01493nam a22001097a 4500008004100000100003500041245010900076260003400185300003300219520109700252773003401349260427b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aMohan, Manu and  Singh, Smriti  aDisseminating alternative discourses in Kerala: Cultural and political implications of Pattabakki (1938)  aEconomic & Political Weekly    a61(8), Feb 21, 2026: p.46-52  aPattabakki(Lease Balance) (1938), written by K Damodaran, was the first political natakam in Kerala that challenged the dominant theatrical, political, and cultural paradigms. It emerged at a historically contingent moment when peasant organisations and communist groups were mobilising against feudal exploitation in society. This theatre genre countered the hegemony of mythological and historical dramas by dramatising systemic agrarian oppression and advocating collective resistance. The natakams’ innovative use of makeshift stages and accessible performance strategies transformed theatre from a commercial commodity into a political intervention. Pattabakki’s legacy extended beyond individual performances, inspiring subsequent political theatre, influencing trade union movements, and contributing to the formation of workers’ cultural organisations, thereby institutionalising theatre as an instrument of class consciousness and social transformation in Kerala.-Reproduced 

https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/8/special-articles/disseminating-alternative-discourses-kerala.html
  aEconomic & Political Weekly