User:Vigyani/Loona

Loona (ਲੂਣਾ) is a Punjabi verse play written by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. It is based upon the epic of Puran Bhagat.

Synopsis
The book is divided into 8 Acts. In the Act I, an unnamed narrator and his lover describe about the city Chamba and introduces main character Raja Salwan who is the king of Sialkot and has come to Chamba on the occasion of Raja Verman's (king of Chamba) birthday. In the Act II, Raja Salwan spots a woman named Loona and express his desires to marry her. He is already married to Rani Ichhran for 18 years but is dissatisfied due to lack of love between them. Raja Verman tries to dissuade Salban, as Loona is only 16 years old and much younger as compared to very old Salban and also belongs to a low caste. In Act III, Loona express her displeasure for being married to an old man and compare it to a death sentence. Her friends reminds her the prospect of becoming in queen, but Loona says she would have been happier marrying a poor man but of her age. In Act IV, Ichhran feels disgraced due to second marriage of Salban. She leaves the king's palace and go on to live with her father. Ichhran and Salban have a son named Pooran, who on the astrologer's suggestion was kept in a underground room for first 18 years of his life. Both Salban and Ichhran did not see their son's face as it would have brought bad luck. In Act V, after his 18th birthday Pooran comes to see his parents and meet Loona also. Pooran and Loona immediately like each other. But when Loona expresses her desires, Pooran refuses as being his father's wife, she is Pooran's mother. But Loona sees nothing wrong as both are of the same age and the old kind Salban is unable to consummate the marriage. Upon rejection, a hurt Loona blames Pooran for making advances toward her. In Act VI, Pooran leaves the palace and write a letter to Loona, but it reaches to the king. King is angry at Loona, but she make a counter accusation at Pooran of violating her honor. Raja Salvaan order for Pooran's arrest. In Act VII, Iccharan discusses with her father about reasons of her leaving king Salvaan's palace. She receives the news of Pooran's arrest. In Act VIII, Pooran is brought in front of Salvaan. Ichhran returns to the palace to plead for her son's life, but Pooran takes all the blame. On King' order, Pooran's hands and legs are cut off.

Characters

 * Loona - A low caste poor girl who is married at a young age to a very old king. She seek love from her stepson of same age.
 * Puran Bhagat - spends 18 years away from his parents. Upon his return to the palace, he meets Loona his step mother who seeks love from him. Upon rejection, she is framed by Luna.
 * Raja Sálbán - The king of Sialkot. He is not happy in his married life and marries a much younger Loona.
 * Rani Ichhran - Wife of Salvan and mother of Pooran. She leaves the palace after learning king's second marriage.
 * Ira - A friend of Loona. She represents a tradition world view.
 * Raja Verman - King of Chamba and friend of Raja Salvaan
 * Raja Chaudhal - Ichhran's father.
 * Suttradhar - an unnnamed narrator. He is a Gandharva and comes to earth from heaven with his lover.
 * Natti - Lover of Suttradhar. She is a dancer in Indra's court.

Background
The book is based on the tale of Pooran Bhagat written by Qadaryar in Qissa Pooran Bhagat.

Awards
Batalavi got the Sahitya Akademi Award for Loona. At that time, he was the youngest recipient of this award.

Analysis and criticism
The book was praised for its much realistic representation of the main characters, as compared to the stereotype folklore representation. Instead of a king just wanting another woman in his bed, Raja Salban is shown to be reasonably motivated enough for his decision to marry Loona. Queen Ichraan is also discussed in more detail. Loona who is shown as the villain in the folklore, is a heroine in this book. She rejects the idea of marrying an old man and thus does not acknowledge Pooran as her son. She is shown to be breaking the bonds of a conventional woman of that era and is justified in seeking love from Pooran. The book uses lots of metaphors especially fire. Loona refers to herself as fire or flame.

It is called a closet drama which cannot be acted on a stage. The book is criticized for being uneven in the pace of action. Especially Act-I is criticized for being too slow and which is also largely unrelated to the rest of the play. On the other hand, act VII and VIII are too fast and are seen as an attempt to finish the story as soon as possible, with a although realistic but drastic climax.

Adaptation
The play was adapted into a musical series by Bhupinder Singh and his wife Mitali.