Mohan, Manu and Singh, Smriti creator text Economic & Political Weekly monographic eng

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61(8), Feb 21, 2026: p.46-52 Pattabakki(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 Economic & Political Weekly 260427