Page 264 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes to serve as a platform for advocating religious pluralism in South Asia. In this thesis, I will
examine Final Solutions both as a literary work and as a successful piece of theatre in this capacity.
Through a detailed analysis of the text, I will first pinpoint the specific aspects of Dattani's play
that make it a powerful tool for addressing religious communalism. I will also explore how
political theatrical events, such as Advani's Rath Yatras, influenced the writing of Final Solutions.
I will then turn to an examination of its prominent productions, again paying particular attention
to how the communal tensions incited by the Ramjanmabhoomi campaign impacted them. This
examination will also include a discussion of the audience's reactions to these performances.
I will next compare the Hindi-Urdu version of Final Solutions with the original English text. Here,
I will explore the ramifications of the two languages for the play's effectiveness. I will ask if a play
like Final Solutions should be written in English, a language not understood by the majority of
India's population. Finally, I will compare the medium of theatre to the predominant medium of
South Asian popular culture: film. I will consider whether a play like Final Solutions can have a
social impact in a country dominated by the Hindi-Urdu film industry known as Bollywood. How
does the play compare to films dealing with the same theme? I will explore this question by
comparing the play to Mani Ratnam's Bombay (1995), a film made in response to the Babri Masjid
demolition and the Bombay riots. Through my examination of both literary and theatrical aspects
of Final Solutions, I hope to throw light on the potential of theatre to address the crucial social
issue of communal violence in South Asia and contribute to the building of harmony in the region.
The most exciting thing in the book Mahesh Dattani's Interview is included which will help
researchers, scholars, academicians and teachers to understand dramatic world of Mahesh Dattani.
Vishwanath Bite in his well researched article on Thirty Days in September analyses the play
through different perspectives. Anisha. N. in her insightful article, Representing the Other in
Seven Steps Around the Fire, examines that Mahesh Dattani's hand touches the heart of the third
gender through his vivid portrayal of the hijra community in his play Seven Steps Around the
Fire. She further says that Dattani explains the term hijra through the words of Uma Rao, a
research scholar in Sociology, by taking recourse to the Ramayana and also tries to explore the
misery of the marginalized sections of the society. V. B. Chitra & T. Sasikanth Reddy's paper
regarding Sexuality, Alternate Sexualities and Gender in Dattani's Bravely Fought The Queen,
highlight the place of modern Indian theatre that is predominantly urban, manifestly influenced
by Western traditions even as it tries to find its own feet, still evolving and searching for a
distinctive identity. They state that the drama is part of the larger 'Indian theatre', decidedly
influenced by, and drawing inspiration from many of its traditional forms. Kaustav Chakraborty
in his article, The Inconsistent World of Gays: A Psychoanalytical Approach to On a Muggy Night
in Mumbai/ Mango Soufflé, discusses the homosexual bond between the gay characters that seem
to be fraudulent, as revealed through Dattani's play On a Muggy Night in Mumbai. He further
says that we stigmatize the gay characters in Mahesh Dattani's plays/movies with polygamous
infidelity; we must do it keeping their psychological struggle in mind as well as should not
exclusively evaluate their appeal on the sole basis of their sexual behavior. Dipanita Gargava in
her well-research article, Mahesh Dattani's Plays: a Mirror of Contemporary Society, states that
Dattani's plays are reflection of the contemporary society. According to her, Dattani not only deals
with common and ordinary people but the common problems of people in realistic terms. In many
of his plays, he deals with various issues like homosexuality, gender discrimination, communalism
and child sexual abuse. Dattani manages to delve deep into the hearts to recreate characters with
authenticity and a sense of liveliness. Anisha Rajan in her article highlights the theme of gender
discrimination in Mahesh Dattani's play Tara. She says that gender inequality is a form of inequality
which is distinct from other forms of economic and social inequalities. It stems not only from pre-
existing differences in economic endowments between women and men but also from pre-existing
gendered social norms and social perceptions. Through this play Dattani brings out the root of
gender discrimination by making the woman, the destroyer of another woman's life.

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