Examining Subalternity and Resistance in Mahesh Dattani’s “Seven Steps around The Fire”

Abstract

 Seven Steps around the Fire explores the social ostracisation and systemic victimisation meted out to hijras by the dominant patriarchal heteronormative order and the vortex of desire and longing in which their lives are entangled. As in other plays by Mahesh Dattani, what stands out is the dexterity with which he fuses in his representation both the material and the psychological contours of subalterneity and the way in which all of it finds a place within a dramatic structure that remains full of suspense and excitement. This paper would seek to map the particular material determinants of hijras’ subalternization, the representation of such crisis in the play, the response of the hijras as well as the efficacy of Dattani’s portrayal. What would also be investigated is the way in which non-subaltern persons may become allies of subalterns to effect counter-hegemonic interventions that can challenge patterns of prevalent subjugations.