Subaltern

Sukracharjya Rabha, a visionary theatre practitioner, established the Badungduppa Kalakendra in a remote village at Rampur and was also the director of the well-known “Under the Sal Tree” annual theatre festival. His theatre practice that was rooted materially, economically and ecologically at the heart of an indigenous community, creates a distinctly different political economy, which departs radically from previous attempts by the exponents of the “Theatre of Roots” movement to indigenise theatre in India and formulates a critique of it.

The Meos, a Muslim-Rajput tribe staying around Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, have a rich oral tradition and have several popular tales sung to this day. This article explores how these stories contribute to the formation of the Meo identity through the prevalent folklore within this community.

Reading Subaltern Studies: Critical History, Contested Meaning and the Globalisation of South Asia edited by David Ludden; Permanent Black, Delhi, 2001; pp 442, Rs 695.