Indelible Memory Clots: Child Abuse in Select Plays of Mahesh Dattani

Abstract

Child abuse is rampant in any society, regardless of its socio-economic or religious background. The purpose of this paper is to summarize how Mahesh Dattani addresses indecent treatment of children and incest abuse in some of his plays - a trauma that victims are often unable to open up to and are forced to cope with throughout their lives. It also presents the mental and physical ordeals faced by several of the characters due to their bitter childhood experiences: how Mala and her mother Shanta never recovers from their painful encounters with incest abuse (“Thirty Days in September”), taunts that disabled children get habituated to (“Tara”) and the way Jiten and Nitin’s abusive father will shape their character for the worse in future (“Bravely Fought the Queen”). Findings from this present study will demonstrate that different human beings react to childhood trauma differently, regardless of whether they disclose their past traumatic incidents to others or not.