Shivaji Bhonsle, the founder of the Maratha kingdom in seventeenth-century western India, is an eminent figure from history and popular culture. This module will be focusing on two plays related to Shivaji—Janata Raja and Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla—as well as the Powada tradition from Maharashtra. By focusing on these performances through the lenses of cultural studies, theater historiography and performance studies, it is seen how the figure of Shivaji is mimetically used now in different cultural, social and political narratives.
