Post-Independence Indian Drama

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering post-independence Indian drama, playwrights, key movements, and specific play plots based directly on lecture slides.

How long is the history of modern urban theatre in India?

200 years.

Which major Indian cities paved the way for modern Indian drama through well-established theatre?

Calcutta (East), Madras (South), Bombay (West), and Varanasi (North).

What indoor theatre form developed in modern Indian drama under Parsi influence?

Proscenium theatre.

Which European playwrights influenced literary drama and amateur theatre in India?

Shaw, Sartre, Camus, Giradoux, and Brecht.

What organization's experiments were associated with the reaction against proscenium theatre?

IPTA (Indian Political Theatre Association).

Who were the earlier playwrights in Bengali, Tamil, and Malayalam mentioned in the lecture?

Rabindranath Tagore (Bengali), Subrahmanya Bharathiar (Tamil), and Sreekanthan Nair (Malayalam).

Who were the earlier playwrights in Kannada and Hindi mentioned in the lecture?

Samsa and Kuvempu (Kannada), and Bharatendu Harishchandra and Jaishankar Prasad (Hindi).

Who were the early post-Independence stalwarts of Bengali theatre?

Utpal Dutt and Shambhu Mitra.

Which institution was established post-Independence to promote drama and the arts in India?

Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Under whose directorship was the National School of Drama established?

Ibrahim Alkazi, BV Karanth, etc.

Where were art and drama schools such as Ranga Mandal, Kalakshetra, and Chorus Theatre established?

Ranga Mandal in Bhopal, Kalakshetra in Chennai, and Chorus Theatre in Imphal.

Name the modernist playwrights for Marathi, Bengali, and Tamil mentioned in the lecture.

Vijay Tendulkar (Marathi), Badal Sircar (Bengali), and Indira Parthasarathy (Tamil).

Which famous Bengali dramatist is shown here, known as the innovator of contemporary Indian theatre and creator of 'people's theatre'?

Badal Sircar.

During which 1970s movement in Kolkata did Badal Sircar become popular for his anti-establishment plays?

The Naxal Movement.

What major national awards were conferred upon Badal Sircar?

Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and Padma Bhushan.

What is the title and English translation of Badal Sircar's 1962 play that breaks free from realistic techniques?

Evam Indrajit (And Indrajit).

Who translated Badal Sircar's play Evam Indrajit into English?

Girish Karnad.

Which theatre group enacted most of Badal Sircar's plays?

Shatabdi theatre group.

What theatrical style is used in Evam Indrajit to present the disorganized life of modern man?

Absurdist style.

In Evam Indrajit, why is the Writer unable to write his play?

Because modern life is too chaotic and fragmentary to have any meaning, leaving him with nothing to write about.

In Evam Indrajit, who suggests to the Writer that he write about the audience?

Manasi.

What four names are given by the gentlemen who come up to the stage in Evam Indrajit?

Amal, Vimal, Kamal, and Nirmal (who admits he is actually Indrajit).

Where does Indrajit go after Manasi cannot make up her mind to marry him?

Bhopal.

Where does Indrajit go out of the country to work as an engineer in Evam Indrajit?

London.

Who does Indrajit eventually marry years later in Evam Indrajit?

Another woman called Manasi.

What does 'Manasi' represent in Badal Sircar's Evam Indrajit?

The generic name for the wife of Amal/Kamal/Vimal, representing everywoman and a caricature of every woman in the urban audience.

Into what ordinary character does Indrajit the revolutionary dwindle by the end of Evam Indrajit?

Nirmal.

Which award-winning writer, born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, wrote extensively about tribal life in Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh?

Mahasweta Devi.

What four major awards were awarded to Mahasweta Devi?

Sahitya Akademi Award (1979), Padmashree (1986), Jnanpith Award (1996), and Magsaysay Award (1997).

In which translated collection was Mahasweta Devi's play Bayen published in 1997, and who translated it?

Five Plays, translated by Samik Bandhyopadhyay.

Who is the protagonist of Bayen, and why is she accused of being a Bayen?

Chandidasi; she is accused of breastfeeding dead children and having the ability to curse others.

What is the story of Mahasweta Devi's Mother of 1084 (Hajar Churashir Maa)?

It is the story of a mother, Sujata, reliving the death of her son Brati, who was corpse number 1084 in the morgue after being killed by the state for his ideology.

Which film adaptation based on Mahasweta Devi's novel is featured in this poster?

Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa (Mother of 1084), directed by Govind Nihalani.

Who is Nandini in Mahasweta Devi's Mother of 1084?

Brati's follower who was nearly blinded and physically broken by police torture, but maintained faith in her movement and love for Brati.

What was Sujata's first act of rebellion in Mother of 1084?

Refusing to bear a child for the fifth time when Brati was 2 years old.

What was Sujata's second act of rebellion in Mother of 1084?

Her refusal to leave her job.

Which three stories make up Mahasweta Devi's collection Breast Stories?

"Draupadi," "Breast-Giver," and "Behind the Bodice."

What period of Naxalite activities forms the setting for Mahasweta Devi's "Draupadi"?

The period 1967-1972.

Who are the tribal Naxals in "Draupadi", and who heads the search operations against them?

Dopdi and her husband Dulna Majhi; Senanayak heads the search operations.

How does Dopdi retaliate against Senanayak after being subjected to multiple rape in "Draupadi"?

She refuses to cover herself, confronts him with her bare body, and pushes him fiercely with her mangled breasts.

Which Marathi dramatist, born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, was regarded as an 'Angry Young Man and rebel of the theatre'?

Vijay Tendulkar.

Which play by Girish Karnad did Vijay Tendulkar translate into Marathi?

Tughlaq.

List six major plays written by Vijay Tendulkar with their English translations where given.

Gruhastha (Householder), The Vultures, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (Silence! The Court is in Session), Sakharam Binder (Sakhārām, the Book-Binder), Kamalā ("Kamala"), and Kanyādān (Giving Away of a Daughter in Marriage).

Who is the central character in Vijay Tendulkar's Silence! The Court is in Session (1968)?

Leela Benare, a proud school teacher.

What theatre group and location form the setting for the rehearsal in Silence! The Court is in Session?

'Jagruti Sabha' of Sonar Moti Chawl in an untidy old room of a small village.

Why is Samant selected for the mock trial role in Silence! The Court is in Session?

Because the original actor, Rawte, is sick.

Who acts as the judge during the mock trial in Silence! The Court is in Session?

Mr. Kashikar.

In Silence! The Court is in Session, who is Balu Rokade?

A feeble and helpless student who is totally dependent on the Kashikars.

In Silence! The Court is in Session, who are Sukhatme, Ponkshe, and Karnik?

Sukhatme is a pretentious lawyer, Ponkshe is a failed intermediate student who thinks of himself as a scientist, and Karnik is an experimental theatre actor.

Who is Prof. Damale in Silence! The Court is in Session?

A married man with a family who has an affair with Miss Benare resulting in her pregnancy, but who never appears on stage.

What revelation does Ponkshe make regarding Miss Benare's private life during the trial?

That Benare had wanted to marry him in order to give her illegitimate child a father.

What is the final verdict sentence handed down to Miss Benare at the conclusion of Silence! The Court is in Session?

"No memento of your sin should remain for future generations therefore this court hereby sentences that you shall live. But the child in your womb shall be destroyed."

Who is considered India's first authentic voice in the theatre, writing more than thirty plays in English?

Asif Currimbhoy.

Name five early plays written by Asif Currimbhoy between 1959 and 1965.

The Tourist Mecca (1959), The Restaurant (1960), The Doldrummers (1960), The Captives (1963), and Goa (1964).

Which play by Asif Currimbhoy presents an imitation of the violent Naxalite Movement in Calcutta in 1970?

Inquilab.

Which play by Asif Currimbhoy deals with the influx of Bangladeshi refugees into India in 1971?

The Refugee.

Which play by Asif Currimbhoy aims at depicting the real picture of the city of Calcutta during the 1960s?

The Hungry Ones.

Which prominent playwright and actor, born in Matheran, Maharashtra, employed history and mythology in plays such as Yayati and Tughlaq?

Girish Karnad.

Which 13th-century Kannada epic forms the basis for Girish Karnad's play Bali: The Sacrifice?

Yashodhara charite.

Which two plays by Girish Karnad are based on stories from the Mahabharata?

Yayati and The Fire and the Rain.

What traditional theatre style is used in Girish Karnad's play Yayati?

Yakshagana.

In Girish Karnad's Yayati, who places a curse on Yayati, and why?

Sage Shukracharya (Devayani's father) curses Yayati to lose his youth and become decrepit by nightfall.

Who willingly exchanges his youth with Yayati in Karnad's Yayati?

Pooru, Yayati's youngest half-caste son who is married to Chitralekha.

In Girish Karnad's Tughlaq, to where does Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq want to transfer his capital from Delhi?

Daulatabad.

What failed economic project does Sultan Tughlaq introduce in Tughlaq?

Introducing copper currency equal in value to silver currency.

Which three plays are published together in Girish Karnad's Three Plays?

Nagamandala, Hayavadana, and Tughlaq.

What three literary sources inspired the central episode of Devadatta and Kapila in Hayavadana?

The Vetalapanchavimshati katha, Thomas Mann's The Transposed Heads, and Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara.

What meta-fictional figure disrupts the opening narration of the Bhagavata in Hayavadana?

Hayavadana, a man with a horse's head.

Who are the parents of Hayavadana in Girish Karnad's play?

A princess of Karnataka and a prince of Araby (a white stallion who turned out to be a gandharva).

In Hayavadana, describe the backgrounds of Devadatta and Kapila.

Devadatta is the son of Brahmin Vidyasagar (a scholar and poet); Kapila is the son of blacksmith Lohita (muscular and illiterate).

Who is the female protagonist loved by both Devadatta and Kapila in Hayavadana?

Padmini.

Where do Devadatta and Kapila behead themselves in Hayavadana?

At the temple of Kali.

What mix-up occurs when Padmini reattaches the severed heads of Devadatta and Kapila?

She reattaches Kapila's head to Devadatta's body and Devadatta's head to Kapila's body.

What solution does the great rishi give to resolve who is Padmini's rightful husband in Hayavadana?

The man with Devadatta's head is Devadatta and her rightful husband, because the head is supreme among human limbs.

How does Hayavadana finally achieve his transformation into a complete horse?

He laughs with Padmini's five-year-old son, loses his human voice, and turns into a complete horse.

What two oral tales collected by A.K. Ramanujan formed the basis for Girish Karnad's Nagamandala?

Tales narrated by women that Karnad heard from A.K. Ramanujan during his stay at the University of Chicago.

Who are the central husband and wife characters in Girish Karnad's Nagamandala?

Appanna and Rani.

How does Naga enter Rani's life in Nagamandala?

Rani pours a curry drugged with love root onto an anthill; Naga (the Cobra) consumes it, falls in love with her, and visits her in the form of Appanna.

How does Rani prove her chastity before the village Panchayat in Nagamandala?

She puts her hand into the snake burrow and vows that she has never touched any male other than her husband and the Naga in the burrow.

What is the historical subject of Girish Karnad's play Tale-Danda?

Set 800 years in the past in the city of Kalyan, dealing with the rise of the radical reform movement Lingayatism.

What is the setting and main focus of Girish Karnad's play Wedding Album (2006)?

Set in Dharwad in a south Indian Saraswat Brahmin family (the Nadkarnis), focusing on their search for a suitable expat boy for their younger daughter Vidula.

Who was the founder of Performing Arts and Literature of India (PALI), born in Madras and raised in Jabalpur?

Uma Parameswaran.

What are the four phases of the immigrant experience described in Uma Parameswaran's works?

1) Nostalgia, wonder and fear; 2) Focus on family and career for survival; 3) Interest in ethnic community activities; 4) Participation in the larger political and social arena.

Name six plays written by Uma Parameswaran.

Sons Must Die, Meera (1971), Sita's Promise (1981), Dear Deedi, My Sister (1989), Rootless but Green are the Boulevard Trees (1998), and Mangoes on a Maple Tree.

Which play by Uma Parameswaran is centered on the Partition of 1947?

Sons Must Die.

Which Delhi-born playwright, journalist, and comic strip artist won the first Greek Onassis Award?

Manjula Padmanabhan.

What real-life incident inspired Manjula Padmanabhan's play Lights Out (1984)?

An eyewitness account of an incident in Santa Cruz, Mumbai in 1982 where urban middle-class people watched the brutalization of a woman in a neighboring compound without acting.

In Manjula Padmanabhan's Harvest (1997), who agrees to sell his organs to Inter Planta Services Inc?

Om Prakash.

In Harvest, who is Ginni, and how does she interact with Om Prakash's family?

The organ recipient in the First World (later revealed as a man named Virgil), who interacts through a contact module (videophone) installed in their chawl room.

Who was the first English playwright to be awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award (1998)?

Mahesh Dattani.

What character provides the occasion for humour in Mahesh Dattani's drawing room comedy Where There's a Will?

The ghost of Hasmukh Mehta.

Which film adaptation featured in this poster was based on Mahesh Dattani's play about Bharatnatyam dancers?

Dance Like a Man, directed by Pamela Rooks.

Who are the main older couple and dancer protagonists in Mahesh Dattani's Dance Like a Man?

Jairaj Parekh and his wife Ratna.

Which characters in Mahesh Dattani's Dance Like a Man perform double roles?

Young Jairaj-Viswas, Young Ratna-Lata, and Old Jairaj-Amritlal.

In Mahesh Dattani's Final Solutions (1993), who are the three generations of the Gujarati business family depicted?

Hardika (first generation, grandmother), Ramnik Gandhi (son) and Aruna (daughter-in-law), and Smita (granddaughter).

Which two Muslim boys seeking shelter from a Hindu mob trigger the central conflict in Final Solutions?

Babban and Javed.

Which Mahesh Dattani play was the first contemporary Indian play to openly tackle gay themes of love, partnership, trust, and betrayal?

On a Muggy Night in Mumbai (1998).

What is the plot of Mahesh Dattani's radio play Seven Circles Round The Fire (1998)?

Uma, wife of a chief superintendent, investigates the murder of the hijra Kamla by interviewing Anarkali, uncovering how powerful people crush marginalized rights.

What delicate social issue is addressed in Mahesh Dattani's play 30 Days in September (2001)?

Child sexual abuse (experienced by Mala and her mother Shanta at the hands of uncle Vinay).

Name three other post-Independence Indian playwrights mentioned at the end of the lecture and their backgrounds.

Dina Mehta (Parsi playwright, b. 1961), Pratap Sharma (1939-2011, 'Golden Voice' performer and playwright), and Datta Bhagat (b. 1945, author of the Marathi play Whirlpool).