Disparate Voices Of Indian Women Playwrights

Creating a Profession: Disparate Voices of Indian Women Playwrights is a collection of plays demonstrating a broad variety of contemporary perspectives as told through the eyes of the women who created them. The anthology is enhanced by significant interviews between each writer and the editor and an introduction filled with information about the profession of playwriting throughout India. Details include the challenges of multiple languages throughout the country, the lack of funding and rehearsal spaces, the role of censorship, the need for specific training, and the influence of gender upon these writer’s ability to find what one woman called “brain space” given the continuation of traditional gender expectations.

In an age where academic curriculum has essentially pushed theatre studies into ‘post-script’, and the cultural ‘space’ of making and watching theatre has been largely usurped by the immense popularity of television and ‘mainstream’ cinemas, it is important to understand why theatre still remains a ‘space’ to be reckoned as one’s ‘own’. This book argues for a ‘theatre’ of ‘their own’ of the Indian women playwrights (and directors), and explores the possibilities that modern Indian theatre can provide as an instrument of subjective as well as social/ political/ cultural articulations and at the same time analyses the course of Indian theatre which gradually underwent broadening of thematic and dramaturgic scope in order to accommodate the independent voices of the women playwrights and directors.

Today, Indian writing in English is a fi eld of study that cannot be overlooked. Whereas at the turn of the 20th century, writers from India who chose to write in English were either unheeded or underrated, with time the literary world has been forced to recognize and accept their contribution to the corpus of world literatures in English. Showcasing the burgeoning field of Indian English writing, this encyclopedia documents the poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists of Indian origin since the pre-independence era and their dedicated works. Written by internationally recognized scholars, this comprehensive reference book explores the history and development of Indian writers, their major contributions, and the critical reception accorded to them. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Indian Writing in English will be a valuable resource to students, teachers, and academics navigating the vast area of contemporary world literature.

Conjoined triplets on a blind date. A lesson in human reproduction by a manic-prudish teacher. A heart-stopping game of cards. An instrument that tunes in to the music of our bodies’ organs. Collected Plays brings together, in a much-anticipated series, the dramatic works of Onassis prize-winning playwright and author Manjula Padmanabhan. Laughter and Blood, the second volume, presents within its covers Padmanabhan’s short performance pieces. From The Sextet and Ladies’ Night to Hidden Fires and Blind Date, these wildly inventive, subversive and often chilling plays introduce readers to the intrigues of inverted power structures, tantalizingly suggestive interactions and powerful voices from the fringe. With new introductions to the works that affirm the relevance of the themes of the plays, this collection showcases the playwright’s mastery of her art and reconfirms her standing among the leading dramatists of our time.

Contributed articles.

A record of the First International Women Playwrights Conference, edited to bring out the highlights of discussions. With index, bibliographies of playwrights, and appendix.

The Main Objective Of The Book Is To Discuss The Theoretical Investigations Carried Out By Indian Women-Writers In Their Works, And To Arrive At A Deeper Understanding Of Feminist Contentions.

This book reveals English as culture, politics, lifestyle and social change in the context of Indian women. English as a symbol of modernity in India was first accessed by men, giving them a new image of masculinity while Indian languages were ‘feminized’—seen as meant for women. Among upper-caste women, English was a vehicle for social reform and for lessening seclusion, invisibility and economic dependence. For the so-called lower castes, the language was aspirational, indicating emancipation and empowerment possibilities, and threatening upper-caste dominance. English formed its own language of gender and made women’s voices stronger in regional languages, which can be seen in the flowering of women’s articles, fiction, biography and letters. This book records the different ways in which women responded to the coming of English into their lives.