‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
A witty and enjoyable black comedy, Where There’s a Will was Mahesh Dattani’s first play. Following the death of business tycoon Hasmukh Mehta, his family is in for a rude shock: Hasmukh’s mischievous will stipulates that they will not inherit his wealth anytime soon and, worse, his mistress must come to stay with them. But while Hasmukh’s ghost gleefully watches the proceedings from the sidelines, little does he know that he is in for the biggest surprise of all.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
Thirty Days in September remains one of the bravest contemporary Indian plays to seriously deal with child sexual abuse. As a child, Mala was sexually abused by her uncle—a fact she suspects her mother has known about all along despite her refusal to acknowledge it. But the fragile fabric of familial relations is ripped apart when memories of a traumatic past return to haunt both mother and daughter. Performed extensively to critical acclaim and commercial success, this play powerfully explores the brutal severance of the unbreakable bond between adult and child.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
Tara and Chandan have always been close. They were, after all, born as conjoined twins. But a horrific revelation drives a wedge between the siblings, plunging Chandan into a cycle of guilt and blame from which he cannot escape. One of Mahesh Dattani’s most popular works, Tara was also one of the first Indian plays in English to highlight the dangers of gender discrimination, and the insidious ways in which it operates in our society.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
Jairaj Parekh and his wife Ratna, aging Bharatnatyam dancers, are engaged in finding a substitute mridangam player to accompany their daughter Lata at her performance at a high-profile dance festival. Lata, in the meantime, nervously awaits the meeting between her parents and Viswas, the young man she wishes to marry. When the four meet, and in the conversations and discussions that follow, the fissures in the relationship between Jairaj and Ratna begin to explode into high-strung battles which lead back to their own youth and the tragedy that lies at the heart of their discord. The younger couple have their own issues to contend with: the obvious mismatch between the two sets of parents, the arguments over Lata’s career as a dancer after marriage and most unsettling of all, Lata’s attempt to balance her parents’ ambition with her own needs and desires. A brilliant study of human relationships and weaknesses framed by the age-old battle between tradition and youthful rebellion, Dance Like a Man has been hailed as one of the best works of the dramatic imagination in recent times.
First staged in Mumbai in 1991, Bravely Fought the Queen juggles between two spaces-center stage where an empirical drama removes the mask of hypocrisy from a seemingly ‘normal’ urban household; and a small, rear backdrop from where emerges the raison d’être of each protagonist. The family in focus is that of two brothers, Jiten and Nitin, who run an advertising agency and are married to sisters: Dolly and Alka. Their mother, Baa, moves between the two households, attached more to her memories of the past than to any present reality. Marital friction, sibling rivalry, the traditional tension between mother-in-law and daughters-in-law, the darker moments of business and personal dealings, the play takes us through the entire gamut of emotional experience as it winds to a climactic finish. With its relentless pace, crisp idiom and unflinching insight into the urban milieu, this is a play that confirms Mahesh Dattani’s reputation as India’s most influential playwright.
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
In this cleverly constructed radio play, negotiations are underway for an arranged marriage between Alpesh Patel and Lata Gowda. Despite their cultural differences, both their families are desperate for this match. But while all seems genial on the surface, tension simmers beneath the happy facade—for both Alpesh and Lata have their own secrets to hide . . .
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
Final Solutions is one of Mahesh Dattani’s most renowned and widely performed plays. Moving between the Partition of India and the present day, it explores issues of religious bigotry and communal violence. One night, after being chased by a murderous mob, two Muslim boys seek shelter in the home of a Hindu Gujarati family. The boys’ arrival unleashes a flood of bitter memories and deep-seated prejudices. And as the tension builds towards a powerful climax, the play becomes a timely reminder of the need for tolerance.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
On a Muggy Night in Mumbai is the first contemporary Indian play to openly tackle gay themes of love, partnership, trust and betrayal. Kamlesh—young, gay and clinically depressed—invites his friends home ostensibly for an evening of camaraderie. However, with the arrival of his sister and her fiancé, a series of dramatic confrontations is set into motion, leading to startling revelations and unexpected catharsis.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
Extraordinary stories about ordinary people’s lives
Over the years, Sudha Murty has come across some fascinating people whose lives make for interesting stories and have astonishing lessons to reveal. Take Vishnu, who achieves every material success but never knows happiness; or Venkat, who talks so much that he has no time to listen. In other stories, a young girl goes on a train journey that changes her life forever; an impoverished village woman provides bathing water to hundreds of people in a drought-stricken area; a do-gooder ghost decides to teach a disconsolate young man Sanskrit; and in the title story, a woman in a flooded village in Odisha teaches the author a life lesson she will never forget.
From the bestselling author of Wise and Otherwise and The Old Man and His God, this is another heart-warming collection of real-life stories that will delight readers of all ages.
‘A playwright of world stature’—Mario Relich, Wasafiri
Seven Steps Around the Fire is the first in a series of radio plays featuring the amateur sleuth Uma Rao, wife of Bangalore’s Superintendent of Police. When Kamla, a beautiful eunuch, is brutally murdered, Uma’s investigation takes her on an unexpected journey into the mysterious world of the hijra community, revealing hidden realities and shocking truths.
‘At last we have a playwright who gives sixty million English-speaking Indians an identity’—Alyque Padamsee
‘Powerful and disturbing’—The New York Times
