01670nam a22001457a 4500999001900000008004100019100004200060245010900102260003400211300003300245520109700278773003401375942000701409952010801416  c533160d533160260427b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aMohan, Manu and  Singh, Smriti960273  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    cAR  00102ddc40709408331aIIPAbIIPAd2026-04-27h61(8), Feb 21, 2026: p.46-52pAR138671r2026-04-27yAR