Classic to Modern English Literature

Vijay Tendulkar (1928-2008) was one of the famous Indian playwrights. His famous play, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (Silence! The Court Is in Session) was s a Marathi play and first performed in 1968. In the course of the play, we see, “a straightforward school teacher Miss Leela Benare.” She is cross-examined in the court with full mockery. She is charged with infanticide and having illicit relations with a married person Professor Damle. Tendulkar's play was based on a 1956 short-story, Die Panne (Traps) by Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Tendulkar has strongly expressed the socio-political conditions in his play. He has represented the dilemma of a young woman who is betrayed by the male-dominated society. A traditional male-dominated society cannot surrender its paralysed traditions and customs. The society resists the change to come. It is a sour satire against the social ills and an attempt to condemn the follies that exist in our society. In the play, “Silence! The cour