Margins (2006)

Sidharth, Aman and Sanyukta at India Habitat Centre

Gender, class, religion and caste, the mainstreaming Indian state has evolved in a manner that many are excluded, they lie on the margins. MARGINS is the coming together of
three short scripts linked in their critique of the mainstream of our state and society from diverse peripheral “women” perspectives. 

The fourteenth proscenium production of pandies, the play is directed by Sanjay Kumar. 

Sourced from workshop experiences and conversations with and readings from those involved, the plays have been scripted by Anuradha Marwah, Anand Prakash and Sanjay Kumar respectively.

The first plot borrows a real life story from the files of a women’s organisation Shaktishalini. The story is based in Delhi, centring round a lower middle class case of a Muslim family. The script examines state constructions of justice for Muslims, women and Muslim women.

The second leaning on archetypal Dalit autobiographies reconstructs another real story though from a different perspective. It juxtaposes caste and gender. Hidden within a sceptical anti-brahminical cover is the question whether gender transcends caste? Is it possible for a Dalit man to exploit an upper caste woman? Who is in the margins?

The third set in the lower class, is a rollicking farce. Slicing hegemonic patriarchal structures from diverse marginal perspectives, the script juxtaposes constructions of
masculinity with the spirit of football.

Extremely successful and sought after, these episodes (collectively and singularly) have since been staged at Oxford Bookstore, in over 20 colleges of the University of Delhi as part of WSDC offered gender-courses and also at Ajmer (Savitri College as part of Pathways seminar and in Sophia College) and in the village of Indirapuram.