''Mitrachi Goshta'' (, sometimes translated as ''A Friend's Story'') is a Marathi-language play by Indian playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

. It was first performed in 1981, and has been described as one of the first modern Indian plays dealing with lesbian themes or same-sex attraction.

Plot

In a 2015 article about the play, Poorva Joshi from the ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'' described it as being "Set in the pre-Independence era, in a college campus in

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

(now Pune), it had a seemingly conventional boy-meets-girl build-up. In reality, it was a love triangle between Bapu, a shy boy battling a strong sense of inadequacy, Mitra, an independent girl with a secret that eventually resulted in her downfall, and Nama, Mitra’s graceful-yet-treacherous love interest." According to a 2016 article in ''

Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...

,'' "Mitrachi Goshta told the story of a love triangle between three students in a Pune college. Bapu, Mitra, Nama's story is, however, not the regular triangle. When Bapu's wish of getting to know Mitra comes true, he becomes party to her inner struggles with her sexuality, and eventually gets drawn into a game of vacillating sexual politics between her and Nama, the girl she desires." According to ''Mint'', "In this love tangle, Bapu is smitten by the seemingly self-possessed Mitra (Phatak), who is sexually attracted to Pethe’s Nama, who reciprocates her feelings. Same-sex desire was little understood in those times and a conflicted Mitra soon launches into a self-destructive trajectory. While she is unwilling to sacrifice her innate desires, she inevitably ends up as an archetypal victim."

Publication

The original Marathi language edition of the play was published in 1982 by Nilkanth Prakashan. An English language translation by Gowri Ramnarayan was published in 2001 by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Premiere

The original Marathi play was premiered on August 15, 1981 at the Gadkari Rangayatan in

Thane, Maharashtra Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

, starring Rohini Hattangadi.{{Cite news, url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/theatre/Play-Review-A-Friends-Story/articleshow/48901247.cms, title=Play Review: A Friend's Story, last=Sawant, first=Purvaja, date=2015-09-11, work=The Times of India, access-date=2017-11-28

Impact

''Frontline'' described ''Mitrachi Goshta'' as "the first Indian play on same-sex relations, which also faced empty halls when premiered with Rohini Hattangady in the lead. She recalled, 'In those days, nobody talked, let alone or put up a play on the subject.'" According to the ''Hindustan Times'', "Tendulkar weaved in complex characters and intricate plotlines that broke the taboo on lesbian identities three decades ago. A play ahead of its time, it was intense, progressive and highly controversial." ''Mid-Day'' described the play as a "controversial classic" that "raised many eyebrows." ''A Mint'' review of a 2001 production says "The part of an unrepentant lesbian was certainly path-breaking in 1981."

References

Plays by Vijay Tendulkar 1981 plays Marathi-language plays LGBT-related plays LGBT literature in India 1980s LGBT literature