The Language of Performance on the Indian Stage
A Python-Assisted Corpus Study of Mahesh Dattani's Plays
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19490506 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Prerna Srivastava (0009-0000-2609-2204, Poornima University), Kiran Shekhawat (Bhartiya Skill Development University), Sangeetha Noval (Bhartiya Skill Development University), Ritu Raj Choudhary (Poornima University), Sangeeta Jhajharia (0000-0001-9989-6887, Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner), Garima Jain (0000-0001-7991-4865, Poornima University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 5s |
| Pages | 182-197 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2582-7472 • E-ISSN: 2582-7472 |
| Publisher | Granthaalayah Publications and Printers (PUBLISHER • IN) |
| DOI | 10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i5s.2026.7212 |
| OpenAlex | W7155051497 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
This study blends close reading with corpus-assisted methods to examine how English mediates culture, gender, and identity in Mahesh Dattani’s drama. Using a curated, labelled corpus drawn from six plays like Dance Like a Man, Tara, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Seven Steps Around the Fire, and Thirty Days in September, the study attempts to analyse 38 dialogue excerpts (922 words; 362-type vocabulary). A Python workflow (pandas/regex) supports tokenization, frequency profiling, collocation checks, and concordance sampling by play, enabling comparative views of character voice, kinship terms, and conflict markers. Preliminary patterns indicate how English, as a postcolonial medium, frames intergenerational tensions and gendered power (e.g., character-centred lexis and familial address terms), while preserving localized cultural reference points. The results demonstrate the value of computational stylistics for Indian English theatre: lightweight, transparent metrics complement interpretive reading to surface recurring motifs across plays and to differentiate linguistic textures between domestic realism and identity-centric narratives. The paper contributes a replicable Python pipeline and a pilot corpus for Indian English drama studies, arguing that corpus-assisted analysis can sharpen debates on hybridity, performance, and the politics of language in contemporary Indian theatre
Adverbial · Close reading · Dance · Indian English · Lexis · Narrative · Realism · Stylistics · Subaltern · Multilingual Education and Policy · South Asian Cinema and Culture · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |