Rudali

Rudali follows Sanichari, a poor, low-caste woman in a village, through a life shaped by exploitation, hardship and survival. Mahasweta Devi's short story treats her situation with irony.

In 1992 the story was adapted for the stage by Usha Ganguli, a leading theatre director in Calcutta, and the production quickly became one of the most acclaimed of its time. Both the story and the play were reworked by women and both centre on a woman's life, so each can be read as an important feminist text for present-day India.

This volume contains the short story and the play together. An introductory essay examines how and why the two versions differ and what those changes mean. It goes on to consider how the transformation of Rudali helps us understand the coexisting and uneven feminist positions in India today.

The story also served as the basis for Kalpana Lajmi's film Rudaali (1993), which won multiple awards.