Benil Biswas

In this article, I seek to argue that Meena Kandasamy’s (1984 -) poetic endeavours call for an alternative academic framework beyond mere symbolism, textualism and identitarian determinism. I suggest that although much has been inscribed on her positionality as a Dalit feminist, not enough critical evaluation has focused on how performativity and theatricality permeate her body of work as a whole. Her expressions can be studied as a clarion call to transcend norms, forms, and practices through an embodied experientiality of self and an invitation to consciously ruminate on the art of poetry itself, that too in English originating from margins of everyday life in South Asia, but as reverberations for the entire world. This article will perform a close reading of select poems from the two poetry collections by Meena Kandasamy - Touch (2006) and Ms Militancy (2010) to substantiate the arguments and bring about her contribution to form, content, and new directions in Indian Writing in English.

Keywords: Aesthetics, Dalit, Ekstasis, Ekphrasis, Kinesis, Kandasamy, Theatricality, Performativity.

This paper documents the development of an ethical and methodological framework for my ongoing PhD project, which attempts to historicise Caste in Bengal with a special focus on the cultural dynamics and the identity formation of the 'Scheduled Caste' Namasudra community, previous;y known as the untouchable 'Chandala'. As a performer and a performance studies scholar, with a background in literature, I would propose to extend the ambit of oral history to include documentation of theatrical and ritual performances, to reveal complex unchartered terrains of embodied memories. In doing so, I hope to provide a lens into a cultural and historical space by creating a textured and vivid narrative while still retaining some essential aspects of Oral History and also justify the possibility of imagining 'Performance' as 'Oral History' and vice versa.

This paper is written under the guidance of Prof. Tutun Mukherjee, the University of Hyderabad (as Principal Investigator) for Comparative Literature: Drama in India | UGC MHRD e Pathshala.

This article explicates the Bhasha or the Vernacular Theatre tradition of India, the emergence of great Bhasha traditions. It attempts to locate the Bhasha Roots in Classical/Sanskrit Drama and in the period of its subsequent decline. The article also defines the characteristics of the Bhasha theatrical performances. The article further expands on the evolution of Parsi theatre, Marathi theatre and Bengali theatre in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). It further explains the Post-Independence scenario and creation of Akademis and various other organisations, which promotes and support Bhasha theatre and performances.

This paper is written under the guidance of Prof. Tutun Mukherjee, University of Hyderabad (as Principal Investigator) for Comparative Literature: Drama in India | UGC MHRD e Pathshala.

The paper includes rumination on "Theatre: Architecture, Apparatus, Acting; Censorship and Spectatorship; Translations and Adaptations"

Theatre has been acknowledged as a tool for global socio-political transformation. Similarly, in the context of colonial and post-colonial India, it is considered to be an important player in bringing about a sense of cohesive national feeling. Theatre also served as the platform where major ideological debates were played out to create and sustain a country which believes in social justice and equity. Two regions in India led this socially relevant theatre movement, namely Maharashtra and Bengal, which was then taken up by the entire country during the last century. It is, therefore, important for us to harness the inherent energy and document this intangible heritage of India, which helped shape in many ways the sensibilities of our times. Although we have long understood that set design, lights and of course audiences, among many other things, are co-makers of meaning in the playhouse, most theatre histories pay scant attention to their role in demarcating periods of theatrical history and motivating historical change. These theatre histories are indicative of the relationship between the playwrights, plays and actors. In fact, our ignorance of the dynamic interplay between the multi-layered aspects of theatre is due to the difficulty of researching the topic; reliable information, documentation, expectations, behaviour, and response of historical audiences and other earlier aspects of theatre is not easy to acquire. The two exceptional books being reviewed try to fill that gap in the history of India. One provides an overview of theatre in Bengali, while traversing 200 years of Bengali theatre, and the other considers one of the most significant figures in modern Indian theatre, namely Badal Sircar (1925-2011). Bengali theatre, or theatre in Bangla, wherein Bangla or Bengali can be understood as two different sets of intertwined meanings, geographic location and also linguistic location, is enmeshed in the troubled history of India and Bangladesh. Utpal K Banerjee's Bengali Theatre 200 years provides that elaborate canvas and full range of what is understood as Bengali theatre or theatre in the Bengali or Bangla language from across the border. This book is a result of a seminar on theatre in 1995 by Sarita Sanskriti Samaroh, which was attended not just by theatre practitioners, but also connoisseurs and admirers of theatre from every walk of cultural life. From 1795, when on 28 November, the first play, 'Kalponik Song Badal', a translation of the play, 'The Disguise' was staged in Calcutta by a Russian, Gerasim Stephanovich Lebedeff, to this day, the text navigates various modes of theatre and several responses to theatre making and reception of theatre. This book achieves what many theatre histories have lacked. The book focuses on various essentials which are a blend of earlier autochthonous modes of theatrical expression and the colonial European consciousness, which heightened the Bengali and Indian consciousness about 'nation', that brought about the national movement. Neither can the context of the Bengal famine, IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association) and popularity of 'Nabanna' be forgotten. One expression that describes this book is 'total theatre' as it encompasses the perspective from actors, directors, to set lights and set designers. It is thus not an official version of Bengali theatre history, but a history from the grassroots, from the practitioners themselves, which accommodates multiple voices. It has poignant passages from the lives of actors, their day to day struggle to get into theatre, including Binodini Dasi, Golap Sundori to our contemporaries like Saoli Mitra, Sampa Ghosh. Banerjee's classification of the contributions in eight sections not just provides details of significant plays and theatre events over the last two hundred years, but also a critical commentary on the evolution of theatre, for example, Manoj Mitra talking about the art of playwriting, Tapas Sen about light design, Khaled Choudhury about his experience in stage designing, and Utpal Dutt about experimentation in theatre. This book is not just a vital resource for theatre enthusiasts, but equally for students, as it provides insights to theatre from practitioners across various fields such as Mrinal Sen. Furthermore, it brings in diverse

This is a short introductory talk about Temples at Khajuraho, India, bringing in elements of performance and local culture. It emphasises knowledge of performing arts have immensely contributed to the making of these architectural work of art, which are considered the zenith of Ancient Indian Art and Culture.

India is known for its living folk tradition. Any living tradition has a natural flow. There can be no doubt about the fact that traditional art forms reflect the ideals of the society, its determination to survive, its ethos, emotions, fellow-feelings, and so on. In India, religion, philosophy and myth cannot be separated from their art forms. Dance and music are tied inextricably to ritual, ceremony of any kind. Weddings, births, coronations, entering a new house or town, welcoming a guest, religious processions, harvest time, any or all of these are occasions for song and dance. Music and dance are probably the most elemental art forms, spontaneously expressing the entire garment of human emotions and experiences. There are tribal belts throughout India, and although each tribe has its own unique music and dances, they all share a similar form, for example men and women forming separate rows with linked arms and executing intricate leg movements in a gradually increasing tempo that builds up to a crescendo of vigour. The folk music and dances of agricultural communities celebrate the rhythms of daily life, the turn of the seasons, the highlights of the agricultural calendar, religious festivals and important events that punctuate the flow of life, such as births and marriages. While folk music and dance share common themes and concerns, there is a wide variety of forms. Along the entire Himalayan region, from Kashmir to Darjeeling, folk dancers link arms and sway gracefully in undulating movements, celebrate the sowing of the wheat crop; few can resist the infectious beat of the dholak, the two-sided drum, and pairs of dancers take turns to execute complex acrobatic movements in the centre of a circle of abandoned dancers. In community living, the art of singing, music and dance has its own importance. In all the traditional theatre-forms, songs and the art of singing have a significant role to play. As mentioned earlier, the folk traditions of India has a rich oeuvre of songs, dances and other forms of performances. Each of these genres would need a session dedicated to just them and will be taken up for discussion in subsequent talks. Today our focus will be on the Indian Folk Theatre traditions. Theatre as an old form of Communication is a deep-rooted tradition in India " s vibrant culture. Folk Theatre is a composite art in India with a fusion of elements from music, dance, pantomime, versification, epic and ballad recitation, graphic and plastic arts, religion and festival peasantry. The Folk theatre having roots in native culture is embedded in local identity and social values besides providing mass entertainment helped Indian society as indigenous tools of interpersonal, inter-group and inter-village communication for ages. There is an impression that many of these performance genres are dying out because of the popularity of Bollywood movies, but on the contrary, famous cinema from Bollywood has successfully portrayed and has drawn inspiration from the folk traditions of India. In fact, every movie would have either one or two songs or dances specific to folk tradition of that specific region.

In this article, I seek to argue that the poetic explorations of Meena Kandasamy have to be studied as a movement towards an alternative aesthetics, collective consciousness, and quest for compassionate and dialogic justice, through an affective and evocative portrayal of the intersectional experiences of caste, gender, race, religion, and sexuality. To substantiate the arguments and bring out Meena Kandasamy's contribution to the form and content in Indian Writing in English, we will analyse a few poems from the poetry collection-Touch (2006) and correspondingly touch upon her creative and critical oeuvre.