India has a longest and richest
tradition in theatre going back to at least 5000 years. The origin of Indian
theatre is closely related to ancient rituals and seasonal festivities of
the country. Bharata's Natya Shastra (2000 BC to 4th
Century AD) was the earliest and most elaborate treatise on dramaturgy
written anywhere in the world. The traditional account in Bharata's
Shastra gives a divine origin to Indian Theatre, attributing it to the
Natyaveda, the holy book of dramaturgy created by Lord Brahma.
Natya Shastra, Bharata Muni consolidated and codified various
traditions in dance, mime and drama. Natya Shastra describes ten
classifications of drama ranging from one act to ten acts. No book of
ancient times in the world contains such an exhaustive study on dramaturgy
as Natya Shastra. It is addressed to the playwright, the director,
and the actor because, to Bharata Muni these three were inseparable in the
creation of a drama The Sanskrit word for drama,
nataka, derives from
the word meaning "dance". In traditional Hindu drama, expression was
achieved through music and dancing as well as through acting, so that a play
could be a combination of opera, ballet and drama.
According to legend the very first play was performed on heaven when the
gods, having defeated the demons, were enacting their victory. Hindu
theorists from the earliest days conceived of plays in terms of two types of
production: lokadharmi (realistic), which involved the reproduction
of human behaviour on the stage and the natural presentation of objects, and
natyadharmi (conventional), which is the presentation of a play
through the use of stylized gestures and symbolism and was considered more
artistic than realistic.
Theatre in India started as a narrative form, with recitation, singing and
dancing becoming integral elements of the theatre. This emphasis on
narrative elements made our theatre essentially theatrical right from the
beginning. That is why the theatre in India has encompassed all the other
forms of literature and fine arts into its physical presentation:
literature, mime, music, dance, movement, painting, sculpture and
architecture - all mixed into one and being called 'Natya'
or Theatre in
Roughly the Indian theatre can be divided into three distinctive kinds: the
Classical or the Sanskrit theatre, the Traditional or the Folk theatre and
the Modern theatre.