HARDIKA

Hardika is the mother of Ramnik. She is also known as Daksha in the play when the play revolves
around the past. Daksha writes down everything in her diary because diary is her best friend. Right
from her first day at her in laws house to making a new Muslim friend namely Zarine, she writes
down everything in her diary. The diary symbolizes the past and the present. Daksha as a young
girl in the past writes down everything on the pages of her diary and Hardika in the present, teaches
things to her family about the past, from her diary.
Hardika, known as Daksha at her young age, had a Muslim friend whose name was Zarine.
Zarine’s house was the only place for Daksha where she could found some solace and freedom.
Daksha was fond of the Noor Jehan songs and she could hear the songs only at Zarine’s place.
Zarine and Daksha were good friends, but their friendship was not meant to be last forever.
Daksha’s father was killed by the Muslims in a riot and from then onwards Daksha started to hate
the minority people. Infact she lost all her faith from her Lord Krishna as well.Hardika or Daksha
is a such a character who symbolizes the majority or the Hindus and their sufferings as well.

JAVED
Javed is a Muslim boy in the play. He is a young baffled boy who becomes a victim and a terrorist.
The politicians exploit him in the name of Jehad, the Holy War. Javed takes training for the terrorist
activities. He goes rather he is sent to a street where the Hindus live. The street is also known as
Mohalla. The Rath Yatra procession comes on to the street and there comes many people who join
in the procession.
Javed feels happy as he comes there to work for the holy war. He throws a stone at first to the
procession to create a chaos. He had the responsibilty of murdering the pujari or the priest of the
Ratha Yatra. Javed moves towards the pujari with a knife in his hand, he gets mingled in the crowd.

Though Javed has the responsibility to kill the pujari, he fails to do so. The knife fails down from
his hand and he feels nauseous and thinks in his mind that what is he doing in the procession. This
state of mind of Javed clearly shows that, though he is a terrorist, he has heart of a human being
as well. Moreover he doesn’t have the courage to kill a person who is innocent. Javed is not the
actual murderer of the pujari, infact the knife fails down from his hand and he clearly beholds that
someone else takes up the knife from the ground and kills the pujari. He becomes the victim of his
fate. The charge of the murder comes on him though he did not murder.
I moved to the chariot, pushing people away. And I saw him. I saw the pujari ringing a bell. There
was chaos all around. I saw the poojari’s frightened face as he turned away. And . . . I was in a
carnival again on that giant wheel, screaming with pleasure. And I came crashing down, down. I
wanted to get off but I couldn’t! The poojari backed away, his last words were his god’s name. He
looked up at the knife in my hand as I lifted it above the heads around me. He begged for me mercy
but I couldn’t hear him at all! There were screams all around and I was screaming too, but no
longer with joy as fear came faster and faster confusing me! I got nauseous and I cried, ‘why am I
here? What am I doing here?’ Get me off… The knife fell down to the ground, the joyride was
over.
I couldn’t hear noises anymore. I watched men, fighting, distorted faces not making a sound. And
I watched someone pick up the knife and pierce the poojari . I watched while people removed a
part of the chariot as planned. The poojarifell to the ground. The carnival continued. (CP, 207-
208)
Javed talks about the police department who never arrest the main culprits when it is necessary to
do so. He says that police always harass the innocent and common people and that is the reason
the victims lose their faith from them. Mahesh Dattani through the character Javed, bringsforth the
true nature of the police department who show negligence to the work.

"Arrest me? When they have been looking the other way all along. How do you think we got into
the street? In their vans. They will arrest me. Don’t worry. To please people like you. And a few
innocent Muslims to please everyone. (CP,204)"

SMITA
Smita is a girl who believes in liberal ideology. She does help her mom in her pooja work because
she loves her mom but she doesn’t personally support all the things from heart. Rather at one point
of time she gets tired of her mother’s prejudices and conveys her feelings to her mother.
"Please, mummy, don’t try so hard! You are breaking me. Ever since I was small, you have been
at me to go to the temple, make garlands, listen to you reading from the Gita. I love you, mummy,
that’s why I did that. I listened to u and I obeyed you. I tolerated your prejudices only because you
are my mother. Maybe I should have told you earlier, but I’m telling you now, I can’t bear it!
Please don’t burden me anymore! I can’t take it! (CP, 213)"

BOBBY

Bobby whose original name is Babban, is a friend of Javed. Though he is also a Muslim like Javed,
he doesn’t want to show that off to the world and that is the reason he changes his name from
Babban to Bobby when he goes to college. Unlike Javed , Bobby has a control over his temper and
he doesn’t react angrily in all the situations. He is the one who saves Javed from the Ratha Yatra
procession and takes refuge in the house of Ramnik Gandhi.

Bobby is the one who makes Aruna, wife of Ramnik, to understand that God doesn’t differentiate
between people. To Him all are equal. This is evident from the following quote,

See, Javed! He doesn’t humiliate you. He doesn’t cringe from my touch. He welcomes the warmth
of my hand. He feels me. And he welcomes it! I told Him who is sacred to them, but I do not
commit sacrilege. (To Aruna) You can bathe Him day and night, you can splash holy waters on
Him but you cannot remove my touch from His form. You cannot remove my smell with sandal
paste and attars and fragrant flowers because it belongs to a human being who believes, and
tolerates, and respects what other human beings believe. This is the strongest fragrance in the
world! (CP, 224-225)

Bobby also believes in believing one another. He feels and says that if people believe in one
another, then nothing can be destroyed.
RAMNIK
Ramnik Gandhi, son of Hardika, is a very liberal minded man and he doesn’t support the communal
hatred. He even gives refuge to the two Muslim guys in his house because he wanted to atone the
sin committed by his father and grandfather in the past. He even thinks of helping Javed by giving
him a job in the shop, so that he can earn his livelihood in an honest and peaceful way.
ARUNA
Aruna, wife of Ramnik Gandhi, is a typical Indian house wife who is a Godfearing person as well.
She has spent her whole life in pooja path and she doesn’t like to compromise with anything that
is related to her God. She also believes that everybody has their own way to woeship God. She
strongly dislikes the decision of her husband, the decision of allowing the Muslim boys to stay
with them under the same roof. Aruna did have sympathy for the two boys, but at the same time
she was scared of them as well. Infact, when Javed tries to help her out by filling up the drinking
water, she clearly tells him that outsiders are not allowed to fetch or fill water in their house.