PROBLEMATIZING PREVALENCE OF RASAIN THE PLAYS OF MAHESH DATTANI

Natyashastriya theory of Rasa is a spirit so abstract that can only be suggested, not describedin any work of visual, literary or performing art. Rasabhasa, a concept from Bharata Muni’sRasa theory, alternatively nomenclated as a semblance of Rasa interestingly appearsparallelto Rasa but is not Rasa. Bharatmuni reiterates the relishing of Rasa or Rasabhasa from aconditional amalgamation of Bhava (emotions), Alambana Vibhava (protagonist), UddipanVibhava (environment) and Vyabhicharibhava (transitory emotional feelings) in theprotagonist i.e. the one who leads (NayatiItiNeta). The conditionality isfurther enunciatedemphasizing that not all protagonists relish Rasa or Rasabhasa distinctively in a dramaticperformance. Modern plays with their stark distinctions from the ancient Indian plays likeAbhigyanshakuntalam portray multilayered characters dealing with the questions of identitiesin various spatialities and temporalities at a glance do not seem insinuated with thecharacteristics underpinned in Natyashastra. These distinctions and coming away from thethematic contextualization of ancient Indian plays enshrouds the idea of Rasa Relish.Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai and Seven Steps around the Fire explicitly raisegender and identity issues of LGBT community, in dealing with their thematic structure andcharacterization reveal relishing of Rasa or Rasabhasa. The paper critically problematizes thetranslational affinities between Rasa and Rasabhasa, also aspires to explore two plays bydrawing on the concept of Rasabhasa. (Re) interpreting Rasa and Rasabhasa in the contextof modern LGBT plays is the central premise of this research paper.