Resurrecting the Mother in 'Mata Hidimba'

'Mata Hidimba' is an exemplary feminist play written by a male playwright that resurrects the image of motherhood from the Mahabharata. Focusing on Hidimba, Bhima's wife largely invisible in the Mahabharata, it focuses on issues of motherhood intertwined with race, caste and religion affording a terrain for the overarching patriarchal power play.