The Roots Of Theatre In India

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The roots of theatre in India are ancient and deep-seated. Theatrical expression of some kind or the other has been since primitive and mythic times, an integral part of Indian life. The origin of drama in India began with the Sanskrit drama. The chief dramatists of the Sanskrit drama were Bhasa, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Sudrak. Tragedies like Urubhanga, romances like Abhijnana-Sakuntalam and historical plays like Mudrarakshas form an imperishable part of our literary heritage. The Sanskrit plays do not present either a superficial or realistic reflection of life. They accomplish, with a profound and moral discrimination, an artistic, imaginative “imitation” (Anukarana) or pictures of actions, feelings and various situations of human life, so that through an experience of a state of bliss, a deeper realization of truth may be possible.The function of Sanskrit theatre is only to capture human being in his joys and sorrows, laughter and tears and create a feeling of bliss in the spectators. The Sanskrit theatre talks about the induction of the sub-plot in the plays. Accordingly, the plot can be adhikarika (principal or main plot) or prasangika (accessory or sub-plot). The former concerns the primary characters of the theme and pervades the entire play. The latter serves to further and supplement the main plot, and relates to subordinate characters other than the chief ones. The prasangika plot can be further subdivided into two categories—pataka vastu and prakari.

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