Affiliate Programs Articles – A HISTORY OF INDIAN ENGLISH DRAMA

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A HISTORY OF INDIAN ENGLISH DRAMA BY DR. RAM SHARMA SENIOR LECTURER IN ENGLISH J.V.P.G COLLEGE, BARAUT, BAGHPAT , U.P.

India has rich heritage of Drama from the traditional times .Drama in India begins its journey with the Sanskrit plays.A.L.Basham , a prominent historian , expresses his views during this manner “The origin of Indian theatre continues to be obscure .It’s certain , however that even within the Vedic period dramatic performances of a few kind got , and passing references in early resources point to the enaction at festivals of non secular legends , perhaps only in dance and mime“ Indian traditions are preserved within the “Natyasastra”,. the oldest of the texts of the idea of the drama,.This play claims for the drama divine origin and a detailed reference to the sacred Vedas themselves. Origin of Indian English drama may be traced to the traditional rules and seasonal festivities of the Vedic Aryans. The dramatic performances of these times mainly included such events like depiction of events of everyday life accompanied by music. Some members of the tribe acted as though they were wild animals and a few others were the hunters. Those that acted as animals like goats, buffaloes, reindeers and monkeys were chased by those, playing the jobs of hunters and a ridicule hunt was enacted. In this sort of crude and an easy way was drama performed in the course of the age of the Vedic Aryans. Later, different episodes from The Ramayana [ Ram Leela], The Mahabharata and The Bhagvadgita were chosen and dramatized in front of the folks. The sort of performance continues to be highly regarded in India especially in the course of the time of Dussehra, when the episode of the killing of Ravana is enacted out in several parts of country. There are refrences to drama in Patanjali’s Vyakarna Mahabhashya, in addition to Vatsyayan’s Kamasutra, Kautilya’s Arthasastra and Panini’s Ashtabhyam. Thus the origin of Sanskrit drama dates back to B. C. All literature in Sanskrit is classed into Drishya (that may be seen on exhibited) and the Sravya (that may be heard or recited). While poetry in all forms might be said to fall under the later, drama falls under the formes. Drama in Sanskrit literature is coverded under the broad umbrella of rupaka’ which implies depiction of life in its various aspects represented in forms by actors who assumes various roles. A `rupaka’ has ten classifications of which `Nataka’ (drama), the main one, has come to intend all dramatic presentations. The Sanskrit drama grows around three primary constituents namely Vastu (plot), Neta (hero) and Rasa (sentiment). The plot will be either principal (adhikarika) or accessory (prasangika). The previous concerns the main characters of the theme and pervades all the play. The later serves to the further and supplement the most topic and pertains to subordinate characters instead of the manager ones. That is further divided into banner (pataka) and incident (parkari). The previous is a small episode that presents, describes, improves or perhaps hinders the main plot to create added excitement. The latter involves, minor characters. The Neta or the hero, per the definition prescribed by the Natyashastra, is usually depicted as modest (Vineeta), sweet tempered (Madhura ) sacrificing (Tyagi), capable (daksha), civil in talks (priyamvada), belonging to a noble family (taptaloka), pure (suchi) articulate (vagmi), consistent (Sthera), young (yuva) endowed with intellect (buddhi) enthusiasm (utsaha), good memory (Smrthi) aesthetics (Kola), pride (maana) and is courageous (Shura), strong (dridha) , energetic (tejaswi), learned (pandita) and pious (dharmika). The major category wherein the hero of Sanskrit drama normally falls is the `Dheerodatta’ that’s he who’s brave and stylish mutually. Bharata’s Natyasastra is the main significant work on Indian poetics and drama. In it there’s description intimately about composition, production and delight of ancient drama, a wealth of data of varieties of drama, , stage equipment, production and music . In accordance with the legend, when the arena passed from the golden age to the silver age and other people became hooked on sensual pleasures and jealousy, anger, desire and greed filled their hearts. The realm was then inhabited by gods, demons, yakshas, rakshasas, nagas and gandharvas. It was the gods among them who led them by Lord Indra, approached god Brahma and requested him thus – “Please give us something which might not just teach us but be pleasing both to eyes and ears’.2 Bharata ascribed a divine origin to drama and thought of it because the fifth Veda. Its origin appears to be like from religious dancing. In line with Bharata, poetry (kavya) dance (nritta), and mime (nritya) in life is play (lila) produce emotion (bhava) but only drama (natya) produces flavour (rasa). The drama uses the eight basic emotions of affection, joy (humour), anger, sadness, pride, fear, aversion and beauty trying to resolve them within the ninth holistic feeling of peace. Thus, when the dramatic art was well comprehended, the natyaveda was performed at the occassion of the celebration of Lord Indra’s victory over the Asuras and danavas. Inside the Natyashastra there’s a verse in its sixth chapter that are quoted as Bharat Muni’s own summary of his dramatic theory. “The combinition called natya is a mix of rasa, bhavas, ,vrittis, pravrittis, siddhi, svaros, abhinayas, dharmis instruments, song and theatre – house’.

The most celeberated dramatists of the traditional era are Ashwaghosh, Bhasa, Shudraka, Kalidas, Harsha, Bhavabhuti, Visha-khadatta, Bhattanarayana, Murari and Rajeshkhora, who enriched Indian theatre with their words like Madhya-Mavyaayoda, Urubhangam, Karnabharan, Mrichkatikam, Abhigyana Shakuntalam, Malankagnimitram, Uttar Ramacharitam, Mudrarak, Shasa, Bhagavadajjukam, Mattavilasa etc.The supreme achievement of Indian Drama undoubtedly lies in Kalidasa who’s referred to as the Shakespeare of India. The Sanskrit drama flourished in its glory till the 2th century in India when the Mohammedan intrusion shifted the Sanskrit stage. But till the 5th century, plays of Sanskrit tradition were performed on stage in Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra, Utter Pradesh and Gujarat but thereafter, Indian dramatic activity almost ceased via foreign invasions on India. The beginnings of Loknatya (People’ Theatre) are noticed in every state of India from the 7th century onwards. We see in Bengal “Yatrakirtaniya’ “Paol’ and “Gaan’ in Madhya Pradesh “Mach’ in Kashmir “bhandya thar’ and in Gujarat the forms were “Bhavai’ and “Ramleela’ in Northern India. There have been “Nautanki, Bhand, Ramleela and Rasleela’ in Maharashtra “Tamasha’ in Rajasthan “Raas’ and “Jhoomer’ in Punjab “Bhangra’ and “Song’ while in Aasam it was “Ahiyanat’ and “Ankinatya’ in Bihar it was ” “Videshiya’ and “Chhari’ in West Bengal and Bihar.

The rise of the fashionable drama dates back to the 8th century when the British Empire strengthened its power in India.As Krishna Kriplani points out , the trendy Indian drama `Owed its first flowering to the foreign grafting.`With the impact of Western civilization on Indian life , a brand new renaissance dawned on Indian arts including drama. Futhermore ,English education gave an impetus and a momentum to the critical critical study of not just Western drama , but classical Indian drama .English and Italian dramatic troupes toured India and performed many English plays, mainly Shakerpeare`s, in cities like Bombay and Madras .The Portuguese brought a kind of dance drama to the West coast. A Russian music director , Rebedoff , is saidto have produced the st modern drama in Calcutta towards the tip of 8th century.Thus , the Western impact awakened “ the dormant , critical impulse within the country to bring Indians head to head with new types of life and literature, and to open the best way for a fruitful cross-fertilization of ideas and varieties of expression“2 In 765 one Russian drama lover Horasin Lebdef and Bengali drama lover Qulokhnath had staged two English comedies Disgaig and Love Is The perfect Doctor. However the real beginning was in 8 when Prasanna Kumar Thakur established “Hindu Rangmanch’ at Calcutta and staged Wilson’s English Translation Of Bhavabhuti’s Sanskrit drama Uttar Ramacharitam. Social drama of Girish Chanda Ghosh, historical dramas of D.L. Roy and creative dramas of Rabindranath Tagore (Muktadhara, Chandalika) continued to succeed in upto the stage of realistic dramas in the course of the period of the Worst – ever famines of Bengal and the second one World War. In 852-85, the famous Parsi Theatre was launched in Bombay which influenced the total country right away. Postagi Pharmji was the pioneer in establishing the Parsi Theatre company in India. Many new theatre experiences were stated on stage during Parsi Theatre’ evolution in India. However, the amateur theatre also developed with the works of Bharatendu Harishchandra, acclaimed because the father of Hindi drama.

Indian English drama was started when Krishna Mohan Banerji wrote “The Persecuted’ in 87. The actual journey of Indian English Drama begins with Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s `Is This Called Civilization`. which appeared at the literary horizon in 87. Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo, both great sage – poets of India, are the st Indian dramatists in English . R.N. Tagore wrote primarily in Bengali but just about all his Bengali plays come in to us in English renderings. His prominent plays are Chitra, The Post Office, Sacrifice, Red Oleanders, Chandalika, Muktadhara, Natir Puja, The King of the Dark Chamber, The Cycle of Spring, Sanyasi and The Mother’ Prayer. These plays are firmly rooted within the Indian ethos and ethics of their themes, characters and treatment.R.K Ramaswamy finds a depth and gravity of purpose in his dramatic art“ — greater than the rest , he has shown the way in which both in respect of ideas to boot of methods , in which the soul of India may be realized and revealed within the realm od dramatic creation and representation“ Sri Aurobindo is the prominent dramatist in Indian English Drama. He wrote five complete blank verse plays besides his six incomplete plays. His complete plays are Perseus the Deliverer, Vasavadutta, Radoguna, The Viziers of Bassora and Eric and every of those plays is written in five acts. His incomplete plays are The Witch of Ilni, Achab and Esarhaddon, The Maid and the Mill, The home of Brut, The Birth of Sin and Prince of Edur. The length of those incomplete plays varies from one scene of 5 two lines to a few acts. The notable feature of Sri Aurobindo’s plays is they depict different cultures and countries in numerous epochs, ringing with sort of characters, moods and sentiments. Perseus the Deliverer is grounded at the ancient Greek myth of Persues, Vasavadutta is a romantic tale of ancient India. Rodoguna is a Syrian romance, The Viziers of Bassora is a romantic comedy which takes us back to the times of the nice Haroun al Rashid, while Eric is a romance of Scandinavia, a narrative of affection and war between the youngsters of Odin and Thor.In Aurobindo we discover romance, heroic play, tragedy, comedy, farce. Aurobindo is far influenced by Elizabethan drama in matters of plot construction and characterisation . Using the English blank verse is flawless in Aurobindo and within the right tune with the characters and situations. We also find the impact of Sanskrit playwrights like Bhasa, Kalidas and Bhavabhuti on Aurobindo., as Dr. K. R. S. Iyenger observes, “But all five plays are stepped in poetry and romance, recalling the spirit and flavour of the distinctive dramatic type exemplified in several ways by Bhasa, Kalidas and Bhavabhuti. Though, for sure all have Aurobindonian undertones.”4 Another playwright who has made significant contribution within the growth of Indian English drama is Harindranath Chattopadhay. He started his career as playwright with Abu Hassan (98). There are seven verse plays to his credit published under the title of Poems and Plays (927) and each of the seven plays are in line with the lives of Indian saints. His Five Plays (929) are written in prose . The Window and The Parrot cope with the lives of the poor. Whereas the Sentry’s Lantern is a symbolic display of the expectancy of the appearance of a brand new age for the downtrodden people. Sidhartha: Man of Peace is an adventurous effort to dramatise Budha’s life. The subsequent great name is A.S.P. Ayyar who wrote six plays. Within the Clutch of The Devil (926) is his first play and the last one is The Trial of Science for the Murder of Humanity.. P. A. Krishnaswamy is likewise a reputation within the history of Indian English drama whose fame rests chiefly on his unusual verse play The Flute of Krishna. Another dramatic voice at the Indian literary scene that demands attention is that of T.P. Kailasam. He wrote both in English and Kannada. Though Kailasam is considered the daddy of recent Kannada drama, his genius finds its full expression in his English plays equivalent to The load (9), Fulfilment (9), The point (944), Karna (964) and Keechaka (949). He has an actual genius and love for the drama G. S. Amur holds a really high opinion about T.P. Kailasam. Amur rightly remarks—— “A talented actor who appeared at the amateur in addition to the pro stage, he delivered to the writing of drama an intimate knowledge of the theatre. It’s miles for that reason that his plays whether in Kannada or English , have a uniform technical excellence.”5 Bharati Sarabhai is the fashionable woman playwright throughout the colonial era of Indian English drama. She has written two plays The Well of the folk (94) and Two Women with some considerable measure of success. Of those two plays, the previous is symbolic, poetic and is besides an important contribution to the Gandhian social order, while the letter is realistic, written in prose and probes the non-public world of a sensitive individual J.M. Lobo Prabhu is the last great name in pre-Independence Indian English drama. He has written over a dozen plays but only Mother of latest India: A Play of India Village in three Acts (944) and Death Abdicates (945) appear before Independence. His Collected Play was published in 956. Lobo Prabhu is in a position to writing dialogues with felicity, situation – creation may be admirable but his characters don’t appear practical, soothing and convincing to the audience. upto post – independence era, drama in English in Indian soil couldn’t flourish as a prime current of creative expression. Although the pre–Independence Indian English drama is notable for its poetic excellence, thematic variety, technical virtuosity, symbolic significance and its commitment to human and moral values, it was customarily not geared for actual stage production.

The post- Independence Indian English drama was benefitted by the increasing interest of the foreign countries in Indian English literature more often than not and Indian English drama specifically. a large number of plays by Indian playwrights Asif Currimbhoy, Pratap Sharma, Gurucharan Das was successfully staged in England and U.S.A. However the plight of Indian English drama is that no regular school of Indian English drama was established in our country. This was mainly for the reason that encouragement drama received from several quarters immediately after India got freedom nevertheless it was monopolised by the theatre within the Indian regional languages while Indian English drama continued to feed on crumbs fallen from its rich cousins table. The plays has been written in prose but whilst poetic plays also survive within the post colonial era. M.K. Naik rightly opines “……. that Tagore-Aurobindo-Kailsam tradition of poetic drama continues, but which a difference within the hands of of poetic drama continues, but which a difference within the hands of Manjeri Isvaran, G.V. Desani, Lakhan Dev and Pretish Nandy.”7 Manjeri Isvaran’s Yama and Yami (948) is a dialogue in poetic prose, with a prologue and an epitogue, facing the incestuous love of Yami for her brother. G.V.Desani’s Hali (95), a completely different form of play, received high praise for its originality, symbolism and rich imagery.Concerning the message of the play Hali ,M.K.Naik remarks, “Hali finds peace within the thought that man must transcend human love, transcend life and death or even forsaking his limited idea of godhead, develops in himself a god-like love and detachment“8 Lakhan Dev’s Tiger Claw (976) is a historical play in three Acts at the controversial murder of Afzal Khan by Shivaji. His two plays are Vivekananda (972) and Murder On the Prayer Meeting (976). Using blank verse is flawless and the last play compels us to remind of T.S.Eliot’ s Murder Inside the Cathedral. Other verse plays of the period include P.A.Krishnaswami’s The Flute of Krishna (95) M.Krishnamurti’s The material Of Gold (95). S.D.Rawoot’s Immortal Song. Karm and The Killers (959) Satya Dev Jaggi’s The purpose Of sunshine (967) Pritish Nandy’s Rites for a Plebian Salute (969). Hushmat Sozerekashme’s Vikramjeet (97), Sree Devi Singh’s The Purple Braided People (97), P.S. Vasudev’s The Sunflower (972) and S.Raman’s Karme (979). The variety of prose playwrights is bigger compared to verse playwrights. The foremost prolific playwright of The Post-Independence period is Asif Currimbhoy, who has written and published more then thirty plays. Some important plays are The Tourist Meeca (959), The Restaurant (96) The Doldrumness (96) The Captives (96) Goa (964), Monsoon (965) An Experiment With Truth (969) Inquilab (97) The Refugee (97), Sonar Bangla (972) Angkor (97) and The Dessident M L A (974).Despite comprehensiveness , Currimbhoy`s dramatic art have been a topic of criticism for the shortage of structured plot , embellished language and balanced characterization .His dialogue reflects the intense poverty of invention and his language isn’t suitable to capture the inner drama of the clash of motives “His symbols are usually crude , conventional and mechanic however the greatest limitation of his technique is revealed especially in his later plays , through which Currimbhoy appears to confuse dramatic technique with theatrical trickery and stage gimmicks with dramatic experience“9 Pratap Sharma wrote two prose plays a little Of Brightness (968) and The Professor Has A War Cry (97). His plays were staged even abroad successfully but they did not be staged within the country. Sex, moreover remains the prime theme of his plays but Pratap Sharma shows a keen sense of situation and his dialogue is usually effective. Prof M.K.Naik appreciates his dramatic art for his keen sense of situation and effective dialogues. Within the realm of Indian Drama , Nissim Ezekiel is acknowledged for his exceptional poetic creed and rare dramatic sensibility. Nissim Ezekiel’s Three Plays (969) including Nalini: A Comedy, Marriage Poem: A Tragi Comedy and The Sleep Walkers: An Indo-American farce are considered to be a great addition to the dramaturgy of Indian English drama. Songs Of Deprivation (969) also is a brief play by Ezekiel. Gurucharan’s Larins Sahib (97) a historical play, do something about Henry Lawrence of Panjab. The play Marriage Poem, presents the conflict of a center class husband caught within the conflict of commitments of married life and the will of affection. The Sleep Walkers is a diverting take off on national preconceptions and prejudices. Notwithstanding strong sense of dramatic concept, Ezekiel couldn’t transform his poetic talent into appropriate dramatic talent. His plays may be appreciated for symmetrical construction with abundance of irony. They unveil his sharp observation of the eccentricities of human life and behavior. Ezekiel’s poetics self swayed his dramatic creed but his plays make a ‘pleasant reading’. It’s attributed “In his satire of current fashion, in his exposure of prose and presence, Ezekiel comes very on the brink of the spirit of a few English social satirist in theatre”. Contemporary Indian drama, deviating from classical and European models, is experimental and innovative when it comes to thematic and technical qualities. It isn’t an off spring of any specific tradition and it has laid the inspiration of a particular tradition inside the history of global drama by reinvestigating history, legend, myth, religion and people love with context to contemporary socio-political issues. A cumulative theatrical tradition evolved by Mohan Rakesh, Badal Sirkar, Vijay Tendulkar and Girish Karnad, prepared the background of up to date Indian English theatre. Girish Karnad within the capacity of writer, director and actor substantially contributed to enhance the tradition of Indian English theatre. His dramatic sensibility was moulded under the influence of touring Natak Companies and particularly Yakshagana which was in those days not accepted because the purified art form. His popular plays are Yayati (96), Tughlaq (962), Hayvadana (97), Nagmandala (972). He borrowed his plots from history, mythology and old legends but with intricate symbolism, he tried to determine their relevance in contemporary socio-political conditions. The play Yayati reinterprets an ancient myth from Mahabharata in modern concept. The plot of the play Hayvadana is adopted from Katha Saritsagar, an ancient number of stories in Sanskrit. Tughlaq is Karnad’s best historical play where he mingles facts with fiction. Karnad projects the curious contradictions inside the complex personality of Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Within the play Tale Dande, he discovers the vital relationship between contemporary society and literature. His use of myth as a structure and metaphor in his play gives “new desiring to the post from the vantage viewpoint of present”. Within the play Nagmandala, the conflict is between patriarchal and matriarchal views of society. This is concerning the lifetime of Rani, a regular Indian woman in male dominated society. She is married to Appanna, a wealthy village youth. The point of interest within the play is on sexual liberty of to sexes: female and male. So that you can counter mail dominance, Karnad adopts a wierd device wherein King Cobre gets sexually involved with Rani and ultimately she becomes pregnant. Like his other female protagonist, she is inspired to go through chastity ordeal. In regards to the position of Rani, Smita Nirula holds, “Rani isn’t free to specific herself, to be herself. She is either daughter, wife, lover or mother. She is often playing a job imposed upon her, except in her dreams inside the lonely nights that engulf her. She is a lady used, abused. She will be able to either live as a whore or a Devi. There’s no component to person for her”2 Karnad’s dramatic art lacks stability still his success lies in technical experiment with an indigenous dramatic form. The collective efforts of Karnad and Karalam Narayana Pannikar are significant of their binding of the standard varieties of Indian theatre with the fashionable. Born in 828, Vijay Tendulkar began his career as a journalist but from the first actual play Grihasth in 955 to Safar in 992, his plays have given Indian theatre a rich and challenging reprtoire. Leading the leading edge of the avant-garde Marathi Theatre, Vijay Tendulkar symbolizes the brand new awareness and attempts of Indian dramatists of the century to depict the agonies, suffocations and cries of man, that specialize in the center class society. In all his plays, he harps upon the theme of isolation of the person and his confrontation with the hostile surroundings. Influenced by Artaud, Tendulkar, relates the issue of anguish to the theme of violence in most of his plays. He doesn’t consider the occurrence of human violence as something loathsome or disgusting in up to it really is in note in human nature.He says, “Unlike the communists i don’t believe violence may be eliminated in a classless society, or for that matter, in any society. The spirit of aggression is something that individual is born with. Not that it’s bad. Without violence man may need became a vegetable.” While depicting violence at the stage, Tendulkar doesn’t dress it up with any fancy trapping in an effort to make it palatable but rather keep it row and natural. The plays Chimanicha Ghor Hote Menache (96) Kalojanchi Shalai (968), Ek Holti Mugli (967) reflect Tendulkar’s concern with authority and the speculation of exploitation of individual. Within the plays Silence! The Court Is In Session (968) and Ghasiram Kotwal (972), the theme of oppression dominates. Sakharam Binder (972) is a study in human violence amounted to powerful dramatic statement. Kamala (982) and Kanyadaan (982) are written at the lines of naturalistic tradition. Kamala is a study of marital status in addition to study within the theme of exploitation. Kanyadaan is a fancy play in regards to the cultural and emotional upheavals of a family. Tendulkar was related to New Theatrical Movement in Maharashtra. He presents a fictional reality by which the actuality of life acquires a pointy focused character having rare dramatic power. Badal Sircar too is a prestigious name within the realm of modern theatre. He represents New Theatrical Movement in India. He has created an acceptable ‘puples’s theatre’ a theatre supported and created by people. His dramatic career began with humorous play like solution X. His earlier plays are Evan Inderjit (962) That Other History (964) and there’s no End (97). Some of these plays are in accordance with political, social, psychological and existential problems. Evan Inderjit, is a tale of a playwright who struggle in vain to jot down a play. Within the play There is no Need Sircar develops the thesis that “We are all accused” and share the load of guilt. Afterwards, he wrote Pary Konodin, Jadi Aur Ek Baar, Palap and Pagla Ghoda. His later plays Procession, Bhoma and off News are in line with the idea of Third Theatre. The play Procession is set the quest for a ‘real home’ in new society according to equality. It suggests a ‘real way’ to new way wherein man doesn’t must live exploiting man but should work in accordance with his own needs. Bhoma is a dramatization of the lifetime of oppressed peasants in sexual India. The analysis of those three plays suggest remarkable changes in Sircar’s concept of a ‘real home’ a brand new society in line with equality and free from the horrors of exploitation. Tendulkar in 967, established his theatre group called ‘ Satabdi .’ sircar’s first contact with Grotowski’s ‘Poor Theatre’ influenced him greatly in formulating his Third Theatre. In Indian English drama the influence of Mohan Rakesh cannot be ignored. Hr wrote in Hindi but for exceptional dramatic relevance, his plays was translated in English and other regional languages. He published his first major play Ashadh Ka Ek Din in 958, Leharon Ke Rajhansa appeared in 96 and Adhe Adheere was first staged in 969. The play Pair Tale Ki Zamin was completed by Kamleshwar after his death and published in 974. As a playwright, his main concern was to portray the crisis of up to date man caught within the web of uncongenial surroundings and the persistent threat to human relationship. Mohan Rakesh perceived drama as a fancy art involving the uniform contribution of actors, scenic effects, light and music and effective stage direction. Mohan Rakesh made extensive experiments in theatre. He used words and languages not as dialogues or direct statements but because the tools of suggestion to convey the meaning beyond the verbal connotation. In Ashadh Ka Ek Din, he highlights the risks of sycophancy that whitess of his age face in desire of dignified official position. In Leharon Ka Rajhans, he reflects at the problem of relations between man and girl, ego clashes, divided self and on going illusion and nothingness. Adhe Adhure deals with the clash of ego between husband and wife, disintegration of family relationship, the prominence of individual interest against the commitments of the family. Besides, women dramatists also tried to enrichthe soil of Indian drama by projecting the internal world of feminine psyche inside the theatre. Women’s theatre coalesces with Street Theatre movement, using an analogous technique in performance and production. It may be attributed as a ‘Theatre Of Protest’ because women wuters expressed their resentment against the politics of exploitation at the basis of gender discrimination. In addition they revived the standard myths of Sita and Savitri and tried to reinterpret the epics from women’s standpoint. The dramatic work of Usha Ganguli and Mahasweta Devi may be placed of their category. MahasWeta Devi emerged as a dramatist having a quest to explore something challenging and new. His five plays are Mother of 84, Aajer Urvashi O’ Johny, Byen and Water. The play Mother of 84, is a moving account of the anguish of an apolitical mother who had witnessed the horrors of Naxalite Movement. In Aajir, Mahasweta Devi deals with the difficulty of the quick deterioration of values and their effects on society, particularly on illiterate people. Urvashi O’ Johnny is a play written for emergency during the love affair of Johnny with Urvashi, a talking doll. The play Bayen presents a moving account of harsh reality of a lady,s life in rural India. The play Water, is the tale of a pro water-diviner, Maghai Done who’s an untouchable boy. Her plays represent a profound concern for human predicament and sincere hope for the simpler way forward for mankind.

Mahesh Dattani

Mahesh Dattani is arguable the best playwrights the rustic has ever produced. Born in Banglore on 7th August 958, Dattani studied in of his preference for English as a medium of expression was almost obsessed to symbolize Indian soil and sensibility within the wake of globalization.His famous plays are ` Where There’s a Will, Final Solutions, Dance like a person, and Tara`

Notes and References -A.L.Basham:The beauty that Was India,Rupa &co, New Delhi, 987, pp44-45 2-Bharat Gupt,Dramatic Concepts:Greek and Indian-A Study of Poetics and Natya Shastra[ New Delhi, D.K.Printworld,994,] p-86 – A.B.Keith; The Sanskrit Drama, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi, 992, p-2 4-

4. Kirplani, Krishna, Literature of recent India, New Delhi: National Book Trust ,982]p-4 5-Shastri, Ramaswami, Rabindranath Tagore ; The Poet and Dramatist, Calcutta : Oxford University Press,948, p-47 6-K.R.S Iyenger-Indian Writing In English , New Delhi, Sterling, 985, p-226 7-G.S.Amur- Kailasam`s Quest for Greatness[ Critical Essays on Indian Writing In English]Macmillan , Madras, 977p-86 8-M.K.Naik-A History of Indian English Literature, Sahitya Akademi , New Delhi, 995, p-256 9-ibid p-257 – ibid p-26 Chetan Karnani, Nissim Ezekiel , New Delhi : Arnold Heinmann, 974, p-26 2-Narula, Samita-“Evolving Mixed Feelings` The Pioneer , sept, 988 -Sachidanand Mohanty : Theatre : Reaching Out to People, The Hindu, New Delhi, February, 4, 99p-5 4-Ayyar, Raj-`Mahesh Dattani Gay Cinema Comes of Age` GAY Today-8,48,24 5-Menon,Rajiv and K.S.Prakash`Theatre to Morning Raga`, The Hindu , Hyderabad, 2nd July, 2 6Padamsee, Alyque, `A Note at the Play, `Collected Plays, p.56 7-Dasgupta, Uma Mahadevan- `The Minute I Write A Play, i would like to Direct It` 8-Vardhan Manisha,`I`m no Crusader`, I`m a theatre person 9-Martin Esslin, TheField of Drama :How the signs of drama create meaning on stage and screen, London and Newyork;Methusen ,987,p-28,

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