Indian Theatre
Brandon English
Professor Reid Davis
Foundations I
2 December 2013
Indian Theatre’s Value Transformation Indian Theatre roots back for over thousands of years, and has become a culture spectacle that many spectators admire. Through dance, music, and acting, Indian Theatre accomplishes to create a culturally enriched art. Incorporating all three performing arts is imperative since they all root back to ritual and honoring Hinduism. The many traditions and traditional performance can be seen within every detail Indian Theatre tries to accomplish. However, though Indian Theatre is very traditional, Indian theatre’s true roots have been lost due to time, financial benefits, and lack of importance within its earliest society. Indian theatre is centered around the religion of Hinduism. The whole purpose of Hinduism Is to achieve, “Brahman,” which is the ultimate soul of the world. It is described as “eternal, infinite, and indescribable” (Wilson, Goldfarb 87). The art focuses on ensemble work and performing together to achieve a cultural performance. Indian Theatre focuses not just on theatre itself, but in dance and music as well; it stems from “Natayasastra.” Natayasastra is the book that embodies music, theatre, and dance is said to be derived from Sage Bharata. It was written between 200 BCE and 200 CE during the classical Indian Theatre. Unlike a lot of societies, Indian Theatre does include men and women even though men are quite dominant. There is a “subtradhara,” which is the chief actor who manages the other actors. However, though there is that role, a lot of Indian Theatre focuses on their community, and it’s dedication to achieve Brahman. The purpose is of Indian Theatre is centered on achieving Hinduism’s goal of Brahman. A term commonly used within the theatre, is “rasa,” which means flavor. This flavor is used as a tool to enrich the audience’s experience of the story; it used to empower enlightenment. The whole point of the rasa is to have
Professor Reid Davis
Foundations I
2 December 2013
Indian Theatre’s Value Transformation Indian Theatre roots back for over thousands of years, and has become a culture spectacle that many spectators admire. Through dance, music, and acting, Indian Theatre accomplishes to create a culturally enriched art. Incorporating all three performing arts is imperative since they all root back to ritual and honoring Hinduism. The many traditions and traditional performance can be seen within every detail Indian Theatre tries to accomplish. However, though Indian Theatre is very traditional, Indian theatre’s true roots have been lost due to time, financial benefits, and lack of importance within its earliest society. Indian theatre is centered around the religion of Hinduism. The whole purpose of Hinduism Is to achieve, “Brahman,” which is the ultimate soul of the world. It is described as “eternal, infinite, and indescribable” (Wilson, Goldfarb 87). The art focuses on ensemble work and performing together to achieve a cultural performance. Indian Theatre focuses not just on theatre itself, but in dance and music as well; it stems from “Natayasastra.” Natayasastra is the book that embodies music, theatre, and dance is said to be derived from Sage Bharata. It was written between 200 BCE and 200 CE during the classical Indian Theatre. Unlike a lot of societies, Indian Theatre does include men and women even though men are quite dominant. There is a “subtradhara,” which is the chief actor who manages the other actors. However, though there is that role, a lot of Indian Theatre focuses on their community, and it’s dedication to achieve Brahman. The purpose is of Indian Theatre is centered on achieving Hinduism’s goal of Brahman. A term commonly used within the theatre, is “rasa,” which means flavor. This flavor is used as a tool to enrich the audience’s experience of the story; it used to empower enlightenment. The whole point of the rasa is to have
Cited: "About IFA." India Foundation for the Arts. India Foundation for the Arts, 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. "Living Theatre: A History / Edition 5." Barnes & Noble. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. Richmond, Farley P., Darius L. Swann, and Phillip B. Zarrilli. Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1990. Print. Tarlekar, Ganesh Hari. Studies in the Nāṭyaśāstra: With Special Reference to the Sanskrit Drama in Performance. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1991. Print. Vellani, Anmol. "India in Performance." Speech. Asia in Transition: Representation and Identity. Japan. 2003. Http://wiki.indianfolklore.org/images/archive/0/0e/20080529084035!India_in_performance.pdf. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.