IIT Guwahati Professor's Translation Gets Dramatic Readings in Mumbai

Prof Rohini Mokashi-Punekar's English translation of Trutiya Ratna — the first ever of Jyotirao Phule's 1855 play — had dramatised readings in Mumbai in July and August, taking a text that spent a century and a half confined to Marathi readers onto the English-language stage.

Published 30 August 2026 | Category Announcements | Office Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences

Two dramatised readings in Mumbai this year gave English-language audiences their first access to Jyotirao Phule's 1855 play Trutiya Ratna, translated by IIT Guwahati professor Rohini Mokashi-Punekar.

The play Trutiya Ratna was written by Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890) in 1855. It is cited as among the earliest modern plays published in any Indian language, offering commentary on the social structures of nineteenth-century Maharashtra and on reform movements around caste, religion and education.

Prof Rohini Mokashi-Punekar is from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati. Her translation of Trutiya Ratna (The Third Jewel/The Third Eye) was published by Orient Blackswan in 2023 as The Third Eye and Other Works: Mahatma Phule's Writings on Education. She has published on Phule since 2016, including "Mahatma Jotiba Phule: Satyashodhak Samaj and Sarvajanik Satya Dharma" (Cafe Dissensus, 2016) and "Education and its Contestatory Histories: Jotiba Phule's Interventions in Nineteenth Century Maharashtra" (dialog, 2016).

The first dramatised reading was held at Studio Tamasha in Mumbai, in July 2026. The second reading, titled The Third Eye, was held at the Hall of Culture, Nehru Centre, Mumbai, on 29 August.

Both readings were directed by theatre practitioner Sharmistha Saha, ran for approximately 90 minutes, and used costumes and music, with music composed by Dhammrakshit Randive. The cast comprised Joy Sengupta, Padma Damodaran, Kaustubh Harit, Mayuri Ravindran, Arpit Shashwat, Priyanka Charan, and Hrishabh Krati.

Prof Mokashi-Punekar's research areas include translation, postcolonial studies, culture studies, Indian writing in English and modern British literature.