CONTACT PLAYWRIGHT

Synopsis

The play is set in the estate of a landlord in a small town somewhere in the rural north of India. With due adaptation the play can also be set in other parts of India. With some changes in the idiom it can be located in any another part of India. The challenge is to play it in the English language. The time is now. The play is based on factual material from field experiences. It attempts to reconstruct the conditions on stage. The unfolding story is necessarily fictional. The phenomenon of privileged rape based on caste superiority continues to be common in the Northern belt of rural India where the play is set. Land ownership gives the upper caste enormous power. It remains unquestioned. The abuse of the power remains unspoken. The caste is not mentioned in the play script. However, the power equation is retained and not sanitized. The phenomenon is not uncommon in other parts of India. The play was to be a major production by Habib Tanvir at Naya Theatre. He had read the play, discussed it with the author and his group, and had decided on the nature of the translation that he would personally undertake in Hindustani. Soon after, there were two successive tragedies in Habibji’s life, and the production had to be shelved. It remained an unfinished project. Bangalore Little Theatre paid a tribute to Tanvir with a staged reading of Mandap in June 2009.

Duration

100   Minutes

No of characters

9