Crippled Mentalities and Debilitated Family Structure in Mahesh Dattani’s Tara

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani’s Tara is an exploration of gender discrimination, societal pressures and familial misfunctioning quite prevalent in the Indian society. Dattani has been one of those playwrights who has voiced and addressed many social concerns with conscientiousness and empathy. Likewise, his play, Tara revolves around the lives of the conjoined twins, Tara and Chandan who are prey to the fatal social customs. The play also explores how the deeply rooted patriarchal dominance designs their bleak futures. This paper delves into the psychological struggles of nearly all prominent characters who directly and overtly contribute in the broken family dynamics. It also foregrounds the impact of societal expectations on individual psychological stability and personal identities. By analysing the play’s themes, character development and narrative structure, this study highlights how Tara critiques a society that cripples its own children both physically and emotionally through its prejudices thereby sabotaging their familial harmony.