Alchemy of Desire, Revolt & Violence

Alchemy of Desire, Revolt & Violence mainly deals with the significant themes in the plays of Mahesh Elkunchwar with a fine amalgam of oriental and occidental views on issues like sexuality and violence on a broader level. It is referring to the concurrent themes in contemporary writing analyses many correlated issues in the light of post-structuralist theories, especially that of Slovej Žižek. This book offers an authentic commentary on concept of desire in Indian and western context by referring to the texts like Kamasutra, Naradasmruti, Charvakdarshan, etc., from India and history of sexuality, sexual politics, etc. from western tradition. It mainly discusses idea (i.e. loss of object of desire and fantasy) analysis and its implications in relation with the issues like incest, prostitution, love, and sadism. Revolt is analyzed in the light of contemporary feminist movements and writing traditions like Dalit literature. Violence is analyzed in the light of Zizekian studies dividing it into the categories like objective violence, subjective violence, and symbolic violence. The present critical text takes into consideration the peculiarities of Indian tradition and culture on both the levels of history and discursive practices. Unveiling of hidden ideological structures and systems with their entirety of functions has been one of the major concerns of the book. At the same time, it does not fail to highlight greatness of Mahesh Elkunchwar for his fine craftsmanship and excellent treatment to the subject matter in his plays.