Asif Currimbhoy: Voicing People and Their Problems

Abstract

India has rich heritage of theatrical art. Right from the beginning of Natyashastra of Bharata, perhaps the oldest and the most authentic treatise on theatrical or visual art, to the most recent developments of theatre and the art itself, the contribution of Indian dramatists have remained significant to the globe. The vast range of the imagination of the Indian playwrights shows that India has a long and glorious dramatic tradition that traces back to the classical Sanskrit Drama, originated from the folk theatre of the country. The plays Written by Kalidasa, Bhasa, Bhama, Asvghosa, Rajsekhara and many others not only entertained the readers across globe but also formed a path for the future Indian dramatists. With invasion of British in India, the art of drama experienced renaissance in the hands of invaders, Iyengar observes the new spirit as ―A Russian musical director by name Labedoff is said to have produced the first modern drama in Calcutta towards the end of the 18th century‖ (Iyengar 4).many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed in Bombay by Italian and English drama troops. By late 19th century drama found its root in many of Indian languages by some pioneering spirits writing plays in their mother tongue. Though it lacked in quantity, especially in English, the efforts were noteworthy by playwrights like Tagore, Aurobindo and TP Kailasham. For Dramatic expression in India R.K.Singh rightly observes, ―While Indian fiction and poetry in English have drawn world-wide attention, Indian English drama has not been so fortunate‖ (P 161)