The Rising Importance of Indigenous Theatre in India

Author(s): Sunil Kothari and Goverdhan Panchal

Source: Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring, 1984), pp. 112-114
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1124371
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 The Rising Importance of
Indigenous Theatre in India
Sunil Kothari and Goverdhan Panchal

There is a definite tilt toward the indigenous theatre in recent

years, as can be seen from the immense popularity of contemporary pro-
ductions modelled on forms like bhavai (Gujarat), kathakali and kudiyattam
(Kerala), manipuri traditional dance (Manipur), kathak classical dance of
north India, odissi classical dance (Orissa), and nautanki folk theatre of
north India. The National School of Drama in Delhi has attempted to
explore forms likeyaksagana, the dance-drama of Karnataka, adopting its
technique in plays like Barnam Van (based on Macbeth), while Habib Tanvir
and B. V. Karanth, both directors in the state of Madhya Pradesh, have
drawn inspiration from traditional theatre, as well as folk songs and
dances, of their region. Some recent productions of this nature will illus-
trate the trend.

In the state of Mysore, Kalidasa's The Cloud Messenger (Meghaduta)

was produced as a yaksagana play by K. V. Subbanna and his group,
Ninasam. The standardyaksagana play is based on a Mahabharata or Rama-
yana story depicting heroic characters. The Cloud Messenger as conceived by
Subbanna had no such characters, fewer songs that the usual yaksagana
play, and speech that was confined to monologues by the clown (vidusaka).
However, the production did attempt to convey the experiences of the
Cloud Messenger passing through contemporary scenes, thus linking the
past with the present through the regionalyaksagana performing style.
K. Narayana Panikkar's staging of The Middle One (Madhyama Vya-
yoga) by Bhasa, the classical Sanskrit dramatist, drew liberally on tradi-

Goverdhan Panchal, Emeritus Instructor of Scene Design at the National School of Drama, has writ-
ten many books and articles on traditional Indian theatre. Sunil Kothari, Chairperson of Dance at the
Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, is the author of numerous books on Indian dance, including
the forthcoming Kathak.
Asian TheatreJournal 1, no. 1 (Spring 1984). ? by the University of Hawaii Press. All rights reserved.

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REPORTS 113

tional theatre from the state of Kerala. From kudiyattam he took the highly
stylized speech patterns and the detailed methods of acting the major roles
of Bhima and Ghatotkacha. The fighting scene used indigenous kalaripa-
yattu martial arts techniques, and the music was a blend of kudiyattam and
kathakali instruments and musical styles. Traditional modes of music (raga)
and hand gestures (hastamudra) were employed with imagination. Panik-
kar thus brought a classic more than 1,500 years old within the reach of
the masses who responded to it enthusiastically. Though Panikkar is ac-
cused of following an eclectic approach, all these elements were integrated
to create a harmonious, highly pleasing performance.
A young director of exceptional sensibilities, Ratan Thiyam, from
Manipur on the northeast border, staged another classical play of Bhasa's,
Broken Thighs (Urbhanga), to rave reviews. He transformed the play most
delightfully into manipuri form. The weeping queens wore traditional
manipuri costumes of gossamer white, complete with veils. Through gentle
manipuri dance movements they created the various elements of nature,
their bodies swaying like ivy in a soft breeze. When the men, dressed in
spotless white with bare torsos, danced vigorously, the traditional manipuri
music and song burst into a masculine roar of sound. The speech element
left much to be desired, yet overall this local adaptation of an ancient
drama was most satisfying. A production of Pitanga by the brilliant direc-
tor Kanhailal incorporated manipuri dance, song, movement, and mini-
mal use of props with lasting impact. Dance was also an integral part of
the action of the play Kuhuman Chakha Moirang Ngamba as directed by
A. Lokendra. In this case, the dance expressed a tribal ethos.
For the past twenty-four years, Sanskrit plays have been staged at
the Kalidasa Festival held in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Until recent times
staging followed a Western realistic approach, and no one bothered about
the classical staging conventions as described so minutely by Bharata in
the Natyasastra (The art of theatre). But in 1982, three productions at the
Festival drew on Indian resources in staging Act IV of Kalidasa's Vicrama
and Urvashi (Vikramurvashiyam). K. D. Tripathi's interpretation began
with elaborate preliminaries (purvaranga) staged the day before the play
began. The Central Sahitya Akademi's version incorporated music with a
great deal of thought (although the dance element lacked care in prepara-
tion), while the performance from Kerala, under K. Narayana Panik-
kar's direction, created a world of images through symbolic gestures,
movements, and dance.
The Padatik Theatre in Calcutta produced Mohan Rakesh's mod-
ern Shakuntala in Hindi. The director, ShyamanandaJalan, brought in the
renowned expert of odissi classical dance, Kelucharan Mahapatra, to cho-
reograph the pivotal scenes in which Shakuntala meets King Dushyanta
in odissi dance movements. The attempt was to achieve a unity of classical

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114 Kothari and Panchal

music (composed by Girijia Devi of Benaras), dance, and acting. An

open-air production of a Bengali-language version of Shakuntala, directed
by Debraj Roy, also relied heavily on dance, drawing on kuchipudi dance
for the preliminaries (purvaranga), classical odissi dance in the love scenes
between Shakuntala and Dushyanta, kathakali movements in the hunting
scenes where the king rides in a chariot, and even some chhau dance move-
ments. On the opposite side of India, in the state of Maharashtra, Vijiya
Mehta wove kathak dance and music techniques into her production of the
same play. Quick scene changes were effectively achieved with clockwise
movements at both sides of the stage.
After a lapse of fifteen years, Shanta Gandhi has returned to
directing. She stagedJasma Odan, named after the title character, using as
a model bhavai folk theatre, with all its splendor of dancing, reciting, sing-
ing, and improvised dialogue. In preparing the production for the Festi-
val of India in London, the folk tale received a contemporary touch by
changing the ending so that the heroine Jasma refuses to go back to
heaven and aligns herself with the working class. The play was a thump-
ing success.
A number of these productions, as well as others, were presented
as part of the All-India Theatre Seminar held in Delhi in 1982 by the
Central Academy of Drama and Music (Sangeet Natak Akademi). The
theme of the Seminar was the role of indigenous theatre in contemporary
production.
One thing emerges clearly from these and many other explora-
tions: there is a certain fall back on classical and popular themes. None of
these productions, for all their richness of traditional technique, have a
contemporary theme. (Jasma Odan makes a contemporary comment, but
the story is still a romantic one.) None of the directors, questioned at the
Seminar in Delhi, has attempted to present a theme of the present time
using the techniques of traditional theatre. That challenge is yet to be ful-
filled.

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