Source: Amazon
Introduction
Indian theatre is almost simultaneous with Aristotle’s Poetics. Poetics is on the stories of Vedas and Upanishads in the Sanskrit language. This dates back to over two thousand years when Natyashastra practice continued. With its religious origin, Natyashastra is attributed to the Sage Bharata.
It is the pre-eminent play-writers like Bhasa, Shudraka, Kalidasa, and Harsha that mark the glory of Sanskrit theatre. Lasting from the 2nd Century BCE till the 10th Century CE, the art forms got banned due to invasions. The only Sanskrit theatre to live to this day is Koodiyattam in South India.
Rise of Parsi Theatre
Folk theatre emerged in the 15th Century AD. In the form of Bhavai in Gujarat, Tamasha in Maharashtra, Jatra in Bengal, Orissa, Nautanki in Uttar Pradesh, and Ankiya Naat in Assam. These ritualistic theatres flourished the folk theatre due to the Bhakti Movements.
But, Indian theatre was reborn after the British colonial rule. With the exposure to Western classical drama and the rich heritage of Indian drama, the theatre was revived. It gave rise to Parsi theatre. It is a mixture of opera, Naturalistic drama, and huge settings with beautiful backdrops. Captivating music, great singers, and melodramatic acting gave the theatre a popular mythological storyline.
Consisting of folklore and contemporary life. Adaptations of Shakespeare and Lessing were acted out in Proscenium theatre. They amused the middle and working class with humor, romance, and social criticism. These melodramatic theatres were common in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, etc.
British Influence
The East India Company’s arrival in Calcutta had a dramatic effect on drama and theatre. They brought in intricate sets along with special costumes for the dramatic elements. Literary drama became an outlet for Indian writers.
One such playwright is Rabindranath Tagore. His musical play Chitrangada is melded into both Western and Indian story elements which give it a compelling storyline. Orchestrated with symbolism, rich poetry, cosmic vision, and socio-political criticism, Tagore’s plays are world classics. The drama began to flourish. People started loving the Sanskrit and Western classics. It's performed globally in North America and Europe.
Source: Britannia
Critical Realism and Socialist Realism
Critical realism and Socialist realism are two streams of urban amateur theatre. These were influenced by Bernard Shaw and Ibsen towards addressing the social evils and criticism. Kanyashulkam by Vireshalingam is said to be the archetypal work of Socialist realism attacking the dowry system in India. Adya Rangachary, a Kannada playwright is another prolific writer. His plays consist of different social evils.
They include religious hypocrisy and caste system besides exploitation of women. Socialist realism is associated with the Indian Political Theatre Association written by Leftist Intelligentsia. It viewed theatre as a means for social change. Utpal Dutt, a modern playwright enacted in Marxist plays such as Kallol, Tiner Talwar, Louha Manob, and Manushar Adhikar. It paved the way for the foundation of Prithvi Theatre founded in 1944 by movie star Prithviraj Kapoor.
Yet, India’s Independence in 1947 created a setback in entertainment theatre. Many drama schools emerged post-independence following the National School of Drama in Delhi. Set by the first director of NSD Ibrahim Alkazi, it inspired modern Western theatre.
Bharat Rang Mahotsav is the annual theatre festival that began. Today it has become an international festival attended by productions from all over India and the world. Western theatre has influenced Indian theatre in a great way. Playwrights like Vijay Tendulkar, Dharmaveer, Mohan Rakesh, and Girish Karand are globally recognized.
How was the Modern Indian Theatre founded?
Modern Indian theatre has been inspired and influenced by various sources. Especially the Western theatre that has brought the proscenium style of theatre to India. Russian Violinist Herasim Lebedeff staged a Hindi-Bengali mixed version of a play by Paul Jardell. The 20th century and two world wars confined the theatres to auditoriums. The theatres became a commodity for sale to gain political support.
After the communist party was founded in 1922, IPTA presented the idea of portable theatre. One of the founders of IPTA Bijan Bhattacharya wrote the play Nabana. Based on the exploitation of peasants it is a great play. Sangeet Natak Akademi was set up in 1953 giving cultural confidence and new footing to the modern Indian theatre.
Bitter Harvest, a play by Manjula Padmanabhan earned international recognition. It dealt with the exploitation of the human body in the 21st century. Mahesh Dattani received Sahitya Akademi Award for his play Final Solutions. The gap in Language in theatre is reduced by modern playwrights like Mahesh Dattani and Manjula Padmanabhan.
Source: FB
Modern Indian Theatre= Western Theatre + Indian Theatre
The modern Indian theatre after the Western theatre has become an important cultural performance. It manifests the political, social, and cultural changes that society undergoes. It reconstructs the history and molds it into a new identity. Modern Indian Theatre is a hybrid identity.
It takes plot, setting, music, and costumes from the Western Culture. Combining it with the Indian themes, issues, characters, actors, emotions, body language, values, and ideas. This gives a unique outlook to Indian Theatre. The blend of Western and Indian theatre manifested a unique modern Indian theatre as Dipankar Gupta notes,
“Though the past is in our present, it is not as if the past in its entirety is our present. It would be incorrect to ignore, even as we lament the lack of modernity, the many dramatic transformations that have occurred in Indian society. Thus, while we are not modern, we are not quite traditional either. It is this sense that India is between worlds.”
Written by Garima Jain
0 Comments