High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Cultural Conflicts and Gender Stereotyping in Mahesh Dattani’s Play Dance Like a Man. Dr. L. Sangeetha Head, P.G Department of English Thiruvalluvar University Constituent College of Art and Science Kallakurichi 606202, Tamilnadu,( India) Abstract: Earlier Dramatic works didn’t get much popularity in Indian literature and somewhere it was overshadowed by the fame of poetry and novel writings. Further twentieth century saw a great enrichment of drama writings in Indian literary world. Drama started to appear both in writings and theatrical forms and received wide readership and audience during this time. Many prominent dramatist appears in 20th century and contributed miscellaneous wonderful dramatic pieces such as Girish Karnad, Vijay Tendulkar, Utpul Dutt, Bijan Bhattacharya, Manoj Mitra, Badal Sircar and others. Their writings replete with multitude subjects and themes i.e. historical, social, political, cultural and many contemporary issues. In contemporary period Mahesh Dattani, Asif Currimbhoy, Bhimsen Sahni, Shiv k. Kumar and Cyrus Mistry got significant place in Indian drama for their remarkable contribution. Mahesh Dattani is one of the dramatists who is known for his striking subjects that reflects the contemporary societal, political and cultural problems of the Indian society. Dattani plays largely focus on the urban life issues that is noteworthy characteristic of his writings. In this Paper I have discussed the traditional, modern and Volume 26, Issue 10, 2020 1145 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 cultural conflicts between two people of different generation, gender stereotyping and other aspects in the play Dance Like a Man. Besides it also sheds brief light on the status of drama in Indian literature. Keywords: Mahesh Dattani, Gender stereotyping, cultural conflicts, women,and drama. Indian English drama reputation in the period of Tagore and Aurobindo Ghosh was slightly popular. They were only writers who tries their hand in the drama and obtained some admiration. Besides many other writers such as T. P. Kailasam, Bharti Sarabhai, Harindranath Chattopadhayay and others didn’t receive wide readership for their dramatic works. It is said that earlier Indian literatureoccupied with other forms of literature such novel, prose, short stories and poetry collections and people also shows their inclination towards these genres and didn’t give much attention to the drama writings. During the twentieth century Indian literary market saw a great insurgence in the writings of drama. This time many popular writers produced dramatic works which were quite interesting in terms of subjects, themes, techniques and in other literary aspects. The drama of this period carryout the subjects which were strongly shows country’s social, political, historical and cultural problems and other issues. Many historical works were translated from local languages to English language and this ignite the interest of the people and catches the attention widely towards the drama writings. The use of digital and technical things gave drama so much audiences and readers as well. Dramatist like as Girish Karnad,Habib Tanvir, Utpul Dutt, Badal Sircar, Dipa Mehta, Mrinalini Sarabhai, and Bharti Sarabhai received much reputation for their remarkable literary productions in the drama field. They were awarded and also acclaimed on many occasions by the critics and literary Volume 26, Issue 10, 2020 1146 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 men at national level. Manjula Padmanabham is the first Indian dramatist who is awarded the Onassis International Cultural Competition. On the other hand drama also got a strong position in the contemporary Indian literature with the plays of Mahesh Dattani, Asif Currimbhoy, Bhimsen Sahni, Shiv k. Kumar, Cyrus Mistry and other significant playwrights. One of the critic comment on the drama position in the context of the present contemporary Indian literature; “Very recent Indian English drama has shot into prominence. Younger writers like Mahesh Dattani and Manjula Padamanandhan have infused life into the branch of writing, (Dhawan).”It is asserts that Indian English drama evolved gradually with the collective efforts of all the locals as well as national writers who composed plays in their respective languages and also translated them into English which brought wider readers for their writings. Contemporary playwrights illustrates the urban middle class and elite society and therecurrent issues like homosexuality, marital infidelity, complex relationships, political communalism, women problems and feministic approaches and others which remain common part of the society. Mahesh Dattani is called a promising voice in Indian English drama.His plays mainly revolves around social, political problems of the country and also give some solutions for the welfare of the society. The major subjects in his writings are homosexuality, modern urban life and its absurdities, gender discrimination, complex marital life, women problems, cultural differences between old and new generation etcetera. Dattani plays also received wide popularity for their theatrical performance on stage and broadcasting on radio. Dattani is the first English dramatist who is awarded Sahtiya Academy Award for his striking playFinal Solution. Many Indian renowned directors directed Dattani plays such as Final Solution, Dance Like a Man, Tara, Thirty Days in September and others. Besides he credited role of theatre to Volume 26, Issue 10, 2020 1147 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 popularize his writings and also his own theatre company named Playpen in the following lines: I wouldn’t say the only one, but I would say that I have been the most successful for various reasons: I have my own theatre company (Playpen), and I have a theatre background. I’m not writing because I’m a writer (of literature), I’m writing because I have theatre back-ground. (Dattani) Dattani is not only known as a playwright but also as a director, actor, scriptwriter, dancer and an accomplished professor ofdrama writings at the Summer Programme of Portland State University.It is truly asserts that Indian English drama has started to grow rapidly after the significant contributions of dramatist like Mahesh Dattani. One of the fellow critic praise his multitude personality and theatrical abilities: Dattani’s dramatic art is inspired by the mission to communicate profound meaning through his plays and, therefore, he exhibits keen awareness for the direction and stage performance of his own plays. His sensitive dramatic self is a fine synthesis of a dancer, director, actor, playwright, audience and commentator moving collectively towards a single direction. (Agarwal, 24) Dance like a Manpresents the conflict between old principles and modernity. His novel mainly deals with the issues of Indian people and this play also reveals the artificiality of the society, social absurdities and other aspects which are characterize as suffocative for an individual or common men. This play shows the patriarchal dogmatic ideological imposition over an open minded, rational human being who in the end give up all his Volume 26, Issue 10, 2020 1148 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 ambition and yield to the societal norms against his will. He speaks on the themes of the plays which reflects his objective of the writing as well: Thematically, I talk about areas where the individual feels exhausted. My plays are about such people who are striving to expand 'this' space. They live on the fringes of the society and are not looking for acceptance, but are struggling to grab as much fringe - space for themselves as they can.(Dattani) Here Dattani captures an old fashioned Gujarati family and the protagonist struggle to become a good dancer. Jairam is a protagonist of the play. He wanted to be a classical dancer but his ambition shattered by his patriarchal father. Amritlal, Jairam’s father, symbolizes conservative narrow-minded person who considered dance as a feminine art and not suitable for men. Here he uses different literary devices such as flashbacks and stream of consciousness which represent characters ongoing multiple ideas and thoughts that goes through in their mind intermittently in the play. His characters also exhibits middle urban class people, their problems and attitude towards the world which somehow connects the audience emotionally with the characters as well. On asking about his illuminating characters in an interview Dattani says; “Every time audiences (critics too) have applauded, laughed, cried or simply offered their silence in response to some moment in the play, I am completely aware that it is my character that has done the work for me, (Dattani).” The story deals with two dancers who met earlier on a dance stage and get married later. The plays describes their path of becoming the dancers in which they both remain competitive to each other. Despite of gaining much success in their arts they remain unsatisfied. And now they try to find these things in their daughter career. The play open as Volume 26, Issue 10, 2020 1149 http://www.gjstx-e.cn/ High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748 Jairam become the father and now he wants his daughter to be a perfect classical dancer. Here he recalls his boyhood and the challenges that he faces in his life to reach on this position. Jairam belong to a house where dance was considered a profession of the women not men. Amritlal is presented a freedom fighter and a conservative figureof traditional thoughts who is regarded a reputed men in his society. For him dance art is devised specifically for the matriarchal community and it suits them. His narrowness reflect when he called dance art as a craft of prostitute: The craft of a prostitute to show off her wares- what business did a man have learned such a craft? Of what use could it be to him? No use. So no man would want to learn such a craft.