Stage, Story, and Society: India's Theatrical Heritage Across Time

Indian Theatre: Classical, Folk and Modern

The excavated ruins at Sitabena and Jogimara caves are postulated to represent the world's oldest amphitheatres. The first formal treatise on dramaturgy is Bharata Muni's Natya Shastra (200 BCE–200 AD), which describes ten types of plays — from one-act to ten-act. Theatre in India began as a narrative art combining music, dance, and acting. The Sanskrit word 'nataka' derives from 'nata' (dancer). Other terms for drama include Rupaka, Drishyakavya and Preksakavya.

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Two Types of Plays

Ten Types of Sanskrit Plays

Anka, Bhana, Dima, Ithamgra, Nataka, Prahasana, Prakarna, Svakarna, Vithi, Vyayog. Natya Shastra specifically describes only two — Nataka and Prakarna.

Key Playwrights (Chronological)

Rigid Conventions of Sanskrit Theatre

• 4 to 7-act plays (not the full 10 described in Natya Shastra)
• Always happy endings — hero wins or does not die (unlike Greek tragedies; tragedy was rare)
• Male protagonist who always achieves his desire
• Well-defined structure: opening → progression → development → pause → conclusion

Stage and Performance Features

• Pre-play rituals (purva-raga): performed behind the curtain
• Sutradhar: stage manager and director; dressed in white; offers worship to deity; announces time, place, and introduces the playwright
• Theatre capacity: ~400 persons (as per Bharata)
• Two-storeyed stages: upper = celestial sphere; lower = terrestrial sphere
• Curtains used to intensify impact; masks were NOT used (important exam fact)

Three Character Types in Sanskrit Plays

Decline of Sanskrit Theatre

• Dramatists shifted to poetry (lyrical over dramatic)
• Sanskrit became embellished, confined to religious sphere and Brahmins; Pali and Prakrit replaced it among masses
• Advent of Muslim rulers — dance and music gained patronage over theatre

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• India's oldest continuing form of theatre — survived since 10th century AD in Kerala
• Completely adheres to rules of Natya Shastra
• Traditional privilege of Chakyar and Nambiar castes of Kerala
• Performed in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Malayalam
• Background music: Mizhavu and Edakka
• All characters begin with Nirvahana — a recollection of past events
• Story unfolds with commentaries on social, philosophical, and political behaviour
• Leading exponent: Margi Madhu Chakyar

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Key distinction: Sanskrit theatre was urban and sophisticated; folk theatre had rural roots with rustic flavour. Most folk theatres emerged around 15th–16th century AD with devotional themes, later adopting secular tones. Post-independence, folk theatre became a tool for social wisdom dissemination.

Three Categories of Folk Theatre

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CATEGORY 1: Ritual Theatre

(Emerged during Bhakti movement; communicates faith to God)

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CATEGORY 2: Theatre of Entertainment

(More secular; stories of love, valour, socio-cultural traditions)

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CATEGORY 3: Theatres of South India

(Sanskrit theatre declined in North India by 8th century AD; gained popularity in South India. South India: emphasis on dance; North India: emphasis on music)

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• Modern theatre developed during colonial era with translations of Sanskrit texts and Western classics (Lessing, Shakespeare)
• Western Proscenium style emerged in 18th–19th century
• Theatre in Calcutta flourished: Belgachia Natyashala, Shobhabazar Natyashala, etc.
• Theatres became commercialised (entry fees introduced)
• Themes: social evils — dowry, caste system, religious hypocrisy, political affairs
• British Government imposed Dramatic Performances Act, 1876 to counter political awareness
• Parsi Theatres (1850s–1920s, Western India): Gujarati and Marathi plays; colourful backdrops; romance, humour, melodrama; from 1930s, Parsi producers moved to cinema

Key Institutions and Personalities

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• Continuity of tradition: Koodiyattam's unbroken survival since the 10th century demonstrates how living traditions preserve ancient theatrical grammar across a millennium.
• Bhakti as theatrical impulse: The Bhakti movement directly generated major folk theatres — Ankia Nat, Ramlila, Raslila, Jatra — showing how devotion and art are inseparable in India.
• Theatre as resistance: IPTA (1943) and Prithvi Theatre show how Indian theatre became an instrument of social and political consciousness under colonial rule; the British responded with the Dramatic Performances Act (1876).
• Religion–Art linkage: From Sanskrit plays' purva-raga rituals and Sutradhar's worship of deities, to Bayalata performed during deity worship, theatre has always been embedded in the sacred.
• Regional diversity as cultural wealth: Folk theatres like Bhand Pather (J&K, secular despite Muslim performers), Tamasha (Maharashtra), and Yakshagana (Vijayanagar) demonstrate how geography, community, and history shape performing arts differently.
• UNESCO recognition: Ramman (Uttarakhand) on UNESCO ICH list highlights growing global interest in preserving India's intangible cultural heritage.

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1. Ratnavali was written by Harshavardhan, NOT Ashvaghosh — Ashvaghosh wrote Sariputraprakarana. Common misattribution trap.
2. Masks were NOT used in classical Sanskrit theatre — curtains were used, but NOT masks. Ankia Nat (folk) uses masks. This is a direct reversal trap.
3. Koodiyattam is India's oldest CONTINUING theatre form, not just 'oldest theatre' — it has survived since the 10th century AD.
4. Bhavai belongs to Gujarat and Rajasthan, NOT Odisha — Bhavai is frequently mismatched to other states.
5. Jatra was initiated by Sri Chaitanya, NOT Shankaradeva. Shankaradeva initiated Ankia Nat.
6. Tamasha (Maharashtra) features female actors playing male roles — NOT Nautanki or Theyyam.
7. Nautanki is an offshoot of Swang, not an independent origin — do not treat them as unrelated.
8. Tal-Maddale is the predecessor of Yakshagana (Karnataka) — performed while sitting, without costumes, dance or acting.
9. Maach is from Malwa (MP), NOT Maharashtra — Tamasha is Maharashtra.
10. Sutradhara in Bhavai theatre is called 'Nayaka' — not the same as the Nayaka (hero) character in Sanskrit drama.
11. IPTA was formed in 1943 and disbanded in 1947 — do not confuse founding with disbanding year.
12. South Indian theatres emphasise dance; North Indian folk theatres emphasise music — this is the key structural distinction.
13. Ramman is on the UNESCO ICH list — not Koodiyattam directly (Koodiyattam itself has UNESCO recognition separately; Ramman is the Uttarakhand ritualistic theatre with UNESCO ICH status).

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• World's oldest amphitheatres: Sitabena and Jogimara caves
• Natya Shastra: 10 types of plays; formally describes only Nataka and Prakarna
• First Sanskrit drama: Sariputraprakarana by Ashvaghosh
• First antagonist in drama: Sudraka's Mricchakatika
• Masks: NOT used in Sanskrit theatre; USED in Ankia Nat and Kathakali
• Sutradhar: dressed in white; announces time, place, introduces playwright
• Vidusaka speaks Prakrit; others speak Sanskrit
• Oldest continuing theatre: Koodiyattam (10th century AD, Kerala; Chakyar and Nambiar castes)
• Ramman (Uttarakhand) → UNESCO ICH
• Ramlila = Uttar Pradesh; Raslila = Gujarat
• Jatra = Eastern India (Sri Chaitanya origin)
• Nautanki = offshoot of Swang; Nagara drum; Kanpur and Lucknow schools
• Tamasha = Maharashtra; female actors play male roles; Lavani songs
• Powada = Maharashtra; Shivaji vs Afzal Khan; Gondhalis and Shahirs
• Yakshagana = AP and Karnataka; Vijayanagar empire; Jakkula Varu community
• Tal-Maddale = predecessor of Yakshagana; sitting performance, no costumes
• Kuruvanji = Tamil Nadu; fortune-teller theme; Bharatnatyam used
• IPTA: 1943 (formed), 1947 (disbanded); Communist Party cultural wing
• Prithvi Theatre: 1942 by Prithviraj Kapoor; permanent Mumbai theatre: 1978
• Sangeet Natak Akademi: 1952
• Dramatic Performances Act: 1876