Reflection of Postmodern Urban Sensibilities in Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest

Abstract

The present research paper discusses the play Harvest (1997) by Manjula Padmanabhan. In spite of its futuristic cast, the play focuses on postmodern urban spaces and its control on everyday life. The play portrays the self-devastating anguish of people who are stressed to live on in the fast-paced surroundings of a modern city. It depicts the economic anxiety of the marginalized deprived by asking them to sell their organs for a profit to the rich people. The play takes advantage of the policy of 'futurization' to tell the story of contemporary reality in an indirect way, as it is a work of 'science fiction'. The situation of the helpless people of a developing country is depicted in the story. In the futuristic city, we see the new lifestyle of urban India: an aimless search for 'equipment', a general dependency on TV, and an addiction to modern props. In addition to these topics, Padmanabhan in addition highlights the troubles shaped by overpopulation in urban areas as she mentions organ trade, prison-like living circumstances, parents' favouritism toward employed children, and women's plight. The play Harvest explores not merely the postcolonial circumstances but also the process of neo-colonization. It sheds light on overseas procurers' influence over third-world organ donors. The writer thus expresses subaltern survival of city dweller who is subjected to scarcity and manipulation in order to survive. In this game, the city is a separate entity. It initially fascinates the individual, but it eventually deceives them in its malicious spirals.