ECHOES OF A BROKEN PAST: READING MAHESH DATTANI'S TARA AS A MEMORY PLAY

Abstract [English]

The story of Mahesh Dattani’s Tara exemplifies his skill in delving into memory, which is another theme of the play with broad appeal. Tara poses inquiries concerning memory and the processes involved in it. Dan's past demonstrates how literature, as an art form, deals with creativity and thought processes that are not often associated with the average person.The play illustrates how each completed work of art is the outcome of an extended process that the artist manipulates. Dan's persona gives us a glimpse into the mind of an artist and demonstrates how a creator's personality influences his creative process. Here, the story of the Patel twins is told through flashbacks and the characters' perspectives. It primarily explores Dan's innermost thoughts. In his memory, the entire play is a multi-layered web.With Dan, the play's male protagonist, giving a speech at the beginning, it highlights how delicate and subtle emotional relationships are. The play represents a journey where complex and fractured events occur that affect the mental states of the characters. The play is not realistic; it is a mushy piece about memories. Stated differently, we observe a person's distorted recollections rather than an objective reality that reveals what actually occurred. To remind us that what we are witnessing is, in fact, recollection and not reality, Dattani employs deft and imaginative methods throughout the play.The aim of the present study is to investigate the various ways in which memory functions in the play Tara.