Abstract
India is a multilingual and multicultural country in which marginalization and homosexuality are major problems that threaten the fabric of our society. Factors like caste, religion, community and gender give rise to social exclusion of marginalized people. The Indian society witnessed this marginalization or social exclusion right from time immemorial when it was divided on the basis of caste. But now the discrimination against people in our society on the basis of gender and sexuality is quite visible to the public through the writings of writers like Mahesh Dattani. His drama On a Muggy Night in Mumbai explored the problems of marginalization and homosexuality faced by the Indian community. He deals with a variety of homosexual sensibilities, including men and women, showing how they react to societal pressures in the present scenario; even he portrayed the theme of marginalization through his characters like Kamlesh and Sharad.
Keywords: Marginalization, homosexuality, discrimination, sensibilities, materialistic
The Play and Its Context
Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai is the first Indian play boldly dealing with the subject of homosexuality. It deals with the gay themes of love, homosexual vulgarity among the youths in a materialistic world, partnership, trust and betrayal. Mahesh Dattani in one of his interviews says, “You can talk about Feminism because in a way that is accepted. But you can’t talk about gay issues because that’s not Indian, that doesn’t happen here” (50).
First performed at the Tata Theatre, Mumbai on 23rd November 1998 and then adapted to a film Mango Souffle, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai is probably the best and the most complex play that discusses the socio-psychological identity crisis of the gays who are torn between the social taboos and their personal desires. John McRae writes in a note on the play: “It is not simply the first play in Indian theatre to handle openly gay themes of love, partnership, trust and betrayal. It is a play about how society creates patterns of behavior and how easy it is for individuals to fall victim to the expectations society creates” (62).
Plot and Characters
In the play, Kamlesh and Prakash were ardent lovers. But Prakash was suddenly changed into Ed by feeling ashamed of being homosexual. Then he fell in love with Kiran, who unfortunately happens to be Kamlesh’s sister. Kamlesh’s sexual needs are being fulfilled by Sharad, still he loves Prakash. When Kiran comes to know this relationship, she showed all compassion for the gay people and homosexual relations.
Dattani has made use of multi-level stage to represent the different spaces of household representing the mental spaces of the characters and the different realities they live in. All the action takes place in Kamlesh’s flat that is divided into three spaces — the living room, the bed room and the non-realistic expressive state. There is a contrast between the glorious view of the ‘Queen’s Necklace’ and the isolated flat of Kamlesh which shows the contrast between the public and private life of the gays.
The Identity Crisis
The whole play revolves around the identity crisis in Edwin Prakash Matthew alias Ed but it is just not Ed who is facing this crisis. All the gays in the play are facing this crisis. Bunny Singh admits that what he is doing is just trying to “Camouflage! Even animals do it. Blend with the surroundings. They can’t find you” (70). He is a Sardar who has cut his hair to hide his outer religious identity and has married to hide his inner gay identity.
Sharad is the antithesis of Ed who is vocal of his gay identity: “Let the world know that you exist. Honey if you flaunt it, you’ve got it” (70). He himself admits that “I am not bisexual. I am gay as a goose” (100). Kiran is the only heterosexual in the play. She divorced her husband because she wanted “To escape from those fights at night… The humiliation of expressing to friends and neighbors… that the black eye was from banging my head against the door” (77).
The play ends with Kamlesh rediscovering love with Sharad and a humiliated Ed trying to commit suicide. The social pressures are so overwhelming that he just cannot think of living normally. Dattani has beautifully used the symbol of a photograph to highlight the identity crisis in the play — a photograph where Kamlesh and Ed are hugging each other “cheek to cheek, pelvis to pelvis, Naked.”
Conclusion
Mahesh Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai is a play that raises eyebrows but also raises many questions regarding gay identity and acceptability that middle class society would prefer to sweep under the carpet. He delves deep into the minds of the individuals and unveils the layers of complexities in human relationships and their social positioning, thereby deconstructing the taboo subject of homosexuality in such a way that the invisible clutches of the society on the psyche of an individual are revealed.
Works Cited
- Chaudhuri, Asha Kuthari. Contemporary Writers in English: Mahesh Dattani. New Delhi: Foundation Books Pvt. Ltd., 2005.
- Dattani, Mahesh. Collected Plays I. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2005.
- Das, Bijay Kumar. Form and Meaning in Mahesh Dattani’s Plays. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd., 2008.
- Delany, Samuel R. Times Square Red, Times Square Blue. New York: New York UP, 1999.
- McRae, John. “A Note on the Play”, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai in Collected Plays Mahesh Dattani. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2000.
- Mercy Leethiyal, S. “Marginalization of Gays: A Study of Dattani’s On a Muggy Night in Mumbai.” Language in India. Vol. 13, Issue. 8, August 2013.