All about Indian theatre
DO YOU like Indian theatre? Do you know what the terms Nam-Ghar, Panchali, Pallu and Dhanu-Yatra mean? Open the ``Oxford Companion to Indian theatre," edited by Ananda Lal, and you will have the answers. The ``first book of this kind on Indian theatre," published by the Oxford University Press, covers the magnificent 2,000-year old tradition.
The reference book (Rs. 2,500) was released at the British Council recently by actor Kamal Hassan. The marquee name made the venue, the courtyard of the British Council, brim over.
One would have expected the book to be released by a doyen steeped in the theatre. But then this is the age of the celebrity syndrome.
Back to the theatre terms: Nam-Ghar is a shrine, a community hall and a public audience all rolled into one. With its intimate association with traditional Assamese theatre it is hailed by some scholars as ``the national theatre of Assam." Panchali is a living Bengali tradition in the form of anecdotal narratives extolling divinities. The Pallu is one of the 96 forms of composition in currency in medieval Tamil literature. Structured as exchanges, it contains descriptions of peasant life, its pathos and humour.
Dhanu yatra is a form of Krishna Lila peculiar to western Orissa.
This encyclopaedic publication has 750 entries listed in alphabetical order and numerous illustrations.
Sixty-three specialists have contributed articles ranging from ancient Sanskrit theatre to the modern, the urban and the rural, the devotional and the secular.
Musical forms, dance, theatre, stage drama and oral narrative are described. Both theatre forms and personalities find place.
The book is aimed at a general readership and lovers of the theatre, said Mr. Venugopal Bhaskaran, Regional Manager, South, the Oxford University Press, which is a department of the Oxford University.
The OUP has 500 years of publishing history behind it and this is the publishing event of the year, he said. The book took seven years to complete.
Applauding the project, Kamal Hassan said the book would prove to be a treasure to all those interested in the theatre. He said unlike most actors, he came from the cinema to the stage and then went back to the cinema. He was honoured to find his name in the book along with theatre greats like the T. K. Shanmugam Brothers (in whose troupe he acted). ``I was a passing tourist in theatre with passport problems." he said.
The release of the book was followed by brief performances. The Madras Players' choice of scene from their recent success ``Nagamandala" conveyed the flavour of the production.
The Kattaikkoothu Sangam presented ``Krishnan Thoothu." Since the Koothu was presented in the open courtyard it did not strike an odd note as it would in closed auditoria. It was a full-blooded performance that impressed the audience with its vigour and colour.
The MTC Productions' reading too, from Mahesh Dattani's ``Where There is a Will," was able to portray the essence of the work and regaled the audience with the humorous and pungent exchanges between the aging businessman father and his grownup son.
The Koothu-p-pattarai chose to present the first scene from ``Padukalam." It was not a happy choice and did not do justice to the production which is one of their best.
Aravan's monologue can be tiresome and lack appeal for the section of the audience which might not know Tamil very well. The evening, through the representational performances, showed that ``brief is beautiful." In just a few sharp strokes, the richness and diversity of Indian theatre reached out to the viewers.
KAUSALYA SANTHANAM
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