Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai: A Homosexuals’ Odyssey
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Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai: A Homosexuals’ Odyssey
Dr. Prakash Bhadury
Assistant Professor, Dept. of H & S. S, NIT,
Hamirpur,India
Research Article by the Author to be published in an Anthology shortly.
Abstract: Gay and Lesbian relationships are branched off as two separate identity of homosexual behaviour and the issues relating to it has been a matter of intense debate in India and abroad in late 20th century especially, when in a post-war era the issues of identity crisis were being voiced by people through the corridors of academic study on postcolonial perspectives that employs certain critical strategies to examine literature, culture, history etc. of the former colonial countries of the empire. When the empire writes back; it results in the attempt to resurrect culture through critical inquiry and it branches off to different critical strategies like hybridity, diaspora, feminism etc .The present paper focuses on
Dattani’s handling on the homophobic condition of Indian homosexuals, their dehumanizing and split personality due to social norms and law of the land, their aspirations, the existential dilemma and the author’s plea for a tolerant view on them rather than banishment from the society. At the outset the gay and lesbian movement is discussed vis-à-vis the western paradigm.
Key Words: Absurdity, Existential dilemma, Gay, Lesbian, Homophobia.
Homosexuality has been common across cultures in the world though the term was first coined by a German Doctor in 1869.The term gay and lesbian came as later development from the sexual behavior of same sex relationships. But the same has never been accepted in any society of the world even though there are traces of such practice that goes on off the curtain including India. Sherry Joseph through his study made an attempt to understand the Indian Gay and Lesbian movement through the wider perspectives of identity politics. In an era of gay and lesbian marginalisation, the
Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai: A Homosexuals’ Odyssey
Dr. Prakash Bhadury
Assistant Professor, Dept. of H & S. S, NIT,
Hamirpur,India
Research Article by the Author to be published in an Anthology shortly.
Abstract: Gay and Lesbian relationships are branched off as two separate identity of homosexual behaviour and the issues relating to it has been a matter of intense debate in India and abroad in late 20th century especially, when in a post-war era the issues of identity crisis were being voiced by people through the corridors of academic study on postcolonial perspectives that employs certain critical strategies to examine literature, culture, history etc. of the former colonial countries of the empire. When the empire writes back; it results in the attempt to resurrect culture through critical inquiry and it branches off to different critical strategies like hybridity, diaspora, feminism etc .The present paper focuses on
Dattani’s handling on the homophobic condition of Indian homosexuals, their dehumanizing and split personality due to social norms and law of the land, their aspirations, the existential dilemma and the author’s plea for a tolerant view on them rather than banishment from the society. At the outset the gay and lesbian movement is discussed vis-à-vis the western paradigm.
Key Words: Absurdity, Existential dilemma, Gay, Lesbian, Homophobia.
Homosexuality has been common across cultures in the world though the term was first coined by a German Doctor in 1869.The term gay and lesbian came as later development from the sexual behavior of same sex relationships. But the same has never been accepted in any society of the world even though there are traces of such practice that goes on off the curtain including India. Sherry Joseph through his study made an attempt to understand the Indian Gay and Lesbian movement through the wider perspectives of identity politics. In an era of gay and lesbian marginalisation, the
Cited: 1. Dattani, Mahesh. Collected Plays. Penguin books India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. 2000. Print. 3..Joseph, Sherry. “Gay and Lesbian Movement in India”. Economic and Political Weekly.Aug 17, 1996