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Dalit Dialogues

Indian Dalit Plays in English Translation

Dalit Dialogues cover

Dalit Dialogues

Indian Dalit Plays in English Translation

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Pre-order. Available Oct 29 2026
$25.16 RRP $31.45 Website price saving $6.29 (20%)

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Description

The first volume of Dalit plays available in English translation.

This pioneering anthology gathers together eleven Dalit plays originally written in a broad scope of Indian languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Tulu. The plays in the collection span both a wide range of provinces and time periods and demonstrate a wide range of dramatic conventions and theatrical forms.

In turning its attention towards Dalit plays and theatre, this book opens out an area of study that is larger underrepresented in Indian Dalit literature. As the first book of its kind, Dalit Dialogues aims to highlight the importance of the discipline within the context of the Dalit movement in India.

Edited by Shubhendu Shekhar Naskar, recipient of the Charles Wallace Research Grant, this collection introduces Dalit playwrights – all of them writing in the vernacular – to an English-speaking readership. His critical introduction is accompanied by translator's note, each providing wider context and a critical apparatus for students to explore the language and themes of the plays.

Written for translators, future researchers and students of Global theatre, this collection contributes to the development of the literary aesthetics of resistance by addressing the depiction of caste, class and gender-based marginalisation within the framework of postcolonial Indian theatre.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
About the Author
About the Translators

Foreword, by Mahesh Dattani
Introduction

The Ostrich (Bengali) by Achintya Biswas, translated by Shubhendu Shekhar Naskar
The Bodyguard (Gujarati) by Mohan Parmar, translated by Meghna B Dalwaniya and Ishmeet Kaur Chaudhry
Harijan (Hindi) by Shri Shivprasanna Das, translated by Soumita Adhikary
Santhimmi's Pakshi Purana (Kannada) by D. Saraswathi, translated by Deepak Srinivasan
The Book of Bheema (Malayalam) by Dr. Samkutty Pattomkary, translated by Reneeta Anna Robert and Dr. Krupa Shah
The Labyrinth (Marathi) by Datta Bhagat, translated by Dr. Dnyaneshwar P. Digole
Ekalavya (Odia) by Dolamani Kandher, translated by Ranjit Mandal
Splinters (Punjabi) by Gurmeet Kariyalvi, translated by Dr. Jaspreet Singh
The Signs (Tamil) by K. A. Gunasekaran, translated by B. Mangalam
Equality (Telugu) by Kalakaluri Enoch, translated by Macha Venkata Reddy
Time Awaits (Tulu) by Madhava Arladka, translated by Vanisree V R

Product details

Explore Methuen Drama
Published Oct 29 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 352
ISBN 9781350617964
Imprint Methuen Drama
Series Methuen Drama Play Collections
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Shubhendu Shekhar Naskar

Dr. Shubhendu Shekhar Naskar is an Assistant Profe…

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