Giving away the Girl and Other plays

Malini Bhattacharya

Translated by Paramita Banerjee, Sarmistha Dutta Gupta

 

5.5 x 8.5 inches, xxx + 56pp. 2003

ISBN : 9788170461951

Rs  150.00 (PB)
$9.95 (PB)
£6.95 (PB)

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A volume of three street plays from the women’s movement, written in the1980s and widely performed as part of the vibrant cultural activism of the time. Giving Away the Girl and The Monkey Dance are both anti-dowry plays. Why All This Bloodshed? was written in the wake of landmark Shah Bano case in the mid-80s, centering around a Muslim woman’s right to maintenance. All the plays remain remarkably relevant, opening up key issues of the movement in a complex and nuanced manner, facilitating debate rather than offering simplistic solutions. Brought together for the first time with an introductory essay by the playwright and a not by filmmaker and activist Madhusree Dutt, who directed these plays, the book provides invaluable documentations of a significant period on the history of women’s activism in India. These plays have been translated from the Bengali by Sarmistha Dutta Gupta and Paramita Banerjee. 

Malini Bhattacharya is Professor of English and Director, School of Women's Studies, at Jadavpur University. She is also a cultural critic and a former Member of Parliament. 

 

Paramita Banerjee is a Calcutta-based translator engaged in research, especially on women's issues.

Sarmistha Dutta Gupta is an editor and a translator who has also acted in plays. 

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