In 2014, an educational group with right-wing leanings did author and historian Wendy Doniger an inadvertent favour by successfully demanding a ban on her book, The Hindus: An Alternative History. But the bigger question here isn't whether this ban led to accidental publicity for the title. It is this: what sort of message are we sending out as a society when an archaic law regarding"hurt sentiments" is invoked to muzzle the creative arts? That is the subject of one of three plays that Delhi-based Atelier Theatre will stage in the city over this weekend, in association with The Jeff Goldberg Studio.

Kuchh Afsane, the play in question, deals with the issue through the context of Saadat Hasan Manto's writing."We wanted to address this practice of banning published works. So, we picked up four banned Manto stories — Bu, Dhuan, Kaali Shalwar and Thanda Gosht — to contest the idea of books being censored," says Kuljeet Singh, who's directed all three productions.