Synopsis of Jaymati
The story of the drama is based upon mental conflict of the greatest legendary historical heroine of Assam, Sati Jaymati who sacrifices her life for her husband, children and the nation as a whole. A kind political unrest occured in medieval Assam under the rule of Ahom kings when the governor of Guwahati Lalukkhola Borphukan seized the power from the traditionally legitimate ministers, Burhagohain, Borgohain and Borpatra Gohain and began excercising the power of a kingmaker. In a very short period of time he changed a number of kings and finally made Sulikpha or Lararaja (The boy king) the king of Assam to whom he married his five years old daughter to. The characters of the play condradict upon the fact whether Sulikpha was only fourteen year old boy at that time or a matured adult person. The char-acter Sulikpha himself is not sure of that.
In order to prevent the conspiracies and rebellions from his antago-nists, Lararaj a determined to kill or mime all the decendants of former kings and several hundreds scions were killed or mutilated as the tradition pre-vailed in Ahom kingdom was that no prince who was injured or had lost any part of his body could be king.
Amongst the princes Langi Gadapani was the physically strongest and most powerful who had been the cause of the night-mares of Lararaja. So, the king sends the police (Chaodangs) to arrest or kill him. Gadapani escaped and took refuge in Naga pahar (now Nagaland) and the chaodangs brought his wife Jaymati to the royal court as per order of the king. Jaymati was asked the whereabout of her husband, but she did not give any information. The chaodangs took her to Jerenga Pathar ( Jerenga field) and tortured her incessently for fourteen days till her death. During those days of torture Jaymoti had been giving only one answer that she would tell nothing to them about her husband.
In the drama the characters, in their conversation, raise the contro-versy on several entries of different books of history. Jaymoti expresses her doubts on the fact that whether for the love to her husband and children as well as for the country, or for the ambition of being a queen which is hidden in depth of her mind she didnot give the information of her husband's where-about. The character Jaymoti depicts the characteristic psychological conflict of a simple patriotic housewife. The drama also rises the questions such as 'What is loyalty?', 'Should a woman be loyal to her husband or to the king?' `Should a woman be exempted from punishment for her disobayal to the throne only because she is a woman?' All the characters are seeking the answers in the drama.
