Phoolan Devi is the poster woman for uncompromising struggle against casteist and patriarchal forces.

Agarbatti is not the story of Phoolan. It is the story of the widows of ‘Behmai massacre’. For those who
don’t know, it was the mass killing of more than 20 upper caste men In Behmai (near Kanpur, UP) by
Phoolan Devi’s gang to avenge her gang rape by a gang of dacoits and some upper caste men from the
same village a few years back. It’s the story of how the anguished widows of these men come to terms
with their grief and are eventually getting transformed by the end of the play, going from being
revengeful to an acknowledgement of the sins of their husbands.

The play is written in a mix of Hindi and Bundeli by Ashish Pathak from Jabalpur and is directed by Swati
Dubey. Interestingly it has been performed 14 times, an unusual feat for a diploma production, as it was
initially a presentation by Swati in her final year at NSD. Since then it has been reworked to its final
shape which was recently presented at META and Aazamgarh Rang Mahotsav.

The name ‘Agarbatti’ derives from the small scale industry setup by the government for these widows as
a rehabilitation measure. But the one thing on the mind of these widows is avenge their husbands’
killing by a suicide attack on Phoolan once she gets out of prison. Thakurian, the influential matriarch of
the tribe is the ideological source of the almost military rigor in which the widows are living. She has not
even immersed the ashes of her dead husband, himself the most influential Thakur man in the killing.

The opening scene of the play shows the Thakur women in a Bundeli song and dance ritual celebrating a
marriage where the rapists of Phoolan have also arrived. The women can in a sort of fetishizing the
phallus with one of ladies ( dressed up as a man forcing a huge dildo wrapped around her waist on the
rest of the women.

Rejection of God for bringing the tragedy to them.

Role of religion 0- Gita updesh by Krishna- although relatives but should be killed because they are
sinners.