Class and Conflict: Analysing Social Hierarchies in Manjula Padmanabhan's Play Harvest

Abstract

The present research paper examines the depiction of class and social divisions in Manjula Padmanabhan’s dystopian play, Harvest. Harvest, set in a future where rich Western customers commodify human bodies, exposes the stark disparities between the underprivileged and the wealthy, both globally and within Indian culture. This study analyses the characters, plot, and socio-political backdrop to illustrate how Padmanabhan opposes the commodification of the body and the transactional nature of human relationships within a capitalist framework. Harvest depicts a poor Indian family forced to surrender their autonomy for survival, highlighting the impact of economic inequality and exploitation and ultimately provoking enquiries into dignity, morality, and survival within a divided social structure. This study contextualizes Harvest within the broader framework of postcolonial Indian theatre by analysing how Padmanabhan's work interrogates and mirrors the social difficulties encountered by the economically deprived in an increasingly globalized context.