Folk traditions as channels of communication not only transmit the ideas and pictures of indigenous social structures, but also play a pivotal role in the construction, reconstruction, and deconstruction of a particular set of values in a given culture. Along with their entertainment value, they provide alternative ontological as well as epistemological frameworks to understand the prevalent socio-cultural patterns. With the study of two popular narratives Sultana Daku and Phoolan Devi performed in the Nautanki tradition of north India, we present an analysis of the various ways through which the protagonists belonging to lower castes/classes, often marginally represented in the mainstream cultural discourses, challenge or subvert the exploitative practices of caste/class discrimination prevalent in the north Indian society. We read these subversive acts through the lens of Dalit Consciousness as conceptualized by two prominent Dalit thinkers, Sharankumar Limbale and Badri Narayan. This Dalit Consciousness is reflected not only in the performed narratives but also in the entire performative tradition at various levels. Through this analysis, we look at the possibilities of relating folk traditions such as nautanki to aesthetic concerns of the contemporary Dalit discourse.