This book details the origin and development of Sanskrit plays. It demonstrates how in ancient India, the art of presenting Sanskrit plays on stage was developed and how this medium was utilized effectively to portray human emotions and sentiments. The sole objective of such powerful portrayals was to bring satisfaction to the audience by evoking rasa, the transcendental pleasure in its mind. The Sanskrit drama is religious in character and Indian in origin.
The book also presents a comparative evaluation of European theories that attempted to explain the origin of Indian drama. The author has refuted these theories and has presented his own thesis on the development of Sanskrit drama.
Dr. Chandra Bhanu Gupta is an eminent scholar of Sanskrit and Linguistics. He is specialist in the History of Drama and Theatre and Ancient Indian History and Culture. He taught Sanskrit at Hindu College and University of Delhi. He has attended several international conferences and contributed important research papers. He has also guided several research students.
I am happy to write a brief foreword to the revised edition of Professor Chandra Bhan Gupta's book The Indian Theatre which was first published in 1954.
This is not a historical and descriptive presentation of Indian dramatic literature. It is a thorough and detailed analysis of the theory and practice of Indian Theatre, mainly classical. As such I can see a wide variety of readers using the book to their advantage. On the one hand, students of comparative dramaturgy will find in it, in English, ample details on anything that made Indian theatre and theatrical per- formances specially Indian; the theatre itself, its form, measurements and accessories; the actors and the rules and conventions they are supposed to follow; the types of plays and their respective characteristics; and so forth. On the other hand, students of Sanskrit and readers of plays in the Sanskrit original will benefit not only from the body of the book but, even more so, from the copious footnotes. For any concept, the material element or technical term connected with Sanskrit theatre, they will not only find a clear description, but also references to guide them to the relevant passages in the theoretical treatises on dramaturgy for more ample and technical information.
The book also serves a more practical purpose; to demonstrate that there has been-and still can be-a typically Indian form of theatre. Thus, in the first chapter the author, briefly but rightly, reacts against those theories that attempted to explain the origin of Indian drama as a result of extraneous influences. In the last chapter he not only surveys the forms of theatre in the several vernaculars; he also pleads for the establishment of a contemporary Indian national theatre, drawing on and adapting the various forms of theatre India has known in the past, and free from foreign elements which have made their appearance on the Indian stage in recent times.
The first edition of Professor Gupta's The Indian Theatre has been out of print for some time. I am sure that this revised edition will fill a vacuum, and be well received by all those interested in classical-and modern-Indian drama.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist