“Locust” / “તીડ” by Satish Vyas

Locust”{ English Version } / “તીડ”  by Satish Vyas { Gujarati version }

Introduction : 

The Gujarati one-act play “તીડ” by Satish Vyas is a powerful symbolic and experimental drama that reflects social, political, and moral crises in human society. At the surface level, the play presents the sudden attack of locusts on farmers’ fields, but at a deeper level, it uses the image of locust swarms as a symbol of destructive forces such as fear, violence, epidemics, rumours, communal riots, and political manipulation.

The play moves beyond traditional realism and adopts a folk form, chorus, meta-theatre, and symbolism, making it a significant example of modern Gujarati drama. Through simple rural characters and complex theatrical techniques, the playwright presents a sharp critique of society.

Summary of the Play

The play begins in a peaceful rural setting where a farmer and his wife are enjoying a good harvest and dreaming of a secure future. Their happiness is short-lived when a sudden panic spreads about locust attacks destroying crops. Villagers gather, shouting, singing, and reacting in fear.

Gradually, the play shifts from the village to a theatrical space where actors, director, and chorus openly discuss the meaning of the play itself. The locusts are repeatedly reinterpreted as plague, virus, riots, rumours, political lies, and social chaos. News readers, politicians, and officials deny reality while destruction continues outside.

The play ends without a clear resolution, leaving the audience disturbed and thoughtful.

Theme of the Play

1. Locusts as a Symbol

The central symbol of the play is “તીડ” (locusts). They do not represent only insects destroying crops but stand for any mass destruction caused by human-made systems. These include:

• Epidemics like plague or virus

• Communal violence and riots

• Political misinformation

• Blind crowd mentality

Thus, the locusts become a universal symbol of crisis.

2. Fear and Rumour

The play strongly highlights how fear spreads faster than truth. Rumours create panic, forcing people to flee without understanding reality. The villagers, media, and authorities react emotionally rather than rationally, showing how society collapses during crises.

3. Failure of Authority and Politics

Political leaders and officials in the play deny problems instead of solving them. Their speeches are full of empty assurances. This shows the gap between reality and official narratives, and criticizes irresponsible governance.

4. Common People as Victims

Farmers and ordinary citizens suffer the most. They lose crops, safety, and peace, while decisions are made far away from their lived reality. The play expresses deep sympathy for the marginalized.

Dramatic Techniques

1. Chorus and Folk Elements

The use of songs, group voices, and chants connects the play to folk theatre traditions. The chorus also represents collective fear and mass psychology.

2. Meta-theatre (Play within a Play)

Actors openly discuss the meaning, relevance, and audience response of the play. This breaks theatrical illusion and forces the audience to think critically, not emotionally.

3. Symbolism and Experimentation

Instead of giving one fixed meaning, the play allows multiple interpretations. This open-ended structure reflects modern experimental drama and challenges traditional storytelling.

Social Relevance

Although written earlier, “તીડ” remains highly relevant today. The play reflects:

• Pandemic fear

• Media sensationalism

• Political denial

• Social unrest and mob violence

The locusts can represent any recurring crisis in human history, showing that society repeats the same mistakes.

Language and Style

The language is simple, rural, and conversational, making the play accessible. At the same time, its structure is complex and intellectual. This balance makes the play effective both emotionally and philosophically.

Conclusion

In conclusion, “તીડ” is not merely a play about locusts or farmers. It is a symbolic and political drama that exposes the fragile nature of human society. Satish Vyas successfully uses symbolism, folk elements, and meta-theatre to show how fear, power, and ignorance destroy human values.

The open-ended conclusion leaves the audience questioning their own role in society. The play reminds us that “locusts” return again and againnot from nature, but from within human systems themselves.

A. Idioms & Figurative Expressions (ENTIRE STORY)

These must be translated by sense, not word-for-word.

Gujarati Expression	Literal Meaning	Acceptable English Sense
ભૂખ ઊઘડે	Hunger opens	feel hungry
દી હુ ધરી ગ્યો	kept heart	understood feelings
કરમની કઠણાઈ	hard fate	cruel fate / misfortune
ધીર ધર	hold patience	be patient
આભ ફાટ્યું	sky split	complete disaster
કાળ આગળ માણહનું શું ગજું	man vs fate	humans are helpless
હંધાય ભેળા થઈને	together	all together
કાળ આવી પૂગ્યો	time arrived	crisis struck
વરહ હારું બેઠું	year favourable	good year
પંજો ફરી વળે	claw returns	danger returns
નાંસભાગ મચી ગઈ	chaos spread	panic broke out
જૂના વ્રણમાં નવા ન્હોર	salt on wound	make suffering worse

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B. Rural & Agricultural Vocabulary

Gujarati Term	Why Difficult	Suggested Translation
સીમ	Cultural land concept	field boundary
ખેતર	Farming context	field
ખળાં	No direct equivalent	threshing ground
પૂળો	Rural object	bundle of straw
ગોફણ	Traditional tool	sling
માચડો	Local structure	raised platform
ફાળિયું	Farm tool	sickle
ઢોચકી	Container	water pot
ગાયબળ	Implied rural life	cattle

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C. Food & Domestic Culture

Gujarati Word	Common Error	Better Translation
ભાથું	“tiffin” everywhere	packed meal
રોટલો	“bread”	flatbread
સાગ	“vegetables”	leafy vegetable curry
છાસ	“milk”	buttermilk
ઘોળવું	ignored	churned drink

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D. Kinship & Address Terms

Gujarati Expression	Literal Error	Contextual English
બાપુ	father only	father / respectful elder
મા	always mother	mother / emotional address
ધણી	master	husband
છૈયાંના બાપ	awkward literal	father of our children
પટેલાણી	surname misuse	farmer’s wife

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E. Emotion, Sound & Crowd Expressions

Gujarati Expression	Literal Translation	Natural English
હાય, હાય	oh oh	oh no / alas
બુમરાણ	noise	panic
કણસાટ	skipped	groaning cries
ચીખો	screams	screams
અરેરાટી	confusion	uproar
સુસવાટા	whistling	rushing sound

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F. Crisis, Fear & Disaster Vocabulary

Gujarati Term	Exam Error	Correct English
તીડનાં ધાડાં	locust groups	swarms of locusts
કાળો કાળ	black time	dark disaster
હુલ્લડ	chaos	riot
નાસભાગ	running away	stampede / panic flight
રોગચાળો	illness	epidemic
પ્લેગ	literal only	plague
વાયરસ	mixed tense	virus
અફવા	ignored	rumour

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G. Media, Politics & Authority Language

Gujarati Term	Student Problem	Suggested Translation
સમાચારવાચક	announcer	news reader
જાહેર જનતા	public people	general public
સૂચના આપવી	inform	issue instructions
સરકાર યોગ્ય પગલાં લઈ રહી છે	word-for-word	government is taking steps
ઇનકાર	denied	denial

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H. Meta-Theatre & Dramatic Terms

Gujarati Expression	Common Mistake	Correct Approach
નાટક પૂરું થયું	play finished	the play ends
પ્રતીક	symbol	symbol
વિષયાન્તર	topic change	shift in theme
દિગ્દર્શક	manager	director
ફ્રેમની અંદર / બહાર	literal frame	within / outside the frame

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I. Structural Gujarati → English Errors (Seen Throughout)

1. Sentence Order

❌ “Fear people spread.”

✔ “Fear spread among people.”

2. Article Omission

❌ “Farmer lit fire.”

✔ “The farmer lit a fire.”

3. Over-Explanation

❌ Adding symbolism explanation

✔ Translate only text given

4. Wrong Register

❌ Over-formal English in village speech

✔ Simple spoken English

Works cited :

Vyas, સતીશ વ્યાસ. તીડ. Gujarati Ekanki Sampada, Ekatra Foundation,
https://wiki.ekatrafoundation.org/wiki/ગુજરાતી_એકાંકીસંપદા/તીડ. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

Vyas, Satish. Locust. Translated text used for classroom teaching in Translation Studies, Department of English, 2026.

ChatGPT. Translation Notes, Idioms List, Practice Passages, and Model Translations for “Tid (Locust)” by Satish Vyas.
OpenAI, version GPT-5.2, 13 Feb. 2026, https://chat.openai.com/