now colloquially called the ‘Romeo and Juliet Bridge.’ These events compelled me to ask the question ‘Why would parents kill their own children?’ and then look further into the phenomenon of romance tragedy. Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908 – 1961), in his treatise The Phenomenology of Perception , asks us to accept phenomena as ‘realities’ of humanity; as starting points without further question or analysis. Regarding the phenomenon of romantic love one can say that Eros and Karma and other gods of love are alive and well, shooting their darts across cultural and social standings, leading to conflict or social embarrassment and in some instances, romance tragedy. This study has a special focus on Northern India, especially the state of Haryana, and is conceived as a response to media attention given to the killing of eloping couples in India, reported in the general media only since 1993. A new consciousness of cultural ethics totally outside my Anglo-Judaist-Christian terms of reference motivated me to ‘look’ at romance tragedy. Short periods of work in Nepal beginning in 2001 where examples of violence, reconciliation, and of acceptance happened enriched the intrigue. The time period of reform in India theoretically dates from the adoption of a democratic constitution in India in 1950, but the selected time period is from 1993 when the issues started to come to general public attention. The social change is from ignoring constitutional human rights of individual lovers to present-day public outcry in support of the lovers, with insistence that the present government establish effective law and order. What is strange for Westerners to understand, is the large number of peer associates in India who are considered consanguineous and for whom marriage is forbidden. It is like the brother sister relationship applying to all peer group school associates. Prem Chowdhry in her treatise ‘Contentious Marriages and Eloping Couples’ emphasises the importance of village exogamy and caste endogamy in villages of northern India where rules of land ownership and inheritance are of paramount importance. Such social strictures are inconceivable to the modern Western mind. However legality of marriage issues in Western communities do remain pertinent today. In a case from Germany a brother and sister separated at birth met, married, and had children . When the situation came to public attention, the father was imprisoned. The legality of gay marriages in the Western world is a current social evolutionary cause of dissention with some countries adopting new legislation that permits gay marriage with marital rights. Shakespeare’s quintessential expression of romance tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet style’ in his play Romeo and Juliet, enlarges on the ‘Guilietta e Romeo’ story of Renaissance Italy and almost every day new productions of the play in modern or traditional style are announced around the Western world and in other cultures. The Romeo and Juliet theme is a focal point within the broader concept of romance tragedy. This paper looks backward to Shakespeare’s sources and forward to the present time, with reference to the arts, related myths and legends, and real-life stories. Vendettas in renaissance Italy are highly relevant to Shakespeare’s inspiration. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet comes to us from the Elizabethan era, at a time in British history when under the law of high treason public executions took place involving Catholic martyrs and others who challenged the authority of the throne. It is pertinent to this study that theatrical performances (then and now) suggesting social change can be banned, and proprietors and authors excommunicated (or worse) for offending authorities. This study of romance tragedy although initiated as a response to real-life stories presented prosaically in the media, has a central focus on drama and the arts. In Western culture the Shakespearean voicing has continued with ‘A Village Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Westside Story’ and many others. In the colonial era, Westerners discovered other cultures have their own stories featuring romance tragedy, giving scope for great poets, writers, composers, storytellers and filmmakers, to lead and inspire their communities. Classic works are becoming globalised and in recent times the Western world especially is becoming more aware of great works from Arabian and Eastern cultures. The first Arab Opera Leyli and Majnun composed in 1908 by Hajibeyov is being brought to the West by the Silk Road Ensemble founded by Yo Yo Ma . Hindustani legends have always been presented on stage and more recently by Indian filmmakers, who take up present day social issues as in the recent film Khap highlighting romance tragedy in Northern India. The section on arts is a tribute to the genius of eminent writers and composers, who bring us legendary stories such as ‘Hinemoa’, Leyli and Majnun’, ‘A Village Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Tristan and Isolde’, and Heer Rhanga’, through poetry, writing, theatre, and music, including opera. Legendary stories are a necessary part of the study. Classic romantic legends are intertwined with stories of creation. A selection of these are presented by famed storyteller Diane Wolkstein (1942 - 2013) in her book, ‘The First Love Stories - from - Isis and Osiris to Tristan and Iseult’. Her selection of mythological and legendary love stories is ’Isis and Osiris’ (Egyptian), ‘Inanna and Dumuzi’ (Sumerian), ‘Shiva and Sati’ (Hindu), ‘The Song of Songs’ (Hebrew), ‘Psyche and Eros’ (Greek-Roman), ‘Layla and Majnun’ (Arabic-Persian), and, ‘Tristan and Iseult’ (Celtic-European). There are many love legends within Hindustani folklore. Four popular romance tragedies in the Punjabi tradition of India and Pakistan are, ‘Heer Ranjha’, ‘Mirza Sahiba’, ‘Sohni Mahiwal’, and, ‘Sassi Punnun’. ‘Anarkali’ is a possibly true real-life legendary story from the lineage of Mogul Emperors. Around the world every culture has its own legendary and real life stories. The phrase ‘Romeo and Juliet style’ has worked well for me as a focal point in initiating conversation. On meeting a senior Thai government servant I posed the question, ‘Do you have any Romeo and Juliet stories in your culture?’ His response was immediate, saying, ‘ Yes, of course we do, but the West does not know about it’! He was referring to the story of ‘Lilit Phra Law’. Lilit Phra Law is a Thai epic poem, and, in common with other stories presented is likened to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It involves romance between royal families in kingdoms previously at war. The enmity of a senior widowed Queen whose husband was killed in battle leads to the murder of the lovers. Not all the stories are tragic. The legendary real life Maori story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai tells how they lived happily ever after, because her chieftain father belatedly accepted the situation. Hinemoa eloped, swimming three kilometers at night to Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua answering the flute call of her lover. The acceptance by her father led to a remarkable period of peace between these two Maori tribes.