The Prophet and the Poet is based on the exchange of letters and articles between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore over 25 years, with the Indian freedom struggle as the backdrop. The letters reveal how the two personalities differed significantly on the form and content of the freedom movement. The differences widened over the years. However, the depth of their personalities maintained genuine respect for each other in spite of deep differences on ideological grounds. It reflected the political maturity of those times in India.
Bangalore Little Theatre was privileged to be invited to stage the opening shows of the play at the places hallowed by Gandhi and Tagore in their lifetime – Sabarmati Ashram, Santiniketan (Visva Bharati) and Jorasanko in Kolkata. The Kolkata performance was at the courtyard stage of Thakurbadi, the Tagore ancestral home, now a heritage site looked after by Rabindra Bharati University. On the occasion of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary, the play was staged at the Raj Bhavan, Bangalore, with the President of India in attendance. Later, the play was performed by invitation in Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, as part of the India-Bangladesh Joint Celebrations of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary. It is well known that Tagore is revered in Bangladesh. Among other things, their national anthem is a poem of his.
There have been nearly 110 performances of the play since its opening. The play has generated much interest outside India as well. It has had two American productions in 2011, one in Houston and the other at the University of Iowa.. A highly successful tour of Trinidad & Tobago was followed by performances in Singapore, co-hosted by Tagore Society and the Indian High Commission. The play was invited to Sydney for celebrations of Gandhi’ 150th birth anniversary.
The play has been published by Vitasta Publishers as part of an anthology titled 'The History of Ideas', which is available on Amazon and Flipkart.