A Journey from Chaos to Lucidity: An Analysis of Female Leads in a Few of Mahaswetha Devi, Manjula Padmanabhan and Dina Mehtas Plays

Name of Author : C Rajeswari

Abstract: In India we cannot say that there is one single patriarchy. Indian woman has to go through multiple forms of patriarchal structures, and this contributes to multiple feminisms. The plays of Dina Mehta, Manjula Padmanabhan and PoileSengupta, especially Lights Out, Getting Away with Murder and Mangalam, published together in Body Blows: Women, Violence and Survival (2000) reveal the various facets of discrimination against women. These plays depict contemporary Indian reality. There are some common concerns in the plays of these women playwrights. This article deals with how women struggle to survive in constraining circumstances, facing sexism, child abuse, domestic violence, rape, and other facets of oppressive patriarchy. These plays help in increasing one‘s self-awareness. These playwrights not only address the issues but provide a hope to bring changes in society in terms of actions and attitudes. Restriction and control is more perceptible in the lives of Indian woman. Though the women playwrights are not against western feminism, they want to represent the difference in their situation with respect to their culture. These playwrights attempt to sensitize the audience to the problems in Indian society, with special reference to women. Recent years have witnessed a growing number of women directors; these women directors are well aware of the gendered perception of society.

Keywords : Dina Mehta, Manjula Padmanabhan, PoileSengupta, Gender, Self-Awareness, Domestic Violence

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