India has the richest and longest tradition in theatre.

The origin of Indian theatre is intimately associated with the ancient rituals and the seasonal festivals. The Natya Shastra of Bharat Muni is the earliest surviving text on theatre and drama. The Indian theatre encompasses all the different forms of fine arts and literature like dance, music, mime, movement, sculpture, painting and architecture. The Indian theatre can be classified into 3 distinct types: the Sanskrit theatre or the classical theatre, the folk theatre or the traditional theatre and the modern theatre.

Folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to the religious ritualism of the Vedic peoples in the 2nd millennium BC. Kalidasa in the 1st century BC, is arguably considered to be ancient India's greatest Sanskrit dramatist. Three famous romantic plays written by Kalidasa are the Malavikagnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra), Vikramuurvashiiya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi), and Abhijnanasakuntala (The Recognition of Shakuntala). The last was inspired by a story in the Mahabharata and is the most famous. It was the first to be translated into English and German.

The aim of the book is to put researchers engaged in different areas of research on a common platform so as to be benefited by the current state of knowledge in the field of this subject.

Content

Introduction; The Classical Tradition and its Predecessors; Contemporary Indian Theatre; Jatra Theatre; Influence of English Theatre; Nautanki, Tamasha, Kutiyattam and Teyyam; The Devotional Traditions; Dance-Dramas and Dramatic Dances; Modern Theatre.