Gidhade (Vultures) is a popular Marathi Drama translated to English as Vultures. Written by Vijay Tendulkar, drama focuses on the selfish nature of human being and how family institution is corrupted with material and pragmatic approach. Even human relations are spoiled with the force of materialistic approach. Drama is focusing on the grey side of the middle-class society and family institution. The presentation is not a mere creation of the author, but it is based on various sources and purely designed to assist students in their examination. Quality of this presentation cannot be compared with the original text and genuine criticism of the literature. Students are advised to prefer the original texts for better results.

2. Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was born
on January 6, 1928 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra
A leading Indian playwright, movie and television
writer, literary essayist, political journalist,
and social commentator primarily in Marāthi.
Family shifted to Mumbai where his father held a clerical job
and ran a small publishing business. The literary
environment at home prompted young Vijay to take up
writing. He wrote his first story at age six.
He grew up watching western plays, and felt inspired to
write plays himself. At age eleven, he wrote, directed, and
Vijay Tendulkar

3. Vijay Tendulkar
At age 14, he participated in the 1942 Indian freedom
movement.
Most of his early writings were of a personal nature,
and not intended for publication.
He is best known for his plays, Shantata! Court Chalu
Aahe (1967), Ghāshirām Kotwāl (1972), and Sakhārām
Binder (1972).
Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from
real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provides
clear light on harsh realities.
Vijay Tendulkar died in Pune on May 19, 2008, after five

4. Vijay Tendulkar represents the contemporary
modern Indian drama. A strength of his drama is
varied characters – criminals coming out of the
jail, exploited women, precarious life of middle
class couples, broken promises and adamant
decisions creating turmoil in the emotional world
etc., picked up from extraordinary situations.
In short, he focused the grey side of human life
in his writing.

5. Vijay Tendulkar
The paradoxical quality of human nature is
not only the rejection of their evil
mentality, but also the exhibition of
manipulated outward behavior. Outwardly
they are saints, but inwardly they are
sinners and sadists. : Vijay Tendulkar

6. Central idea of The Vultures
Can an individual or society live with
complete disregard for moral values?
Tendulkar writes this play with the
conviction that the vulturine instinct in man
is deeply rooted.

7. Characters
Pitale Family:
Hari Pitale (Pappa) Brother Sakharam
sons
Ramakant Rama
(Daughter in Law)
Umakant
Rajaninath (Illegitimate)
Manik (Daughter) Raja of
(Domestic Partner) Hondur

8. Summary
 Brothers Hari and Sakharam start their new business
with the firm Hari Sakharam and Company.
 Business prospers and Hari cheats his brother and
occupies the business.
 Sakharam is cast away from the home living in debt and poverty.
 Pappa Pitale’s family is devoid of happiness.
 His legitimate children are fighting for estate.
 Son Ramakant is drunkard and addicted.

9. Summary
 Manik is drunkard and smoker, having
relations with Raja of Hondur as
domestic partner.
 She is pregnant of him.
 Pappa’s sons and daughter plot against their father and
are waiting to drive him out one day.
 All three legitimate children are fighting with their
father for wealth at the same time fighting among
themselves for the same

10. Summary
 Ramakant’s wife Rama getting no child from her husband
as he lost his potency due to over drinking.
 Like Rama, Rajaninath, though illegitimate, has a sensitive
personality.
 He watches the violent disintegration of the family, and
bears witness to it.
 Rama and Rajaninath come closer emotionally.
 Rama is pregnant of her relationship
with Rajaninath.

11. Summary
 Ramakant initially happy with the news of pregnancy of his wife.
 Umakant discloses Ramakant that Rama is pregnant not of him but of
Rajaninath.
 Ramakant plans to abort the child of Rama.
 Rajaninath is discarded out of the house
by his brothers.
 Rama helps Rajaninath.

12. Summary
 Sons and daughter make their Pappa
to drink to extract the truth about the money.
 The sons pretend to fight each other
with the father getting trapped between them.
 Pappa (Hari Pitale) gets injured.
 Finally, he admits to them that he has deposited
some money in the Punjab Bank.
 Still they doubt that their father still has some money stacked away
somewhere.

13. Summary
 In the mean time, Hari Pitale, the Pappa, and Manik have been
hanging around the house, thirsty for revenge.
 Hari Pitale realizes that his legitimate children will kill him for
property.
 Now he seeks his protection from his legitimate children and
promises Rajaninath to make his will in his favour by back
dating.
 Rajaninath is repulsed by the property as
it has made the people loveless vultures.
 He detests the idea.

14. Summary
 Ramakant and Umakant plan to blackmail
Raja of Hondur to get money.
 They hatch a plot to break Manik‘s leg and
ruthlessly execute it to get twenty five
thousand rupees from the Raja.
 However, a phone call informs them that the Raja of
Hondur has died of heart attack.
 As a result, their plan of black mailing Manik‘s lover is
vanished.

15. Summary
 Angry brothers now break Manik‘s room open
and Ramakant kicks Manik‘s belly hard.
 She aborts, and in sheer agony runs away.
 Thus, one vulture leaves Pitale‘s house.
 Ramakant, in utter despair, caused by
drunkenness behaves like a mad man.
 He doesn‘t allow Umakant into his house and suspects his
intention of the grabbing house through black magic.

16. Characters: Hari Pitale
 Selfish, cunning, a smoker.
 He has a habit of working with his toothless mouth.
 Having no guilty consciousness about his any of wrong
deed.
 He doesn‘t have any respect for his two sons.
 He expresses his disgust for his selfish children.
 Always thirsty for revenge.
 His diseased wife is an enemy to him and left three
children with him.
 He can be described as seed vulture of the family.

17. Characters: Manik
 Daughter of Hari (Pappa) Pitale
 Manik appears to be a hysterical type. She smokes and drinks
liquor.
 Her attitude towards money and other members of the family
reveals her character. Manik is an embodiment of materialism.
 Always pursues poor substitutes in pleasure with diminishing
returns.
 Tendulkar reminds, through her character, how the
meaningless pursuit for pleasure makes her of easy virtue.
 She prowls and scavenges relentlessly through a variety of life
styles in search of that all-fulfilling treasure.

18. Characters: Rama
 If Manik is one of the vultures, then Rama is the exact opposite.
 The contrast between Manik and Rama is black and white
respectively. Rama cannot bear a child despite her almost divine
goodness, because the seed that should bring it forth is ‘rotten’.
 Her infertility is a symbol of the putrid evil that her husband
Ramakant, his brother and father fill the air with: contrast to
Manik’s pregnancy.
 Rama intuitively knows that material prosperity may give
satisfaction but cannot be a solution to despair hence feeling
insecure in family.
 Attracted to Rajaninath as he is the only person in the house with
moral sense.