Handbook of Indian Drama in English

Bijender Singh, MPhil, PhD (India), PhD (USA), DLitt, UGC-NET, U-SET, M-SET, HP-SET, H-TET, is a PhD Co-supervisor in the Department of English at Shri Jagdishprasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala University, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Expression: An International Multidisciplinary e-Journal. He has published a total of forty-five books with reputed national and international publishers. Protibha Mukherjee Sahukar, MPhil, PhD, is the Principal of Durga Mahavidyalaya, Raipur (affiliated to Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University). She holds an MPhil and a PhD from Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. She has five books to her credit, two of which are internationally published. She has over thirty-six years of academic experience. Surendra Kumar Sao, MA, MPhil, PhD, is the Principal of Late Shri Jaidev Satpathi Government College, Basna, Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh, which is affiliated to Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur. His books have been published by both national and international publishing houses. He has also served as an editor for several national and international anthologies.

• Elham Hossain, Foreword - Acknowledgements - Chronological Order of Plays - Bijender Singh, Introduction: Tracing the Trajectory of Indian Drama in English - Bijender Singh, Protibha Mukherjee Sahukar and Surendra Kumar Sao, A General Introduction - PART I Indian Classical and Pre-Independence Drama (Up to 1947) - Monika Chahal, Vasantasena as a New Woman in Śūdraka’s Mṛcchakaṭika: The Little Clay Cart - Budhanath Pratihast, The Curse of Oblivion: Love, Separation and Reunion in Kalidasa’s Abhijnana-Shakuntalam: The Recognition of Shakuntala - Kush Sengupta, The Persecuted Pioneer: A Critical Analysis of Krishna Mohana Banerjea’s The Persecuted - Preetha Prabhasan, A Portrait of Femininity: Exploring Love, Identity and Freedom in Rabindranath Tagore’s Chitra - Kumari Shikha and Shailja Bahadur, Dehumanisation, Class Divides and Capitalist Exploitation in Harindranath Chattopadhyay’s The Window - Silky, Gender, Power and Liberation: An Analysis of Andromeda’s Character in Sri Aurobindo’s Perseus the Deliverer - Baiju Krishnan and Puneet Pathak, Ekalavya as the Unsung Hero: Reinterpretation of Myth in T P. Kailasam’s The Purpose: A Playlet of Ekalavya - PART II Post-Independence and Early Modern Drama (From 1947 to 1980) - Kalyan Pattanayak and Yashoda Kumari, Bright Lights, Dark Realities: Prostitution and the Splintered Self in Partap Sharma’s A Touch of Brightness - Grace Aonok and Suganthi R., Desire and Defiance: Bharat’s Advances and Nalini’s Two Selves in Nissim Ezekiel’s Play Nalini - Jayini Bhaumik, Man is Condemned to be Free: Locating Existential Angst and Discontentment in Badal Sircar’s Evam Indrajit - Jeevan Sagar, Madness, Power and the Unconscious: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq - R. Kalaiselvi and R. Ragapriya, Charandas’ Experiment with Truth in Habib Tanvir’s Charandas Chor - Talat, Shadows of Sanctuary: The Predicament of Refugees in Asif Currimbhoy’s The Refugee - PART III Modern Indian Drama (From 1980 to 2000) - Anurag Ambasta, Degeneration, Corruption and Violence: Analysing the Subtlety of Power Politics in Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal - Nidhi Shukla and Rupal Agrawal, Mahesh Elkunchwar’s Party: An Exegesis of Socio-Political Dialectics - Rachuri Raajitha, From Courtroom to Kitchen: Indian Judicial System and Gender Dynamics in Vijay Tendulkar’s Silence! The Court is in Session - Abhinandan Bag and Kumara Swamy Ravipati, Transnationalism and the Third Space: Alienation, Identity and Utopian Aspirations in Badal Sircar’s Beyond the Land of Hattamala - Mohanapriya, A Study on Vasudha’s Plight and Her Transformation as a Phoenix Bird in Shanta Gokhale’s Avinash - N. Bavithra, Disillusion of Perfectionism in Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana - Upakul Patowary and Jeuti Talukdar, Burning Brides and Broken Systems: Dowry and Death in Dina Mehta’s Brides Are Not for Burning - Harneet Kaur, The Tears of Resilience: Examining Grief, Class Struggle, and Female Empowerment in Usha Ganguli’s Rudali - Meenu Bhola, Human Commodification: Ethical Quandaries of Organ Trade and Its Ramifications in Manjula Padmanabhan’s Futuristic Play Harvest - Anand Prakash Dwivedi, Diasporic Experiences and Identity Construction in Uma Parameswaran’s Rootless but Green Are the Boulevard Trees - Dhiman Chakraborty, Human Rights Violations and State Violence in Mahasweta Devi’s Mother of 1084 - Jupitara Boro, Tamasa as a Form of Navigating Caste Oppression in Datta Bhagat’s Whirlpool - PART IV Contemporary Indian Drama (2001 Onwards) - Suresh Frederick and Keshab Sigdel, Myth, Misogyny, and Marginalisation: A Feminist Study of Bhisham Sahni’s Madhavi - Kusum Kangar, Intersecting Margins of Casteism: Jyoti Devalikar’s Marital Entrapment in Vijay Tendulkar’s Kanyadaan - Ancy Eapen, Indira Parthasarathy’s Aurangzeb: A Historicized Play of Brechtian Epic Theatre - Suruchi Sharma, Unmasking Trauma, Incest and Psychological Wounds in Mahesh Dattani’s Thirty Days in September - Kathyayini S. and P. Kiranmai, Morality, Media, and Masculinity: Public Shaming and Toxic Masculinity in Anupama Chandrasekhar’s Free Outgoing - Meenu Dudeja, Voices of Incompleteness: An Exploration of Fragmented Identities in Mohan Rakesh’s Halfway House - Mayank Kumar, Entangled in Marital Labyrinths: Rani’s Cords of Confinement in Girish Karnad’s Naga-Mandala - Nisha Dubey and Nigar Ahmed, Vestiges of Despotism: The Nexus of Corruption and Power in Utpal Dutt’s Hunting the Sun - Meera K.G., Echoes of Communal Conflicts and the Patriarchal Issues in Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions - Fardinand Minj and Pravind Kumar Patel, The Miasma of Malevolence: Marriage, Mayhem and Misogyny in Poile Sengupta’s Play Mangalam - Ram Sebak Thakur and Vishwajeet, Echoes of Enlightenment: Analysing Spiritual Discourse in R.M. Prabhulinga Shastry’s Vivekananda: The Voice of India - Sumana Dey, Conjoined through Confusions: The Sister Dyad in Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen - Nidhi Bhatnagar and Parveen Bala, Exploration of the Influence of Marxist-Feminism in Manjula Padmanabhan’s Lights Out - Shikha Saxena, Satish Alekar’s The Grand Exit or Mahanirvan: A Seminal Work on Death and Mortality - Asit Panda, Environmental Concerns and Human-Animal Conflicts in K.N. Panikkar’s The Lone Tusker - Guni Vats and Milind Solanki, Existential Despair and the Redemption of Hope: A Literary and Psychological Analysis of Bijender Singh’s Say No to Suicide: Say Yes to Life - Notes on Editors - Notes on Contributors - Index