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\._;-~ "' J~."~-' ~ ".." sangeet natak JOURNAL OF THE SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI· 30

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION ON MUSIC, DANCE AND DRAMA SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI, RABINDRA BHAVAN, NEW DELHI OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1973 LtbTaTy 'U"ET NATAK AKAUlill ..__ ft. w" *.oe., The views expressed in Sangeet Natak are the writers' own and do not necessarily conform to the opinion of the publishers. Permission to repro­ duce, in whole or in part, any material published in this Journal must be obtained from the Secretary, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi-I.

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Uma Anand Editor Contents

5 AN ANALYSIS OF TYAGARAJA KRITIS IN KALYANI Sudha Padmalata

26 NAGARJUNAKONDA AMPHITHEATRE M.L. Varadpande

38 TRADITIONAL INDIAN PUPPETRY Devilal Samar

45 THEATRE IN NIGERIA UIIi Beier

55 CULTURAL DIFFERENCE AS THE BASIS FOR CREATIVE EDUCATION Lloyd H. New

62 BOOK REVIEWS AN ANALYSIS OF THYAGRAJA KRITIS IN KALYANI

Sudha and Padmalata

A reference to Kritis of Tltyagara]a (1968))1 shows that there are 21 kritis in Kalyani for which some details are available. They are:

I Amma Ravamma Jhampa 2 Endukonee manasu Ad; 3 Etavunara Adi 4 Evaramadugudu Roopaka 5 Kamalabhavudu Chapu 6 Karuvelpulu Ad; 7 Sundari needivya Ad; 8 st«pahimam Ad; 9 Bhajana seyaJ'e Roopaka 10 Nidhi chala sukhama Chapu 11 Vasudevayani Ad; 12 Nammivachchina Roopaka 13 Sandehamuela Roopaka 14 Eespahimam Roopaka 15 Ninnana valesina Chapu 16 Rama neevadu Ad; 17 Rama rama rama Chopu 18 Vachchunhari Adi 19 Bhajare raghu Ad; 20 Evidhamu Ad; 21 Mandagamana Ad;

The song Evidhamu (20 above) is listed only in Chinaswamy Mudaliar's" book and in no other. The son" Mandagamana (21) is listed under b LwrtJr, IAII8f.£T NA1AK AKADEIl\ ._Dd~J SANGEET NATAK 6

3 Nalinakanti raga in Vissa Appa Ra0 , Raghavarr' and Rangararnanuja Ayyangar". Hence our analysis pertains only to the first 19 songs.

Some Changes The song Evaramadugudu (Roopaka) is listed as in Adi by Appa Rao, The songs Kamala bhavudu, Nidhi chala, Ninnanavalesina, Rama rama rama are listed as in Triputa although they were first listed under Chapu. Three of the songs-Vasudevayani, Kamala-bhavudu and Vachunu hari are part of the opera Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam. Sundari nee divya roopamu was sung at Tiruvotriyur, Sivepahimama at Tiruvaiyaru and Eesa pahimam at Lalgudi.

Nine of these are in Adi, while five as in Roopaka and four are in Triputa talas. There is only one kriti in Jhampa. All the songs are only in Telugu-even though Tyagaraja has composed a few songs in Sanskrit also. Only two songs have one pallavi and samasti charanams (Rania rama rama and Bhajare raghu veeram). All the others have all the three adjuncts of a kriti. There are six songs with only one charanam while the rest of the eleven songs have between 3 and 6 charanams.

Eduppu: For 8 songs the eduppu or the beginning is of the sama type, the raga and tala beginning simultaneously. For the rest, there is vishama eduppu, the tala beginning first and the song later. There is no song of the type of anaagatha eduppu. All Triputa tala kritis belong to ateeta eduppu only.

Choice of Raga Kalyani We have been interested in trying to see whether it would be possible to give a new definition for a raga-rather a mathematical one-or an expression in a mathematical setting. There have been plenty of definitions for a raga and schemes of classification-the most widely known being the 72 melakarta scheme. Recently attempts have been made to use modern scientific techniques to start a more sophisticated scheme of raga classifica­ tion and Chaitanya Deva'' may said to have broken new ground in this direction. We too have adopted some of these techniques in two of our papers (Gift Siromoney? and Rajagopalans). To define or delineate a raga, one has to go to the svaras which com­ prise the raga. It is granted that the svaras by themselves do not give the raga-but only when sung in proper combination. If there is complete freedom in the choice of the svaras, the singing of the svaras could be as independent as the throwing of a dice-where you could get any particular number at any particular stage. In a raga there are some restrictions regarding the way svara-patterns are formed and so there is less freedom in one svara following another. Hence the analysis ofany raga has to start basically with its arohana and avarohana svaras. The best thing would be to take melakarta raga as 7 KRITIS IN KALYANI these have the largest (seven) possible svaras. Also, we avoid one single svara occurring either in arohana only or in avarohana only. The next requisite is that the raga should be "fairly well known" (and not one which is rarely heard of) so that a good number of smra-patterns can be got out of it. It is better to choose ragas like Sankarabharanam, Todi or Kharaha­ rapriya rather than Ratnangi, Rupavati, Pavani or Divyamani (all melakarta­ ragas). Since our music is tradition bound it is better to choose a raga which has been handled by our great vaaggeyakaras like Tyagaraja. The svara-pattern would be, to a large extent, determined by the kritis which are available in that raga. Out of all Tyagaraja kritis which are available in svara-notation.. the following are more frequent than others (the numbers in brackets give the number of songs in that raga)-Bhairavi (19), Kalyani (21), Sankarabharanam (30), Saurashtra (21) and Todi (29). Bhairavi and Saurashtra being janya ragas were not taken up for study. They also contain accidental notes and vakra prayogas. This leaves us with Sankarabharanam, Kalyani and Todi. Between the first two. the only difference is the madhyama note: and Todi is a raga which is handled almost too much in modern concerts. Hence Kalyani was chosen as the raga to be analysed. Different musical composers have different styles of their own and their compositions show distinct swara-patterns as given by the application of analyses of variance techniques to kritis on Madhyamavati of the three composers who form the trinity of Karr.atak music. We shall not go into this now. Also, the system of notations is equally important. Hence the songs of Tyagaraja and those that have seen set to score by Rangara­ manuja Ayyangar alone are analysed. These are the nineteen songs earlier referred to.

Raga Kalyani This is the sixtyfifth melakarta raga-being the fifth raga in the eleventh chakra, the classification being "Rudra Ma". According to the katapayadi formula it is referred to as Mechakalayant- (It was also called Santakalyani* earlier). All the notes are of the tivra type or sharp. They have the fol­ lowing frequency ratios: (FR is the ratio of the frequency of any note to that of Sa) Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa 1 9(8 5(4 45(32 3/2 5(3 15/8 2

The ratios are oziven relative to Sa. It is seen that except the FR •for Ma, all the others are made of simple numbers only. Even that of Ma IS a complex ratio only in relation to Sa. In singing Kalyani raga it is . very rarely that the note Ma comes immediately after Sa-so that there IS no necessity for the use of this FR. All the FRs become simple if each svara

* a rule for getting the number (here 65) of any melakarta raga by reading the first TWO letters in the name of the raga. SANGEET NATAK 8

is referred to its previous svara. These are in order:-9/8, 10/9,9/8, 16/15, 10/9, 9/8, 16/15. The simplicity of the FRs indicates the popularity of the raga.

Subtle srutis like tivra antara gandhara (81/64) and tivra kakali nishada (243/128) figure in some places.

It is the earliest known pratimadhyama raga in musical history and is met with in Hungarian music", It corresponds to the Yaman in Hindustani music and to the Greek mode Phrygian'". There does not appear to be any Tamil pann corresponding to this raga.

Kalyani is considered to be one of the majestic ragas capable of affording a large scope for elaboration in alapana. It has been handled extensively by almost all of our famous composers. It is called a sar­ vasvaragamaka varika raga in which all the notes are fairly well distributed.

We now seek to analyse the occurrence of the various svaras as found in the nineteen kritis listed earlier.

Spectrum of each Song The number of times each svara or note occurs in a song is counted and listed-due allowance being made for long notes and notes in the second or third kala. Then the proportions (percentages) of each of the notes for each song is found-and also the proportions for the totality of all the nineteen songs. These are listed in TABLE I. The notes have been taken from mandra panchama (lower pa-LP) to tara panchama (higher panchama-HP)-or two full octaves. The distribution of the svaras has been pictorially represented in the diagrams (called HISTOGRAMS in Statistics)-which could be referred to as the svara spectrum for each song. The spectrum for all the songs together is also given. The lower octave notes are written with an L-suffix and higher octave notes with a Hvsuffix. (Diagrams vl to 20. See pp 11-20).

It will be seen that some songs specialise in tara sthayi and some III mandra sthayi-but there are few sancharas below the Sa.

On an average only 1.5 per cent of the notes belong to the mandra sthayi, while nearly a fifth of the svaras belong to the tara sthayi. This appears to be a peculiarity of the Kalyani Raga. There are seven songs in which practically no mandra sthayi svaras occur (less than 1 percent), but all songs contain at least 12% (or one eighth nearly) of tara sthayi svaras. The song Etavunara contains the smallest tara svaras; belonging to the same category perhaps are the songs-Bhajana seyave, Nidhi chala and Rama neevadu. Songs clearly classifiable as tara sthayi kritis are: Rama rama rama and Vachchunu Hari (greater than 30%); Nammi »achchina, Sundari nee, Enduko nee and Karuvelpulu (all greater than 25/~). 9 KRITIS IN KALYANI

Distribution of the Seven Svaras If we ignore the sthayi (register) and consider only the seven notes themselves, it is seen that for all the 19 songs together, the percentages are:-19, 14, 13, 10, 16, 15 and 13 respectively: Thus Sa and Pa are the largest occurring notes (a feature common to any raga or song) followed closely by Dha and Ri. Ga and Ni occur comparatively in less cases and the pratimadhyama has the lowest percentage of 10. There are some diff­ erences when individual songs are concerned. Full details are available in TABLE n.

The percentages of the two non-variable notes (Sa and Pa) together vary between 30 to 41 percent of all the seven notes. The popular song Vasudevayani has 41 % of its notes as either Sa or Pa. If there is complete freedom of occurrence of the notes, then in general, there should be nearly 14 percent of each note occurring. The most uniform of the songs is Bhajanaseyave (song 9) with the percentages of the notes as : 12.5, 13.9, 16.3, 13.5, 17.4, 15.0 and 11.4. Incidentally, the largest occurrence of Ma is only in this song (13.5). Eesa pahimam also has a fairly uniform pattern with the percentages as:-17.8, 11.3, 13.3, 12.7, 17.0, 14.5 and 13.4. Some of the songs in which there is one other predominant swara occuring are:-Amma ravamma (Dha-18 percent); Ethavunara (Ri-20 per cent); Evaramaduguthu (Ri-20 per cent); Sive pahi­ mam (Ni-18 per cent); Rama rama ratna (Dha-18 per cent) and Vachchu­ I1U Hari (Ri-19 per cent).*

Songs in which a particular note (barring Ma) is less than 10 per cent frequent are: Etavunara (Ni-lO per cent); Sive pahimam (Ri-7 per cent); Rama rama rama (Ga-8 per cent); Vachchunu Hari (Ni-ll per cent); Eva­ ramadugudu (Ni-11 per cent). It is significant that whenever Ri is infrequent, then Ni is more frequent; and whenever Ga is infrequent Dha is more frequent. We do not know whether there is any musical explanation for this.

Entropy or Information Ifthere is absolute freedom in the occurrence of the notes we could have any note occuring after any other note. This would be just like throws of a coin wherein at any stage either head or tail may be shown up. But music does not allow such complete freedom and hence some restrictions are placed on the pattern of svaras. We seek a measure to mathematically assess the amount of such restriction.

We define H =-I'p (ldp)

*Cf . B.C. Deva's concept of auto-and tele-centricity as applied to Kamatak and Hindustani ragas in his Psychoacoustics. SANGEET NATAK 10 where p is the proportion of each note and ld p denotes the logarithm of p to the base 2. When a raga like Kalyani is concerned we take only the seven svaras Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni and find the proportions in each of the 19 songs and for all the songs put together. The values of Hare given in TABLE III. We recall that this is a sarvasvara gamaka raga and almost all the svara's are of good occunence. The maximum possible value of H fOI a seven svara raga is 2.8074. So, if in a song, the value ofH is near about this value, we can assert that that song has brought out the raga well; values of H away from this would indicate that the scope of the raga has not been fully utilised in that song. Judged by this criterion it would be seen that the following songs have higher values of H and hence can be taken to depict the raga sancharas well:-

Bhajanaseyave (2.7940), Eesa pahi mama (2.7908), Bhajare, raghu (2.7904), Enthukini (2.7815), Ramaneevadu (2.7812). Out of these at least three are not heard in ordinary concerts! Very low values of H are got for Sivpahmam (2.7075), Ethavunara(2.7180), Karuvelpa (2.7149), Kamlabhavudu (2.7376), and Vasudevyani (2.7376). Three of these are very popular. According to R.R. Ayyangar, the kriti, Endukoni is the best of all Tyagaraja's kritis from the point of view of majestic musical setting, a broad spectrum of the raga and full use of the gamakas. But this song, according to H criterion exploits the notes of the raga to a lesser extent than three other songs in Kalyani.

For all the songs put together, we can find a value for H by combining the svaras for all songs and recalculating a set of proportions of the seven svara-s for the raga as a whole. Such a value is 2.77944.* From this one could say that in a majority of cases, the values of H should lie between the limits: 2.7682 to 2.7906. Most of the H-values are significantly different from these limits, indication of perhaps that H should not be taken as a criterion of classification of the raga Kalyani. But it stilI shows whether any particular song has brought out the full capability of the raga or not.

It can perhaps be used to give a numerical measure of the spectrum of each song.

Some of the songs are merely of an invocatory type-praising the deities of a particular shrine. To this category belong the songs-Amma ravamma, Sundari nee, Sive pahi mam, Nammi vachchina and Eesa pahi mmam.

The three songs from Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam (Kamalabhavlldll, oo11 2962. S. E. (H)=OO34 using statistical theory one could assertסס= Variance ofH* that the individul values of H should lie between 2.77944±2 (S.E.) I. Amma ravamma

2. Endukonee manasu 3. Etavunara

4. Evaramadugudu

LP LD LN S 5. Kamalabhavudu

6. Karuvelpulu

l.P LD LN S 7. Sundari needlvya

8. Sive palti mam 9. Bhajaua seyave

10. Nidhi chala sukhama 11. Vasudeva yani

p N Ht1 HP

12. Nammi vacchina

p If HS 11M IfP 13. Sandehamu ela

P .Jl N Hb Hit

14. Eespahimam

p .:» 15. Ninnanavalasina

16. Rama neevadu

p /II HS fiR H~ HM Ill' 17. Rama Rama Rama

LP .. ~ L.N p N liS ItR

18. Vachchunhari

LP LJ) LIV S R p > fI/ HS NR H" HM H P 19. Bhajare

Tol(;{ of all songs in KALYANI RAGA r---

r-- i--- r---

r--- r- r------r- II t - 21 KRITIS IN KAL YANI Vasudevayani, Vachchunu Hari) are noteworthy for the beautiful dramatic "setting" provided by the saint-composer showing his dramatic skill also. In the first of the songs, Tyagaraja pictures Lord Brahma as having been fascinated by Sri Rama's beautiful form as He makes ready to leave for His exile for fourteen years and has come down from his abode to witness the departure. In the second, he picturises a dvarapalaka who enters the stage shouting "Vasudeva" and singing and dancing on the stage-thinking rather highly of his own capabilities. In the third, is the Samudraraja who explains the efficacyof Sri Rama's name to the child devotee Prahlada.

The rest of the songs deal with the various facets in a devotee's life and approach to reach God. The bhakta's goal is saranagati or absolute surrender to the Lord. But this cannot be achieved in a trice. One has to go through many steps and stages. The first perhaps is the acute desire to find where the Lord is: the song Etavunara picturises this siuta­ tion. How should one pray to his own Ishtadevata is vividly portrayed in the song Mandagamana in its nine charanams. Then is the realisation that there have been bhaktas before who have served the Lord and bene­ fited by it-Tyagaraja runs through such a list in Evaramadugudura naming Anjaneya, Shatrughna, Bharata, Laksmana and Sita as the lucky ones who had been with Rama, The bhakta has to be different from the ordinary run of mortals who crave after material wealth and prosperity only. In his famous song Nidhichala he makes such a comparison and concludes that there is nothing sweeter than reciting Rarna's name and being near Him. In Endukoneemanasu, Tyagaraja pleads that he is different from other people, who are after money and material wealth. He pleads with the Lord to come to his succour forgetting the sins he might have un­ knowingly committed. In the attainment of Godhead, literary didaction and incisive logic have no place; even chanting of the Vedas could be given up if only one takes to the chanting of Sree Rama Nama. Bhajana Seyave praises the efficacy of such chanting.

The realisation of his own failings and shortcomings could be said to be starting point in the saranagati tatva. In Ninnanavalesina, the sage feels that perhaps he alone is at fault: his love has not been devout enough; his attention has not been without blemish; his longing has not been intense enough. The next stage would be the realisation of the great­ ness of the Lord to whom one is offering oneself. This finds mention in the song Karuvelpulu, wherein the greatness of Sri Ram is depicted. That the Lord is merciful and is known to be good to his devotees; that one must have faith in Him as the only Saviour and there is none else to come to one's rescue are brought out in Ramaneevadu and Ramo ramo rama.

Tyagaraja sometimes makes very mundane comparisons also-he compares Rama to the samba (long term paddy) crop and the lesser Gods to the kaar (short term paddy) crop! SANGEET NATAK 22 It would be noted that the sentiments expressed in all these songs are not of extreme variety but of the normal type only. Kalyani raga having only simple frequency ratios is good for expressing qualities like poise, tenderness and yearnings. More intense qualities and passionate outbursts require perhaps ragas with complex frequency ratios.

Conclusions 1. The entropy (H) is not useful as a raga characteristic but could be used as a method of measuring whether a particular piece has brought out the full capabilities of the raga in which it is set.

2. More than a third of the notes that we sing are of the Sa-Pa variety only. 3. Kalyani raga has more tara sthayi sancharas than mandara sthayi ones. REFERENCES 1. RAJAGOPALAN, K.R. "Kritis of Thyagarajaan analysis" Journal of the Music Academy, Madras. Volume XXXIX (1968). pp 112-167.

2. List of Thyagaraja's Kritis given in Chinnaswamy Mundaliar's book. 1890.

3. APPA RAO, VISSA: "Thyagaraja Keertanamulu." 1948.

4. RAGHAVAN, V. AND RAMANUJACHARIAR: "Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja" Madras, 1957.

5. RANGARAMANUJA A YYANGAR, R. "Kritirnanimalai" Vo­ lumes I and 2. Madras, 1965.

6. DEVA, CHAITANYA B. AND NAIR P.S. "Forms in Music". Sangeet Natak, 2nd April 1966. pp 105-116; Deva, B.c., Psychoacousties of Music and Speech, Ch, 13 (Music Academy, Madras, 1967).

7. GIFT SIROMONEY AND RAJAGOPALAN, K.R. "Style as in­ formation in Karnatic Music". The Journal ofMusic Theory. Yale School of rvlusic. Winter 1964, 8:2. pp 267-272.

8. RAJAGOPALAN, K.R. Entropy or Information as a method of Raga classification. Journal of the Music Academy, Madras. Volume XXXVI (1965) pp 99-104.

9. SAMBAMOORTY, P. South Indian Music-Book III, Madras, 1964.

10. GNANADOSS, A.A. "Ragas and ratios." Madras Christian College Magazine. Volume XXV,-2 (1956). TABLE I N w Showing the percentage of the various notes in each song; the suffix L indicates lower and H the hlgheristhayi

Song No. LP LD LN S R 0 M P D N HS HR HO HM HP

1. 0.6 1.6 4.7 7.5 11.9 7.8 13.8 17.2 12.5 15.9 5.0 1.5 2. 0.3 2.7 5.8 11.5 9.3 14.9 18.5 11.5 13.0 8.8 3.3 0.2 0.2 3. 1.3 1.7 10.4 18.5 13.0 5.9 14.1 14.1 8.6 10.4 1.8 0.2 4. 1.9 6.0 14.7 9.6 9.1 15.2 15.0 9.4 10.0 5.6 3.1 0,2 0.2 5. 0.4 1.9 8.7 10.5 14.3 8.5 10.7 13.5 11.0 15.5 3.7 1.3 6. 0.1 0.6 1.8 7.0 7.5 8.4 7.4 11.8 15.1 12.6 19.0 6.0 2.3 0.4 7. 0.5 1.7 8.4 9.4 11.3 9.3 16.2 14.7 9.6 11.2 6.5 1.2 8. - 0.1 1.3 3.9 4.9 7.8 11.2 22.4 14.6 16.4 14.4 2.4 0.2 9. 0.3 4.2 9.9 14.6 13.4 17.4 15.0 11.2 8.3 4.0 1.7 10. 1.2 10.9 8.5 12.1 10.0 17.1 15.4 9.6 10.9 3.1 1.1 0.1 11. 2.9 9.6 10.0 8.4 23.5 15.6 13.0 13.8 2.3 0.9 12. 1.2 2.4 6.0 7.9 8.6 7.5 15.0 12.9 12.5 13.4 9.6 3.0 13. 1.1 6.1 9.8 12.9 10.2 13.1 13.4 11.9 15.8 4.9 0.8 14. 0.3 5.5 4.9 11.4 12.0 16.7 14.5 13.1 12.3 6.4 2.0 0.6 0.3 15. 0.2 2.0 6.9 9.1 9.6 8.3 12.6 15.1 12.9 16.0 5.5 1.8 16. 0.8 7.0 8.9 12.1 10.8 20.0 14.8 11.0 8.6 4.5 1.5 17. 0.7 2.2 5.1 7.9 20.2 17.5 14.6 16.6 9.9 3.1 1.5 0.7 18. 0.2 0.5 3.9 9.9 12.6 9.5 12.3 14.6 10.7 12.8 8.7 3.1 0.7 0.5 19. 1.4 3.6 9.9 11.3 10.8 17.3 14.9 13.7 12.8 3.6 0.7 Total 0.1 0.2 1.2 6.0 9.0 11.0 9.4 15.8 15.0 11.8 13.2 5.3 1.8 0.2 0.1 rAULE 11 Showing the percentage of occurance of the seven notes

Song No. S R G M P D N

1. 20.48 12.50 13.44 7.81 13.75 17.97 14.05 2. 15.73 14.56 14.72 9.58 15.11 18.54 11.76 3. 20.72 20.29 13.19 5.94 14.13 15.30 10.36 4. 16.00 20.30 12.70 9.30 15.40 15.00 11.30 5. 24.17 14.21 15.68 8.49 10.70 13.84 12.91 6. 26.03 13.53 10.69 7.84 11.86 15.64 14.40 7. 19.71 15.87 12.50 9.38 16.22 15.02 11.30 8. 18.29 7.36 8.01 11.19 22.40 15.Q4 17.71 9. 12.50 13.91 16.30 13.48 17.40 15.01 11.40 10. 21.94 11.52 13.17 10.11 17.08 15.36 10.82 11. 16.61 11.96 10.89 8.39 23.48 15.62 13.05 12. 19.35 17.47 11.67 7.53 14.98 14.08 14.92 13. 21.89 14.67 13.67 10.22 13.11 13.44 13.00 14. 17.84 11.30 13.33 12.65 17.02 14.46 13.40 15. 22.96 14.59 11.43 8.26 12.56 15.27 14.93 16. 15.63 13.37 13.54 10.76 19.97 14.84 11.89 17. 17.34 12.04 8.21 9.31 20.99 17.52 14.59 18. 16.71 18.54 15.61 10.24 12.80 14.88 11.22 19. 16.44 13.52 11.93 10.82 17.34 14.86 15.09 For Total 19.26 14.34 12.70 9.56 15.86 15.31 12.97 25

TABLE III Values of H and Unbiased estimate of H for the nineteen songs

H Unbiased estimate

1 Amma Ravamma 2.75648 2.74295 2. Enthkoni 2.78147 2.76799 3. Ethavunara 2.71797 2.70543 4. Evaramadugu 2.76846 2.75980 5. Kamalabavudu 2.73758 2.72161 6. Karuvelpulu 2.71490 2.70641 7. Sundari nee 2.77039 2.74958 8. Sive pahi mam 2.70747 2.69620 9. Bhajana seyave 2.79397 2.78337 10. Nidhi Chala 2.75645 2.74967 11. Vasudvayani 2.73759 2.72214 12. Nammivachina 2.75892 2.74589 13. Sandehamu 2.77085 2.76124 14. Eesa pahi mam 2.79075 2.77771 15. Ninnanavalasi di 2.74692 2.73713 16. Rama neevadu 2.78124 2.76621 17. Rama Rama Rama 2.73924 2.72345 18. Vachchunu Hari 2.77978 2.76922 19. Bhajare raghu 2.79033 2.77084

Prepared by Sudha and Padma Lata. Communicated by Prof. K.S. Rajagopalan, Dept. of Statistics, Christian College, Tambaram, Madras and Dr. B.C. Deva, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. NAGARJUNAKONDA AMPHITHEATRE

M. L. Varadpande

Though Bharata's Natyasastra contains detailed information regard­ ing various types of theatres, we have no surviving example of his time which exactly answers his description. However some theatre sites were located by archaeologists during the course of their explorations. First among them was 'Sitabengara' rock-cut cave situated in the Ramgarh hills oferstwhile Sarguja state. Dr Bloch called it 'an Indian theatre of the third century B.C., and on the basis of epigraphical and other evidences he came to the conclusion that it was a place 'where poetry was recited, love songs were sung and theatrical performances were acted'. This cave theatre has two tiers of seats around the walls of the cave with the arena in-between for performance. Various interpretations had been offered by the authorities about the nature of this theatre. Some of them, quite wrongly so, even saw Roman influence in its design. Another important example of a cave theatre is 'Rami Gumpha' Jain cave in Udayagiri hills near Bhuvaneshvar in Orissa. This double-storied structure is built around a courtyard which is open on one side. While describing this cave theatre of c ISO B.C., Percy Brown used the words 'like an amphitheatre'. But in 1954, an actual amphitheatre was excavated by the archaeologists at Nagarjunakonda which is of great significancefor the history of Indian theatre. Situated on the right bank of the river Krishna, fortified by the off­ shoots of the Nallamalai range is a valley in Andhra which was once a great centre of Buddhist learning and a seat of the Ikshvaku dynasty. It was known as Vijayapuri and the hills around were mentioned in ancient inscriptions as Sri Parvata . It's present name Nagarjunakonda, according 27 NAGARJUNAKONDA to some historians, is of medieval origin. After this site was 'discovered' in 1926, the archaeologists' spade laid bare, among many other things, remains of a great civilization which flourised under the generous patronage of Ikshvaku rulers of Vijayapuri, In August 1954, a special project was launched to unearth the rich treasures of an ancient civilization under the supervision of Dr R. Subrahmanayam which yielded valuable results. The excavation activities carried out under his guidance at Nagarjunakonda site were described as an 'important landmark in the history of South Indian archaeological research'. A brief report was published in 'Indian Archaeo­ logy: 1954-55' about a discovery of a quadrangle arena with brick galleries around. The report says:

'The next site, VII A, was most important of recent excavations. It revealed a temple of Hariti, juxtaposed on the contours of the hill. To reach the temple one.had to go up the hilI through a quadrangle, 54'6"x45', with arrangements on its four sides for a brick gallary edged with Cuddapah slabs. At its south-west corner was a stone bench for visitors to assemble and wash their feet. The water used for washing was carried away by a drain provided nearby. A circular abacus part of a coloumn was situated right at the centre of quadrangle. One of the stone benches bore the triratna and the bow and arrow mark. Another stone bench had an ins­ cription on it reading Kama-sara or arrow of love. The shrine was app­ roached through this wide enclosure by a flight of steps leading to the top of the hill. In the shrine, flanked by the two bigger rooms, was an image of Hariti in lime stone, torso missing, seated with her legs handing down. The decorative features of the image would warrant the 4th or 5th century as a possible date of the temple. Also was found in this area an inscribed pillar referring to putting up a perpetual endowment iakhaya-nivi) on the occasion of some Utsava or festival.' At the time of report the excavation was in progress, hence, there the exact significance of their discovery of this 'wide enclosure' is not men­ tioned. One day, while examining the structure, Dr R. Subrahmanyam suddenly became aware of the acoustic qualities of this enclosure which gave him an altogether new angle. He found that he could very clearly hear asong sung in the arena by standing at the top of the flight of stairs. It also came to his notice that as he went up the song became clearer and clearer. This gave him the clue about the exaet nature of this enclosure which came to be known as the 'Nagarjunakonda Amphitheatre, a unique architectural structure, the first and only one of its kind ever excavated by the archaeologist's spade in this country. Historians subscribe this unique structure to the second Ikshvaku King, Maharaja Madhariputra Sri Vira-Purisadatta, son of the great founder of the Vijayapuri Empire, Carntamula I. ~e ru!ed over the valley for long-twentyfive years (250-275 A.D.) and dunng his prosperous reign many structures were raised. He was a powerful monarch and had SANGEET NATAK 28 a Saka Princess of Ujjain, Rudradhrabhattarika, as one of his queens. It is amply clear from the graceful, sophisticated and sensuous Nagarjuna­ konda sculptures that social life under the Ikshvakus was gay and happy. Dramatic arts like dancing, singing, acting were in vogue. 'Whatever myths and legends are spelt out in the reliefs, there is always an element of drama in the presentation of the narration' (Amita Ray). If these sculp­ tures are taken as a commentary in stone on contemporary social life by the Andhra artists, we can safely establish the existence of dramatic arts under the Ikshvaku rulers. Andhra had profited much by the Indo-Roman trade and gold was flowing in the cities of the country. The gay city life of the time is very well reflected in contemporary literary works like the Kamasutra of Vatsayana. A rich trading community and ladies of the royal families patronised the arts and gave freely for a religious cause. The amphitheatre at Nagarjunakonda was a product of this cultured atornosphere. This brick-built amphitheatre was situated at the foot of the hill over­ looking the river. There was a long passage-eight feet wide and twenty­ nine feet six inches long-for the people to enter the arena which was a plain rectangular ground measuring 55' x 46'. There was a 3' 6'" high wall on three sides and then started the galleries built upwards. This reminds us of Bharata's description of the auditorium in the second chapter of the Natyasastra. In the 96th verse he had mentioned 'Sopanakrit Pithakami,' a tiered gallery rising upwards. Here galleries rose by nine inches. That means spectators were required to sit in Veerasana (on knees and heels) or Padmasana (the cross-legged lotus position) while watching the performance. On entering the arena to the right there were benches, probably constructed for the performing artists. On one of the benches, the name 'Kama-sara' was inscribed. This might have been the name of the dancer or a leader of the dancing troupe attached to the theatre. There were artisan's guilds at the time and each guild had some symbol. One such guild had a 'Damaru' as a symbol. The bow and arrow mark on the bench was also a symbol indicating a particular artisan guild that constructed the amphitheatre. Triratna is a peculiar Buddhist symbol signifying Buddha, Dharma and Sangh. The existence of the Triratna symbol on one of the benches indicates that it was a Buddhist structure. By the side of the flight of steps ascending the hill, there were two boxes for VIPs and still higher up, a pavilion for royalty. Polished Cuddaph slabs covered the seats. Few seats were found with inscriptions like 'Dhana­ Asana' meaning thereby the seat of Dhanaka. In the centre ofthe arena archaeologists found a 'circular abacus part of a column'. That may be explained as a relic of a lamp-post used to illuminate the arena. There seems to be some definite connection between the Hariti temple

Illustrations : P, 29. Nagarjunakonda reconstructed. Two views (Photos: Archaeological Survey ofIndiai. P.30. Hariti Devi Temple all the hill-top with seated figure. (Below) Temptation ofBuddha, Naeariunakonda.

33 NAGARJUNAKONDA

at the top of the hill and the amphitheatre below. Hariti is a guardian deity of the Buddhist buildings. Hariti means thief. She used to steal children of Rajagriha and devour them. It was Buddha who changed her cannibal mode of life and thereafter she became the protectress of sacred buildings of the Buddhist order. However, some scholars consider her to be of Greek origin. George Woodcock in Greeks in India says, 'Demeter, the earth mother of the Greeks, is transformed into Hariti, an ancient Indian fertility goddess with a taste for human infants who was converted by Buddha and became a popular figure of the Mahayana pantheon.' As mentioned earlier, archaeologists found one pillar with an inscription mentioning a grant of perpetual endownment to the deity at the time of some utsava. We may infer that there used to be a festival in honour of Hariti which used to be celebrated with dance, drama, music in the amphitheatre below. This particular relationship between the deity and the amphitheatre reminds us of Roman temple theatres, particularly of Pompey, where the altar of Venus was placed at the head of the auditorium. The Roman senate was against the construction of permanent theatres on moral grcunds, One of the earliest permanent Roman theatres was built by Pompey in 53 B.c. where the image of Venus was shrewdly kept to delude the senate. Tertuilian interprets Pompey's action in these words: 'When Pompey the great, had constructed that citadel of all vice, since he was afraid of a censorious punishment of his memory, he placed above it a shrine of Venus, and when he invited the people by proclaimation to dedication, he announced it not as a theatre but a temple of Venus, "under which", he said, "we have placed steps for watching games". ((Roman Theatre Temples p 45). Though we cannot by any stretch of imagination establish that similar conditions existed in India, at the same time we cannot ignore the stern opposition of early Buddhism to 'sensuous' arts like dance, drama and music. Though according to Lalit Vistara, Gautam Buddha himself was an adept in various arts including dramatics and like Shakespeare viewed life as a great drama he asked the Sramanas to keep away from such things. In Brahmajala Suttanta of the Digha Nikaya he says, ' ....whereas some recluses and Brahmanas, while living on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to visiting shows; that is to say, dances, singing of songs, instrumental music, shows at fairs, ballad recitations, the chanting of bards, tam-tam playing, fairy scenes...Gautama the recluse holds ~loof from visiting such shows.' We learn from Vinaypitak that two Bhlkkus, As­ vajit and Punervasu, were expelled from the order w~en they were fo~nd flirting with a dancer after attending her performance III a theatre ~f KI.ta­ giri. In his famous Girnar rock edict number one, the great Bhuddist king Asoka sternly prohibited -Samaj', merry gatherings of the people.

-Illustrations: P. 31. Sculpturedfigures from Nagarjunakonda. Couple on cornice stone. P.32, Terracotta head (above); (below) Couple, note Soldier with helmet. SANGEET NATAK 34

But after a passage of time this attitude was softened by many factors. From the era of Asoka to Kanishka much water had flowed under the bridge. It is worth mentioning that the oldest available Sanskrit drama, Sariputraprakarana by Mahakavi Asvaghosh, is on a Buddhist theme. We learn from the accounts of the Chinese travellers that professional actors were brought to the monasteries, including that of Mathura, to enact the stories about the conversion of Sariputra, Maudgalyayaa and others. This clearly shows that Buddhist monks started using dramatic arts for the propagation of the faith. Mentioning Avadana Sataka which was translated into Chinese in the. third century, Sten Konow gives us information about a Buddhist Nataka 'which the Deccan actors enacted before the king of Shobhavati and according to Kanjur one actor from Deccan might have produced the history of the Buddha upto the attainment of the Bodhi, before the king Bimbisara. 'The tradition of performing plays on Buddhist themes is still very much alive in the Lama monasteries in the Himalayan ranges. The sacred plays based on Jataka stories were very populari n Tibet and actors performing them were known as A-Iche-Iha-mo. The Buddhist amphitheatre at Nagarjunakonda might have likewise wit­ nessed drama, pageants, scenes depicting the life and teachings of the Buddha by the troupe of actors, dancers, musicians whose replicas are carved on the soft grayish stone slabs. The peculiar dramatic quality of the narration in stone of Jataka stories could be subscribed to the presence of Shilpin artists, at dramatic performances in the arena of the amphitheatre. Two spacious rooms flanking the shrine of Hariti might have been used by the actors as the Nepathya-griha, green-room. It must have been a grand spectacle to watch Mara and his awe-inspiring army of demons descending the hill to the arena by the flight of stairs passing through the audience.

It is quite interesting to note here that there is not a single Indian treatise on dramaturgy or architecture that refers to a rectangular amphi­ theatre such as excavated at Nagarjunakonda. But there are many refe­ rences regarding actors performing in an open arena in contemporary literary works. In the Gamani Samyutta there is the story of Talaputa, the chief of the village of dancers who asked the reaction of the Exalted One to the belief of the 'traditional teachers of old who were actors, that a player who on the stage or in the arena, makes people laugh and delights them with truth and falsehood, on dissolution of the body after death, is reborn in the company ofthe laughing Devas'. Vishnudharmott­ ara says 'Lasya may be performed either in a theatre or in an open space at will; natya should be presented only in a theatre.' While laying down this principle the author of the treatise seems to have kept in mind the acoustics of the theatre. But the open-air theatre at Nagarjunakonda is built with such skill by the artisan guild bearing the bow and arrowsymb~l, that spectators sitting at any point in the amphitheatre could clearly hear the actor in the arena. 35 NAGARJUNAKONDA

Writing about this 'unique example of architecture' Mr H. Sarkar in his book on Nagarjunkonda says that 'it might have been modelled on Roman traditions'. Dr M.N. Deshpande, speaking at the Indian History Congress, 1963 opined that 'this stadium, which is the only one of its kind e~acavated so far, appears to have been constructed under foreign inspira­ tion and one wonders whether the Yamnas, who came to Western India in the first few centuries of the Christain era and many of whom were con­ verts to Buddhism, had conceived its construction in imitation of the classical models known to them'.

No doubt an amphitheatre as a building, primarily for entertainment, in which the seats for the spectators surrounded the stage or arena was early developed in the Italian Penansula ((En.Brt) Roman traders, artisans started flooding the ports of Western India during the first few centuries of the Christain era. Many of them settled in the country, influenced her cultural traditions and ultimately merged in the main current of the social stream. According to 'Periplus of Erythraean Sea' Roman merchandise included very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem of local kings, fine wine. Scenes of drinking parties are engraved on the reliefs in which Yavana girls and Roman wine cups appear frequently. Archaeologists also found a figure of Dionysus, Greek god of theatre portrayed on a stone slab at Nagarjunakonda. Eudoxus shipped some girls-singing girls or flute girls-for his attempted voyage to India.Roman terracotta figures and gold coins were unearthed at various sites in the valley Writing about the Greco-Roman influence on the Southern peninsula Dr M.N. Deshpande emphatically says that it did produce an appreciable artistic impact and in the process of assimilation and reinterpretation genuinely local art objects were produced. The Nagarjunakonda amphi­ theatre might be described as one such object. However some eminent scholars like Dr R. Subrahmanyam differ with this contention. According to them the architectural concept of Nagarjunakonda amphitheatre is basically different from that ofthe the classical Roman model. Except for a very general type of similarity there is nothing in common. Roman amphitheatres are oval or semi-cirucular with _scena or stage-houses attached to them. They are quite big in size.

Whatever might be the truth, the Nagarjunakonda amphitheatre is defi­ nitelya significant landmark in the history ofIndian theatre. The original site of the amphitheatre is now lying deep under Krishna waters. But archaeologists reconstructed the complete theatre, as it was, on the east bank of the Nagarjunakonda reservoir.

It will not be out ofplace here to mention a thirtysix pillared hallexcava­ ted at site no 80 which had been identified by the archaeologists as a Ranga Mandapa or a theatre. It had a raised platform as a stage and a Nepathya Grtha behind it. In the courtyard around the hall terracota tokens bearing 1

J, 3

) (

, ~ 4 -, - SITABENGARA CAVE c 300-200 B.C. 1 Upper Bench. 2 Lower Bench. 3 Floor. 4 Outer Space.

:t

2-

RANIGUMPHA: UDA YAGIRI c 150 B.C. 1 Double storeyed cave with cells and open galleries in front for spectators 2 Acting arena

NAGARJUNAKONDA AAfPHITHEATRE: c 300 A.D. 1 Brick galleries rising up 2 Acting arena 3 Entrance to the amphitheatre. (Rough sketches; not to scale) 37 NAGARJUNAKONDA

the name of 'Sarasika' were found. In a memorial pillar raised in the honour of king Chamtarnula we find the name of this lady engraved under the headline 'Shubharatikas' along with one Kusumalala. She might have been a court dancer in the service of the king. The terracotta tokens might have been used as gate passes to enter the hall. No other details regarding this structure are available. The amphitheatre and Ranga Mandapa at Nagarjunakonda bear ample testimony to the advanced state of the Indian theatre during the early centuries of the Christian era.

It will be an interesting proposition to compare ancient Indian theatres located at Ramgarh, Udayagiri and Nagara junakonda. It is quite signi­ ficant to note that all three theatres are situated in the hills. That re­ minds us of the performances of the plays-Samavakara named the Amrit­ manthan and Dima named the Tripuradaha-written by Brahma and pro­ duced by Bharata in the 'Himalayan region which consisted of many hills, beautiful caves and waterfalls'. (IV: 9-Natyashastra) The smallest and earliest ofthe three, Sitabengara cave theatre, is in a way a fully covered hall. In Rani Gumpha cave, the auditorium part, that means the galleries in front of the cells, has a roof overhead. The acting arena is an open courtyard. Nagarjundkonda amphitheatre, on the other hand, is a com­ pletely open-air theatre on the hill-side. As far as the Napathya-Griha is concerned, Jogimara cave, near Sitabengara cave, was used by performing artists for make-up etc. In Rani Gumpha, the cells on the ground floor might have been used by the actors for the same purpose. Two rooms flanking the shrine of Hariti on hill top ware used by Natas as Napathya Griha. The first two theatres are carved out of stone while the third, at Nagarajunakonda is a brick-built structure, in a way, more advanced and sophisticated in architectural concept. A few more cave theatres are found, including one at Nasik, but Nagarjunakonda amphitheatre is only one ofits kind in the country. We find mention of hill caves as pleasure resorts in ancient Sanskrit literature but, nowhere do we find the descrip­ tion of a theatre like that of Nagarjunakonda Amphitheatre in any written record.

M.L. VARADANDE, Marathi writer and theatre critic, See Sangeet Natak-28 TRADITIONAL INDIAN PUPPETRY Its dramaturgy, styles and techniques

Devi Lal Samar

Puppetry, in India, owes its origin to several modes of entertainment, prevalent several hundred years ago. As customary in religious belief, imitation of ancestors or divine personalities, through dramatics, was consi­ dered a sign of disrespect. Their depiction through pictures accompanied by song and dramatic narration, an acceptable alternative, thus became popular in India and developed in pictorial performances like the Pad per­ formance of Rajasthan and the Yampatta of Bihar. The leather puppets of Andhra, in which the cut out figures were given interesting movements to depict some important personalities from our epics, were also an im­ provement on these pictorial forms. The shadows of these cut figures were thrown on a white curtain, this gradually developed into full-fledged shadow theatre plays.

Since these leather figures were flat and did not project a three-dimen­ sional effect, they later developed into wood puppets with solid bodies to give a more realistic look. They were manipulated by strings and their movements were natural. The human drama, which came into existence in India at a later stage was but an imitation of this puppet drama. It deve­ loped into a full-fledged art-form only after the taboo on imitating divine personalities had lost its hold or was ignored. The existence of the Sutra­ dhar, meaning manipulator of strings, in ancient Indian drama and many other references in Indian shastras, bear ample testimony to the fact that human drama, in India, developed from the puppet theatre.

Origin The various puppet-styles prevalent in India such as the Rajasthan Kath­ putli, the Odissi (Orissa), the Bommulatam (Andhra), the Bommalauam of Tanjore, the Bengal puppets etc. indicates their origin which is invariably 39 TRADITIONAL PUPPETS

associated with this concept in one way or the other: the Rajasthan pup­ peteers claim that their fore-fathers, known as Nat Bhats were the orici­ nators of Indian puppets and migrated to other states, assuming differe~nt names and castes to signify their special puppet styles. This claim may not have any historical significance but puppeteers of other Indian styles do accept ~hat their fore-fathers did migrate from North India. The principles governing all these styles have many common features.

Indian puppetry, as already stressed has a religious background and its practice is hedged around withnumerous rites and taboos attached. The Rajasthan Puppeteers, for example, believe that any new theme introduced in their traditional repertoire will bring about a calamity. The Oddissi puppeteer also adheres to the traditional themes relating to the life of Radha & Krishna. The Bengal puppeteer is attached to the Kalimal temple, where he performs as a casual entertainer on ceremonial occasions. The Andhra puppeteers also abide by their old religious themes and believe that any change in them will be a cause of their destruction. The Bommal­ lattam puppetteers of Kumbhakonam and Tanjore too have their own superstitions whieh they do not wish to shed. These various styles of puppet-theatre in India., though lacking in modern presentation-technique and other entertaining aspects, have maintained the best that Indian pup­ petry devised all these years. Let us examine their main characteristics.

Symbolism and stylisation All Indian puppets are symbolic and stylised. Their conception and construction is not governed by human anatomy at all. Almost all modern experiments in Indian puppets these days, have failed only on account of this reason: they have unwisely been made realistic. The anatomy of the traditional Indian puppet always varies according to the character that it is supposed to depict. That is why the heroic characters such as of Bhima or Kansa, both in Andhra and Bommalattatn puppets are shown with small heads, oversized chests, small hands and thick legs. Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and other Indian deities have pleasant faces, well­ built bodies with over-sized heads to indicate their wisdom and divine powers. Evil personalities such as Duryodhana, Ravana, Shishupala, have distorted figures with clumsy hands, legs and chest. The Rajput warriors, in Rajasthan puppets, have big eyes, large heads, broad chests, big moustaches and undersized bodies as to produce fantastic effects. The evil intentioned Moghul emperors and villains in the Rajsthan puppet play Amar Singh Rathore have slim figures with distorted faces and dis­ proportionate hands. The divine figures, in Andhra shadow puppets, are almost double the size of other characters and have extraordinary faces and limbs, thus making them look superior and divine.

The colours used for the puppets and their costumes are in conformity with our traditional approach as narrated in the shastras. All devil-like SANGEET NATAK 40 characters are predominantly black and red. The divine characters have white, red and yellow colours elaborately used in their costumes and orna­ ments. Blue is specialIy used for the faces of gods and other divine per­ sonalities. Celestial Beings Indian Puppets, in almost all traditional styles, are considered divine. They are not considered replicas of human beings. They are supposed to come from some celestial world to entertain human beings on earth. That is why they are made in obscure sizes so as to look different from human beings. The over-sized Andhra Shadow puppets, known as Tholu Bommulatam, are made in several sizes but in no case in human sizes. All these puppets are deliberately made different to the human figure because of the concept that they do not belong to this earth. Their movements too are different from those ofhuman beings. In a fight sequence a Rajas­ than puppet is made fall on the other figure in an unrealistic but effective way. The Andhra leather puppet has to push the opposing puppets into oblivion (i.e., off the screen) in order to inflict an injury. The Bommalatam and Rajasthan puppets knock their heads against the floor to produce an effect of intense agony and sorrow The frightful jumps and jerks that the heroic characters of Andhra Puppets make, are mainly for the purpose of making them appear different, exaggerated and superior to the human character.

Music and Words It we turn to the dialogue and music used in Indian puppet theatre we arrive at a very interesting conclusion. Since Indian puppets are considered as representing some celestial body, they have a different language to the speech of humans. The use of a whistle-like voice in Rajasthan puppet­ theatre signifies that these puppets have a different language. These whist­ ling voices are utilised by the commentator in a very interesting varied and effective manner, thus giving a special charm to the whole show. The language and songs used by the Andhra Shadow puppeteers, though human in origin, have queer modulations and a highly stylised delivery. The songs too are sung in a different fashion. The commentary which follows after each lyrical dialogue too gives a toally different impression to human speech. The Bomallattam puppets of South, though they have recently taken to a realistic way of presentation, had something very uniIue in their original form. The original Bommalattam puppeteer, who did not use any curtain at all to hide himself, used to manipulate the puppet by the move­ ments of his own body, which ultimately were conveyed to the puppet which was tied to the ring worn on his head. While moving he used to utter several sounds and shrieks along with the dialogue and songs in order to give the puppet an original character.

All these special features of Indian puppets are in full conformity with 4J TRADITIONAL PUPPETS

t~e internati?nal principles of puppetery, The stylised and over-empha­ sised symbolic aspects of modern European puppets today is a creation of the modern puppeteer and his scientific outlook. Whereas the traditional European puppeteer had always adhered to realistic presentation. In contrast t~ this t~e ~odern enthusiasts in India, of course, are tending to­ wards realism which IS altogether a wrong step. It will not be irrelevant however, to mention here that the avant-garde European puppeteer has gone to the other extreme of making his' puppet too abstract. When the Rajasthan traditional puppets were presented at the III International Festi­ val of Puppet Theatres held in Bucharest in the year 1965,(by the Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandai, Udaipur), they attracted the attention of almost all the prominent puppeteers ofthe world, mainly because they were presented in their original authentic style.

Dramaturgy Like other puppet theatres of the world, the Indian puppet theatre always had its separate dramaturgy. Since mechanisation in Indian pup­ petry is almost nil and the complication of giving human like-movements to the puppet is minimised to its utmost the manipulator has to contribute much to the puppet to make it effective with only two or three strings. The modern puppeteer is so involved in the net-work of strings and other mecha­ nisms of a marionette that all his attention is diverted towards the technique and the direct touch required by the puppet is totally lost. The life that percolates through the direct touch of the puppeteer to the puppet has now . been replaced by mechanical and other technical methods in modern Euro­ pean puppetry. But in Indian puppetry this direct touch is the very life of the puppet. That is why the Rajasthan, the Bomallattam and Oddissi string puppeteers use very few strings and their length too is shortened so , that the feeling of oneness with the puppet remains intact. The use of fewer threads in Indian marionettes and the non-mechanised aspect of the Andhra leather puppets may appear to a layman as elementary and undeve­ loped but for a puppet expert they are perfect.

Puppet styles (1) Rajasthan Puppets: The marionettes which originated in Rajas­ than are known as Rajasthan Kathputli. They are simple, stylized and symbolic string puppets. There are, at present, about 6,000 active pup­ peteers in Rajasthan who travel from one place to the other to entertain the villagers. Each group of Rajasthan puppeteers consist of 3 or 4 mem­ bers. They perform "Amar Singh Rathore" a play based on the life.ofAmar Singh, who ruled Nagaurfour hundred years ago. Even t?~ay, Raja A~ar Singh is held in high .esteem and is considred a near-divine personality. The play has however totally lost its thematic impact. and therefore to keep the audience engaged it has to be supplemente~ wlt.h sever.al unrela­ ted acrobatic feats. The play is performed on a specially Improvised stage made with cots, bamboos and a few indigenous curtains in the background. SANGEET NATAK 42

The front proscenium known as "Taj Mahal' lends special charm to the performance. The"play lasts for an-hour-and-a-half and is one of the most powerful mediums of entertainment in Indian villages today. The Bommnlattam The Bommalattam puppets of Tamil Nadu too are manipulated with strings and are mainly performed in the Kumbakonam region of Southern India. They were originallyperformed in the Courts ofthe rulers ofTanjore. They are made of wood and cloth and are slightly bigger than the other marionettes of India. Originally these puppets used to perform without a stage, but now a covered stage with the manipulators hidden behind the curtain, is used. As mentioned the manipulator of Bornrnalattarn puppets wears a sort of turban on his head with a ring to which the various strings connected to the different limbs of the puppets are tied. Iron rods con­ nected with the hands of the puppet are held by the manipulator for con­ trolling different hand-movements. The manipulator dances and jumps along with his puppet, thus giving automatic movements to it. These puppeteers also travel from village to village in search of performances to earn their livelihood. Religious functions, fairs and all other social and cultural meets are the main venue of their shows. The themes used in Bommalattnm puppet theatre are derived mostly from the ancient Indian epics, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagvat Purana. The Shadow Puppets of Andhra The Andhra Shadow Puppets, popularly known as Tholu Bommiilattam were first practiced in Maharashtra, the central west part ofIndia, from where they migrated under patronage of Andhra Kings. The Andhra shadow puppets, as already mentioned, have their own characteristics. They are now performed and practiced mostly by the Bondiliya and Bondi­ likshatrya communities of the Andhra State, as their traditional hereditary art. They wander from village to village and perform throughout the night. These puppets are made mostly of goat-leather. The method of dyeing, processing, colouring and cutting is still a secret, because these commu­ nities consider it a bad omen to teach it to others. The puppets are made transluscent so that light can pass through them and a technicolour effect is produced on the curtain. The performance is held in any open space. A big tent with a cloth proscenium is erected. The back portion is com­ pletely covered so that no external light can pass through. A big oil lamp, a petromax or an electric lamp is lighted at the back for casting shadows on the curtain. The manipulators stand just near the curtain and mani­ pulate their puppets with the help ofsticks. Big drums and flutes are used for musical accompaniment, and the singing and speaking is done in the background in a very shrill manner.

The themes, generally used in the Andhra shadow puppets, are based on Indian epics and have a powerful impact on the audience. Usually an 43 TRADITIONAL PUPPETS average Indian puppet-performance lasts for about an-hour-and-a-half, but the Andhra shadow puppets have broken all the records and perform almost throughout the night.

Odissi Puppets The Odissi Marionettes of the Orissa State are manipulated with strings. Their average height is not more than H feet. They are not very different from Rajasthan puppets, except in the themes they enact. The themes are based mostly on the life of Krishna and Radha. Any episode from popular legends or folklore can also form a part of the story and becomes a supplementary theme to make the showjnore fascinating. The Odissi tradi­ tional puppeteers are known as Sakhi and Kanhai Nats and have many common features with Kathputli Nats of Rajasthan. Odissi puppets too have stylised feature and are symbolic and fantastic. Their manipulation is in line with the dramaturgy of Indian Puppetry. The performance is on an improvised stage like that of the puppets of Rajasthan and they are taken from one place to another for the entertainment of the village folk. The Odissi puppets are the most unfortunate victims of the modern modes of entertainment today, and are finding it difficultto com­ pete with them. There are about 5 persons in an Odissi puppet-troupe, consisting of two puppet manipulators, two singers and one drummer. These puppeteers are too conservative and have not been able to adapt at all to modern times. That is why their performance-tours are confined mostly to the State of Orissa and those too during fairs, festivals and reli­ gious functions only.

Other Styles There are a few more varieties of Indian puppets such as the Bengal Rod Puppets the Gulabo Sutabo puppets of Uttar Pradesh, the Lalua finger puppets of Rajasthan and the Pavai Kuthu shadow puppets of Malabar. The Bengal puppets are confined to the temple of the Goddess Kali of Calcutta and are performed only on special religious occasions. They are hung on the top of a stick which when given jerks produces several types of move­ ments. The Gulabo Sutabo puppets of U.P. never gained popularity because of their limited scope. The form has no theme and the puppets are used by a class of people whose profession is begging. They are used in the form of gloves and are made to converse with each other in a fantastic and jocular manner. It is only a one-man show and no formal stage is required for it.

Another interesting puppet style almost extinct now, is that of Lalua puppets. These puppets are used by the Bhavai dancers of Rajasthan. The Lalua is composed of a head and four limbs which are worn on the fingers of the manipulator. The head is worn on the middle finger an~ t~e other four limbs on the rest of the four fingers. A cloth or a kerchief IS SANGEET NATAK 44 placed in the palm of the manipulator to cover the joints of the puppet and to give the resemblance of a body. The limbs when moved in a particular manner give an effect of a crying child. Interesting monologue accom­ panies the movements, creating a lot of fun for the audience. The Bhavai is an interesting community living in the State of Rajasthan and Gujarat, whose main profession is to dance and entertain their patrons. The Bhavai performance does not require any raised platform and therefore the Lalua puppet too is performed without a stage. The performer moves round the arena to show his Lalua to the audience. Another interesting style of shadow puppetry which has practically died out now is the Pavai Kuthu of Malabar. The puppets are cut from a piece of leather with several holes pierced all over it to pass light through them. These figures are permanently struck to a thin cloth. They do not make any movement but give very fascinating impressions of movement when the curtain is moved in a rhythmic manner, to the accompaniment of drums and songs. The Traditional Indian Puppet Theatre, thus, is still found in its folk form and provides powerful entertainment to the masses even today. The modern puppet enthusiasts in India do not seem to derive their inspira­ tion from this rich heritage, whereas in Europe and other countries Asian puppetry particularly that of India is looked upon as an art of great poten­ tiality. India, therefore, enjoys a very advantageous position by having one of the oldest and most varied traditions of puppetry in the World. A revival movement has already started in India and it is to be hoped that work in the fewexperimental centres will be successful in revitalisingthis fascinating and valuable art.

DEVI LAL SAMAR, Head of the Folklore Institute, Lok Kala Mandai, Udaipur. THEATRE IN NIGERIA

Ulli Beier

Most of the cultural groups living in what is to-day called Nigeria made use of theatrical forms long before the advent of Europeans. The two major types of theatrical entertainment or ritual were the story telling mas­ querade and the theatrical re-enactments of history. Traditional Forms The story telling masquerade took many different forms: among the Ibibio people masqueraders still act out important events in a dead man's life during his funeral ceremony. Among the Yoruba people, the Agebegijo (literaly "we take wood to dance") masqueraders perform a series of'satir­ ical sketches in which fun is made of other ethnic groups: the Hausaman, the Nupe Man and the European (usually with bright pink face, long pointed nose, and straight hair made of Colobus monkey fur). Somewhat more vicious are the satires on undesirable social characters, for example the drunkard, the prostitute and the police-man. The Tiv people chant stories while their spectacular Kwaghir masquerades are dancing. These perfor­ mances also include a puppet show. Though story telling masquerades have religious or ritual origins they have a definite entertainment function. Most of them perform for a fee, and they are quick to invent new and topical sketches. I know ofat least one masquerade that was temporarily banned by one of the State Governments in Nigeria, because it made fun of the establishment. Historical re-enactment is another common source of theatrical per­ formance in Nigeria. These plays are usually linked with kingship institu­ tions and are therefore most common among the Beni and Yoruba peoples. Most towns of Western Nigeria have rituals during which the ascendency of

First read as a paper at the National Seminar on "Aboriginal Arts in Australia" Sponsored by the Australian Council for the Arts, Canberra, May, 1973. SANGEEI' NATAK 46

the ruling dynasty is confirmed add homage paid to the present king, while at the same time the ancient land rights of the previous dynasty are ack­ nowledged, and the descendant of the older line of Kings is guaranteed his important status as a ritual leader. Such rituals often contain mas­ sive performances of mock warfare that involve hundreds of people or a carefully staged wrestling match between the king and the priest. Sometimes the original migration of a eking's ancestor is re-enacted during the installation rites of a king, which can involve a royal pro­ cession lasting for several days. Theatre in the Modern Context Whiletraditional forms like the ones mentioned above are still very much alive, contemporary theatre is flourishing and Nigeria has probably more professional companies than any other country in Africa. Contemporary theatre in Nigeria has two very distinct sources: the popular theate which is performed in the various local languages, but mainly in Yoruba, and the more intellectual theatre which has its roots in the Nigerian Universities. Popular Yoruba theatre has its origins in the Church. Like the Churches in mediaeval Europe, Nigerian churches performed Biblical plays in order to acquaint the illiterate congregation with some of the more important Biblical subjects: Adam and Eve; Samson and Delilah; Joseph and his Brethren and Nebucadnezzar were on the whole more popular than Passion or Nativity plays. These plays began in the late twenties or early thirties with the establishment of local Churches: The African Church and the "Sacred Society of Seraphim and Cherubim" were in the forefront of such activities. Usually school teachers were asked to produce these plays for Church functions. One of these teachers, Hubert Ogunde, took the deci­ sive step from Church entertainment to professional theatre. More than twenty-five years ago, Ogunde gathered some of his former school pupils and formed the "Ogunde Concert Party", Nigeria's first professional theatre company which is still one of the liveliest on the scene.

From the religious "moralities" Ogunde inherited a form; a kind of musical drama, with very fluid boundaries between speech and song and between walk and dance. The first of these characteristics arises from the tonal structure of the Yoruba language: spoken Yoruba is close to song by its very internal structure, and it glides into formal song simply by a widening of the intervals ofordinary speech tone. Even the freest melodic structure in this language has to move within the basic tone patterns of speech-if the meaning of the words is not to be totally lost or perverted. The second characteristic of the plays is derived from the convention of providing an almost continuous back ground of "high life" music, which encourages a gentle rhythmic sway ofthe body in situations where actors in .a European play would be standing still or walking in a casual manner. For this 47 THEATRE IN NIGERIA

:ormula it is easy to glide imperceptibly into dance, when body movement IS meant to express heightened emotion.

Hubert Ogunde quickly moved from religious plays to social satire and from social commentary to political attack. He has the distinction of being the. first victim of political censorship in Nigeria (his play Yorubas Think! WhICh attacked the Government of Chief S.A. Akintola was banned from the Western Region of Nigeria in 1965). Ogunde's plays included one on Nigeria Unity (performed for independence) one on trade Union troubles and one on elections. The latter one, which was once again aimed against Chief Akintola, ended with a mock election on stage, in which the audience was invited to come on stage and vote for the party of Ogunde's choice. This play, which caused near riots every night, must be one of the most effective pieces politically of theatre ever produced anywhere. Ogunde is a thorough professional. He never received a grant from any one and never asked for one. He found an answer to .every question. When parents objected to their daughters working as actresses, he married the entire female cast, thus making acting a reputable profession while turning his company into a family business. Once, when his male actors went on strike for higher pay, he went on stage at very short notice, with his eight wives sharing the male and female parts! Even though Ogunda plays only in Yoruba, he tours all parts of Nigeria, Ghana and other West African Countries. Under his own steam, and without any Government sponsorship, he undertook a tour of Britain. The Yoruba folk theatre was taken a step further by the late E.K. Ogun­ mola, who was probably the greatest Nigerian actor of his time. Ogunmola's plays were much less topical than Ogunde's. He was not interested in events, but in people. As a playwright Ogunmola moved within the every­ day world of Yoruba life as it is played out on the fringe between religious traditions and modern politics. His characters are the farmers, small traders, drivers, mechanics and crooks who make up the population of rural Yoruba towns. His themes are jealousy, greed, folly and betrayal; but all these human weaknesses are seen, not through the bitter eyes of a moralist, but with the warmth and sympathy ofa man who laughs at others, but is equally capable of laughing at himself. Ogunmola performances were memorable in fact unforgettable, because of his loving attention to detail which he ~ave to his characters, and because of his brilliant, split­ second timing, which even a "natural" actor-producer like Ogunmola could only acquire by years of professional life on the road.

The third major figure of the popular theatre in Nigeria is Duro Ladipo, who gave this theatre a completely new dimension. ~adipo .r~placed the nightclubbish "high life" music of his predecessors ":Ith traditional drum­ ming. Instead of bongo drums and saxophones (like Ogunde) he used SANGEET NATAK 48

traditional pressure drums and flutes. Instead of recruiting his actors from primary school Ieavers, he tends to employ dancers and singers from traditional societies of masqueraders.

Ladipo looked for his themes in Youruba history and mythology rather than in the contemporary social and political scene. In his plays the Yoruba gods and kings are resurrected with both dignity and vigour and one of his major contributions to the quality of Nigerian life is his ability to demon­ strate the relevance of the past for the present. Traditions that were de­ cried not so long ago as "pagan", were shown to be of the utmost value in the modern search for identity. Ladipo does not glorify the past, but he reminds people of the richness and intensity of life Nigerians had evolved before the coming of the Europeans. He shows his Nigerian audiences that they can recognise their current tensions and conflicts in the great historical confrontation of the past. Ladipo, who started his company in 1962, reached a first great climax of his career in 1964, when he was invited to perform at the Berlin Theatre Festival. His play Oba Koso ("The King did not Hang Himself") earned universal praise from the German critics. The element that impressed audiences and critics most was the perfect fusion between music, dance, poetry, action and design-a total integration virtually unknown in Euro­ pean theatre.

Popular Yoruba theatre is attracting ever larger audiences. There are at least thirty fully professional companies now, travelling through the country. Audiences are willing to pay from 5 to 10 shillings for a seat and companies can tour for about 2 months with the same play, without showing it to the same audience twice. The more serious companies have a repertoire of six to eight plays. Most companies have an opportunity to produce their plays on local television; some have a regular spot. Theatre in English Theatre in English was pioneered in Nigeria at the University of Ibadan­ The drama school at Ibadan made its way into Nigerian theatre "the hard way"-with Shakespeare Moliere and all that. An early step in the right direction were the adaptations of classical authors into a Nigerian setting. Later the drama school evolved a travelling student theatre which con­ centrated on Nigerian plays which were immensely successful. But the real breakthrough came with the return of Wole Soyinka the brilliant Nigerian playwright from England. Soyinka had taken a degree at Leeds and had gained some theatrical experience at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Some ofhis earlier plays had already been performed in Nigeria. Now he burst onto the scene with the controversial play A Dance of the Forest which was written especially for Nigerian independence. Partly however because the Independence Festival Committee could not fully 49 THEATRE IN NIGERIA

understand the script and partly because they understood enough to realise that the play queried the validity of the general euphonia that surrounded independence, the play was not accepted for the officialfestival programme. Thus within months of his arrival in Nigeria Soyinka established the pattern of his uneasy relationship with the Nigerian establishment. His problems were manifold from the start. To begin with he wrote not only in English but in such a sophisticated English, that his audiences in Nigeria were relatively limited. Combined with the fact that Nigerian actors who can perform in English would expect a higher wage than the performers in the folk theatre, this meant that there was no easy way to­ wards professional theatre in English. Soyinka's Dance ofthe Forest was eventually performed as an unofficial sideshow of the Independence Celebrations, with the help of prize money the author had earned in the drama competition held by the British maga­ zine "Encounter". This again was true to the pattern that was to develop later: snubbed by his own Government, Soyinka was already on his way towards world recognition. Soyinka is a highly committed author; a playwright with a degree of integrity, that some of his compatriots find embarrassing. He clearly believes that the writer is the conscience of society and he has repeatedly manipulated the hot irons that no one else wanted to hold in his hand. Soyinka has a wide range of interests and he has at his disposal a pheno­ menal control of language to deal with them. Soyinka can enrich his English not only with wide varieties of Nigerian English, including pidgin, but at times he can also draw heavily and effectivelyon the powerful imagery of his native Yoruba. Much of Soyinka's theatre is concerned with a personal search for identity, and many of his characters seem self-portraits or part self-por­ traits. But his work has its sharpest edge, when it is politically committed, like his devestating attack on African dictatorship (Kongi's Harvest) and his nightmarish play on war in Africa (Madmen and Specialists). Soyinka's continual confrontations with Nigerian governments earned him a protracted court case in 1965and a two-year imprisonment during the civil war. His recent book of prison experiences, (The Man Died) forces him to be an exile from his own country. His constant confrontations with the authorities and his perpetual conflicts over matters of principal force him to lead a restless life. In eight years he has held four diffe­ rent University appointments in Nigeria, and he resigned from three, over issues ofprinciple. Inspite of this, his impact on Nigerian theatre, indeed o~ Af~ican theatre, has been immense. One of his most important contrIbutIOns was the foundation of the "1960 Masks", a very highpowered theatre company, SANGEET NATAK 50

which was professional only in the sense that its high standards of perfor­ mance compared favourably with many a professional company in Europe. But its members were all civil servants or University teachers and as some of them lived in Lagos and others in Ibadan (two cities ninety miles apart), rehearsals could only take place on weekends and Soyinka had to ferry half his cast to either Lagos or Ibadan on alternate weekends. For obvious reasons the"1960 Masks'; could not continue indefinitely. However, forseeing this, Soyinka had trained some younger actors (less highly qualified in terms of Western education) and formed these into the semi-professional "Orisun Players." This group too has since been disbanded, the actors being absorbed into other companies. Inspite of that, Soyinka has set a high standard for theatre in English in Nigeria. His major contribution to Nigerian life is as a playright and a citizen. As one of the leaders of the cultural renaissance of Africa, he has also demonstrated that African religions, in his case Yoruba orisha worship, can serve as a philosophical and artistic framework for modern artists of great sophistication. In one of Soyinka's most important theoretical works, The Fourth Stage he has brilliantly analysed his own relationship to Yoruba tradition and his artistic debt to some of the philosophical concepts of Yoruba religion. Nigerian theatre in English is too varied to be discussed fully here. I wish to confine myself merely to a brief account of the theatre work of the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ife. If I chose this in preference to, say the Oak theatre at Nsukka or the Cross River Theatre in Calabar or the newly formed theatre group in Kano, it is because I have closer first-hand knowledge of this group. Professional Theatre At Ife an attempt is being made now to establish a professional theatre company that performs in English, and that will, as far as possible experi­ ment with new forms. The three senior directors of the company (play­ wright producer Ola Rotimi; composer Akin Euba and choreographer Peggy Harper) are actually on the staff of the Institute as Reasearch Fellows in their various fields. But the twenty actors, dancers and musicians will not in future be paid by the University. Instead the company has been en­ dowed with a one-time grant, with which it has acquired basic equipment, like a van and travelling lights. The grant also covers a revolving produc­ tion fund, and salaries for one year. With this fund the company is now expected to go on tour and earn its own keep. It is not yet possible to say whether they will succeed. Their productions are much more intellectual than the Yoruba folk theatre. Akin Euba is a very sophisticated composer, whose work seeks to combine traditional African music with some very modern elements. Ola Rotimi writes in English. He prefers historical themes that revolve round the problems of traditional African leadership. 51

Organisation and funds Nigerian theatre has evolved without government support. The Federal Government has no Ministry of Culture, but only a cultural adviser. The State Governments and the Federal Government also deal with cultural matters through their Ministries of Information. By and large, support for the performing arts from Nigerian Governments has taken the form of an annual festival of the arts which is rotating through the various state capitals. This has a heavy emphasis on traditional dancing. Nigeria has no national theatre company which may not be such a bad thing, if one considers the character of some national theatre companies in Africa. Some African countries that operate through a ministry of culture and through a national theatre company have been consistently represented abroad through one single institution. I have observed in some countries, how these national organisations become monolithic, jealously guarding their privileges and sometimes actively suppressing independent companies. By contrast, Nigeria, which has no such central control has been represented abroad by a variety of companies, thus giving a much richer and more truly representative picture of Nigeria to the world. For example: at the Commonwealth Festival in London, Nigeria was presented by a theatre group from Enugu, Eastern Nigeria; and by Duro Ladipo's folk opera. At the first World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Nigeria was represented by Wole Soyinka with Kongi's Harvest. To the all African Festival in Algiers, Nigeria sent E.K. Ogunmola. In addition to these official representations, it has been possible for Nigerian companies to accept individual invitations from Governments or festivals abroad-which is not always possible in countries that are heavily ruled by a Ministry of Culture. Thus Soyinka was repeatedly in London and New York; Ladipo in Germany and Austria, the University of Ife Theatre in Nancy, Munich and Dakar. Less Government support has also meant less control and lessmonopoly in the Arts in Nigeria, and I am convinced that this accounts in part at least for the richness and variety of the Nigerian artistic scene. If theatre was not funded by the Nigerian Governments, where did it get its support? Its major support has come from the Nigerian publ!c, which is where it should come from. Most of the popular theatre companies live entirely from their gate fees. This is possible, because .in Nigeria companies are ready to perform in any available space: a mgh.tclub, a school room, a council hall. Companies are adaptable and carry with them a minimum of props and lights. They carry their own generator so they LllJrw" IAImT NATA)( A~ SANGEET NATAK 52

can play in villages that have no power supply. These companies are run without overheads. They have no office, no secretary, no agent. The director of the company is also the playwright, the composer, the pro­ ducer, the principal actor and the general manager. There has never been such a thing as a theatre foundation in the history of Nigeria. It would be an exaggeration to say that theatre has not benefited a great deal from outside help. The years around independence, the late fifties and the early sixties were the years whenAmerican Foundation money was easily available in Nigeria. Nigerian artists and playwrights were well aware that the motivation behind the flow of this money was often dubious. But they also found that it is usually easier to handle founda­ tions outside the country than one's own Arts Council within the country. Foundations like the Farfield Foundation gave away money without any strings attached at all, and it did not matter to Nigerians where the Foun­ dation had received their money from in the first instance. One of the most imaginative ventures supported by the Farfield Founda­ tion were the Mbari clubs. These were writers and artists clubs in Ibadan and Oshogbo, where writers could meet, argue, read their poetry to each other and perform their plays. The facilities were absolutely minimal: an open court-yard adaptable to any kind of activity, a bar and a restaurant some money for play production, some money for publications. The Ibadan club paid a secretary but no other salaries. The Oshogbo club had no paid staff at all and did not even pay rent for its premises. In Aus­ tralia no one would call those ramshackle places a "club"-but it was nevertheless in these places that most of the creative ideas of the early sixties were born. Relevance to the Aboriginal scene Is there anything that is relevant to the Aboriginal scene in the develop­ ment and organisation of Nigerian theatre? It is important to stress some differences first: the most important difference is numbers. I am told that there are 150,000 Aboriginals in Australia, as against 55 million Nigerians. The Yoruba speakers alone number over 10 million! It is therefore possible for Yoruba theatre, for example, to develop without giving a thought to Europeans and what they think, without requiring their financial support, without ever having to play to a white audience. Abori­ ginal theatre to be financially viable, will have to play frequently to white audiences for some time to come. Furthermore, some traditional Nigerian institutions, for example Yoruba kingship or the emirates of the North have survived colonialism and modernisation and have successfully adapted themselves to the new struc­ tures imposed by independent governments. Though this has caused many political difficulties, it has also helped to preserve much of the cultural richness ofthe past. 53 THEATRE IN NIGERIA Nigerians, have, by and large, preferred syncretisms and hybrid cultural forms to a clean-cut break with the past, and I believe it would be true to say that the most urban Nigerians have closer links with their traditional culture than the average urban Aboriginal.

Nigerian theatre is worth studying for the following reasons: the lack of central control over the arts has allowed diversified activities on all social levels to grow and exist side by side.

The growth rate of different forms has been determined to a large extent by the law of demand and supply. ,

Nigerian theatre companies have had their priorities straight: they never thought of theatre buildings, offices, secretaries and accountants, but always of productions.

Nigerian theatre has interpreted Nigerian life and Nigerian society on many different levels. In their various ways all the important companies have been relevant.

Current political issues were attacked; some basic assumptions of Nigerian nationalism were scrutinized; the Nigerian character was analysed often with devastating humour; the relevance of tradition has been demon­ strated or queried; and a critical search for Nigerian identity has occupied most authors at one time or another. Nor has Nigerian theatre remained artificially closed to outside in­ fluences. Theatrical ideas from other parts of the world have been adapted and reintepreted. Thus Duro Ladipo played a Nigerianised version of Everyman in Salzburg, the Theatre Express group produced a Nigeria­ nised version of Chekov's Proposal and the University of Ibadan Theatre toured with a brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, More recently the University of Ife theatre has produced a dance drama based on an Aboriginal myth, and the Mbari Mbayo players of Oshobgo have produced a Yoruba play based on a New Guinean story. Support for theatre now come mainly from the Universities. The University of Ife, as already explained, has set up its own company with a single endowment. We are also trying to assist other companies with an occasional grant from specific productions. Thus we gave Duro Ladipo a grant of three hundred pounds, to enable him to put up a special production for the Fifth Ife Festival of the Arts. For the last five years, this valiant company has had to travel constantly to keep itself alive, and even though they added new plays to their repertoire every year, there was never enough time for rehearsal. The small grant we were able to give enabled the company to forget about earning money for one month. It meant that all their energy could go into a new play and a much higher artistic standard could be obtained. In the past such support SANGEET NATAK 54

could be obtained occasionally from American Foundations, at present only the Nigerian Universities can supply this kind of help. Government interest in the Arts has steadily been growing during the past few years. The All Black Festival of The Arts to be held in Lagos in 1974has turned the arts into a major public relations exercise. Now that the Arts are a major prestige issue, the Government is building a huge four million pound theatre in Lagos-a plush proscenium stage theatre which no company working in Nigeria currently would care to use. It will therefor lead almost certainly to the creation of a National Theatre and to stronger central control over the arts. More money will be flowing into the per­ forming arts from Nigerian government sources, but whether this will have a salutary effect on the general artistic climate and the cultural development of Nigeria remains very much to be seen. It is to be hoped that Nigerian theatre will .be able to maintain its con­ troversial, imaginative and militant qualities and that its efforts will not be diverted into the harmlessly folkloristic, the politically inane and the exotic-as has happened in several other African countries. I hope that some Aboriginals will one day be able to watch theatre of different types in Nigeria. I hope that Aboriginals will jealously guard their freedom in theatre, that they will be able use theatre as a means for achieving national identity as well as a militant institution to arouse political consciousness. Where there is strong motivation, theatre needs no special buildings, no beaurocracies, no experts and only little money. I hope that as with many Nigerians, theatre to you will become not a career-but a way of life.

ULLl BEIER, well-known anthropologist and sociologist who has studied the ethno­ logical aspects oftheatre in Nigeria. Is COl/neeted with the University of life. CULTURAL DIFFERENCE AS THE BASIS FOR CREA~IVE EDUCATION

Report on the work of the Institute of American Indian Arts

Lloyd H. New

The basic goal of the traditional American educational system has been to prepare all individuals to function effectivelyin an average middle class society. But, ideal as this goal may be, the processes of mass education do not always lend themselves to singular problems and since this country is comprised of varied groups requiring singular attention, some failures are inevitable. Over a period of time, these have occurred in sufficient number and with sufficient force to caused general concern and give rise to questioning from many quarters as to the soundness of the principles in­ volved. Efforts are now being made on a wide front to reconsider the goals and the methods and to search out new educational approaches that will better solve the problems of special groups. This is a particularly urgent cause in the case of education for the North American Indian. The task of setting up and administering educational programmes for the American Indian has been fraught with seemingly insurmountable prob­ lems and inbuilt frustrations for both the Indian population of the country and the Federal Government. The circumstances need to be examined briefly in order to understand past failures and present needs.

American Indian Values The American Indian has never truly subscribed to the Common Ameri­ Can Middle Class Dream, largely because of the fundamental differences existing between his life-goals and those of society at large. The Indian value system always has been centered on the idea that man should seek to blend his existence into the comparatively passive rhythms of nature through scientific manipulation of its elements. This schism, alone, has been a formidable barrier to the establishment of a constructive interre­ lationship between the protagonists. Another factor with important bearing on the Indian's negative reaction

'Read as a paper at the National Seminar on "Aboriginal Arts in Australia", sponsored by the Austrailan Council for the Arts, Canberra, May 1973. SANGEET NATAK 56

to some of the general goals set forth for him has been his original in­ digenous relationship to the land of America, his position and attitudes in this respect being dramatically different from those of the immigrant groups by whom he was eventually surrounded. Psychologically, the American Indian generally has remained aloof from the melting pot con­ cept upon which this country was structured. The language barrier must be placed high on the list of circumstances which have worked to the detriment of both the Indian and the Govern­ ment. The grammar and semantics of Indian languages differ so widely from English that they impede communication and are a major deterrent to successful education for the Indian child who, on entering school, has to contend with the requirements of a curriculum based in English which, to him, is a strange and uncomfortable foreign language. The child has difficulty learning under these conditions, not because he is unintelligent but, rather, because the educational offering has not been structured to his special needs. Varied Tribes The heterogeneous makeup of the Indian population has been the source of many frustrations for Indian and Anglo, alike. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census the Indian population in 1970 numbered 827,091 and according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs this number sorts itself into 263 separate Indian tribes, bands, villages, pueblos and groups in states other than Alaska, plus 300 Native Alaskan communities. The job of creating and administering programmes of health, education and welfare for such diverse groups as these, with language barriers and culturally unique concepts of life, can hardly be viewed as an easy one. And, unfortunately, some early efforts of the Government' to bridge the many gaps proceeded erroneously, based on the premise that the Indian, if given the opportunity, would relinquish his "Indianness",I sooner or later and fit himself into the overall plan of American life. History points sadly to the flaws in this assumption. For the past century the Indian has clung tenaciously to his way of life and has managed to quietly reject any event that seemed to threaten it. Overtures made on his behalf which did not fit his sense of need were fre­ quently received with submerged hostility, often manifested by the kind of deadly passivity that kills any cooperative programme far more effectively than open warfare. This kind of a situation amounts to an impasse; with the Indians on one hand being labelled: unresponsive; and the Govern­ ment on the other hand being labelled: inept; and with neither side achieving constructive goals.

Social and technological changes, and the rapidity with which they have occurred have made the old Indian way of life increasingly difficult to maintain. The Indian finds himself pressured on many fronts, part i- 57 CREATIVE EDUCATION

cularly economic~lIy to fall in line and cope with changes, but in many cases and for obvious reasons he is ill-equipped to do so. President Nixon in his message to the Congress, July 8, 1970, recognized these present conditions:

"The first Americans-the Indians-are the most deprived and most isolated minority group in our nation. On virtually every scale of measurement-employment, income. education, health-the condi- dition of the Indian people ranks at the bottom . 'It is long' past time that the Indian policies of the Federal govern­ ment began to recognize and build upon the capacities and insights of the Indian people."

This official awareness is encouraging, and many programme moves are now under way to increase Indian control of Indian affairs, including their own educational institutions. Many schools have moved to, or are moving toward, having their own Indian advisory school boards, and a few actually exercise control of funds and programmes used in the educa­ tion of their children.

New Programmes This official awareness is encouraging and one can feel hope in the fact that many plans are being initiated to overcome the problems. Experi­ mental kindergarten workshops are now being conducted where the pupil's Native language is used as a preliminary to the introduction of English; new opportunities in adult education have been provided in many areas; stepped-up programmes in vocational training and bringing industry to the reservations are two of the Government's major efforts toward alleviat­ ing the unemployment problem; and the Indian population for its part has an awakened attitude towards matters of self-determination. Also, the Federal Government has recognized, with some alarm, the possible dissipation of American Indian art forms as a National resource, In response to the advice of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is working on new programmes concerned with Native culture in Alaska as well as in the rest of the United States. In establishing the Institute of American Indian Arts nine years ago, the Bureau recognized the special needs of Indian youth and provided an institution which was set up to make special curriculum provisions geared to their particular needs, in an attempt to turn the potential disadvantage of the cultural transition to advantage and to stimulate extensions of American Indian expressions in the arts.

The underlying philosophy of the programme is that unique cultural tradition can be honoured and can be used creatively as the springboard to a meaningful contemporary life. SANGEET NATAK 58

The Institute holds that cultural differences are a rich wellspring from which may be drawn new creative forces relevant to contemporary condi­ tions and environments. We believe that, ultimately, by learning to link the best in Indian culture to contemporary life, the young Indian will be able to solve his own problems and enrich the world scene in the process. We do not believe that it is possible for anyone to live realistically while shut in by outmoded tradition. We do believe that each generation must evolve its own art forms to reflect its own times and conditions, rather than turn to the hopeless prospect of mere remanipulation of the past. The Indian artist who draws on his own tradition to evolve new art forms learns to stand on his own feet, artistically, avoiding stultifying cliches applied to Indian art by purists who, sometimes unwittingly, resent any evolution of forms, techniques, and technology in Indian art. In general, the Institute plans its programmes around the special needs of the individual, as best these can be determined. It attempts continu­ ously to expand its understanding of student problems as they emanate from Indian cultural origins. The goal of the programmes is to develop educational methods which will assist young Indian people to enter contemporary society with pride, poise, and confidence.

The school offers an accredited high school programme with emphasis on the arts, and a college level programme as preparation for college and technical schools and employment in arts-related vocations. The age range of the student body is from 15 to 27. Search For Identity Many of our students suffer from cultural conflict and economic deprivation. They are beset with misunderstandings regarding race, colour and religion; and are lost in a labyrinth, in search of identity; they are stung by memories of discrimination. Among them are the revolutionists, the non-conformists, and the unacademically-minded who find no satis­ faction in the common goals set for themin the typical school programme. They typify that percentage ofcreative individuals to be found in all cultural groups who seek new ways ofself-expression and who are bent on searching out very personal and creative approaches to problem solving. Holding standards which are at odds with the majority, they reject and are rejected by the typical school programme. Without the opportunity to attend a school catering to their particular drives, such students are most likely to join ranks with the growing number of dropouts who represent one of today's major problems in education. Such misfits, when measured in terms of their ultimate contributions to humanity, very often stand in indictment of a system which categorically has excluded them. In contemplation of his immediate position, the Indian youth may 59 CREATIVE EDUCATION easily view himself as a sorely disadvantaged, second-rate citizen-and act accordingly. He may tend to equate his problems with the simple fact of being Indian and may, consciously or subconsciously, reject himself and engage in acts of self-denigration such as drinking to excess,flaunting the law, fighting publicly, and other antisocial behaviour; or, he may go to the other extreme and take refuge in "Indianism" seeking to live in an atmos­ phere of complete chauvinism and false pride, in which case he may with­ draw in a state of indifference and lethargy; or, he may be astride a fence, torn in both directions, in a state of complete frustration. At the same time, the Indian youth shares in the general concerns of the typical American teenager; he wears mod clothes, does the latest dances, engages in TV hero-worship, and is generally cognizant ofthe significant youth movements of search and protest. In short, he has all the problems common to the youth of this era and, in addition, the difficult problem of making a satisfactory psychological reconciliation between the mores of two cultures. In all cases, the Institute's primary goal is to give the student a basis for genuine pride and self-acceptance. At the outset and at a very per­ sonallevel, he is made aware of the fact that we_know, in general, what his problems are, and that we are on hand to discuss them with him and look into what can be done to help in his particular circumstances; he is made aware of the fact that we respect him both as an individual and as an Indian and that we can cherish his ucultural traditions. The school operates in a general aura of honour and appreciation for the Indian parent and the world he represents. All students at the Institute are oriented in the history and aesthetics of Indian accomplishments in the arts. They view exhibitions of the choicest collections of fine Indian art pieces, listen to lectures with slides and films covering the archaeology and ethnology of Indian cultures, and take field trips into the present-day cultural areas of the South westgroups. They are encouraged to identify with their total heritage, harkening back to the classic periods of South and Central American cultures-heydays of artistic prowess in the New World. And they are exposed to the arts ofthe world, to give them a basis for evaluating and appreciating the artis­ tic merits of the contributions made by their ancestors. Each student is led to investigate the legends, dances, materials, and activities pertaining to the history of his own particular tribe. Through this process, he gradually increases his awareness of himself as a member of a race tremendously rich in cultural accomplishments and gains a feeling of self-worth. In a curriculum unusually rich in art courses, a student, who may have become dulled to the excitement of personal accomplishment as a result of unsatisfactory experiences with academic subjects in his early SANGEET NATAK 60

years, can be revitalized through the experience of creative action. He may have an undiscovered aptitude for music, dancing, or drama; a natural sense of colour and design, a sensitivity for three-dimensional form, or a way with words. All students at the Institute elect studio art courses. Sooner or later, with a great deal of sensitive cooperation on the part of the faculty, a field is found in which a student can "discover" himself. His first successful fabric design, ceramic bowl, piece of sculpture, or perfor­ mance on stage may be his very first experience with the joy of personal accomplishment. His reaction is one of justifiable pride, and sometimes a shade of disbelief, at having produced something of worth, and he evaluates it with his own personal worth. For him, this is a great personal discovery. It is, also, a most potent from of motivation toward personal growth.

To date, our approach is happily justified in a look at the progress of young Indian students at the Institute. Art critics of stature are excited by the work. The quality of design and workmanship, equal in its own way to the finest traditional approaches, is easily discernible in the work being produced in sculpture, painting, and the various crafts. New sources of richness and beauty are reflected in poetry and prose. Early developments in drama and music are gratifying.

As impressive as these results are in terms of artistic accomplishments, the real value of the programme lies in the general personal growth of the student and in his discovery of newly found strength and its carry-over into his academic efforts and social behavior.

A continuous effort is made in the Academic Department to find more effective ways to correct the academic deficiencies all too common to Indian students who come from the disadvantaged backgrounds previously ex­ plained. Special attention is given to students who have problems in verbalization, traumatic detachment, and low self-images. New approaches are sought continuously for expanding intellectual growth based upon ways compatible with the cultural mores of the student's background.

In the dormitories, living conditions are planned especially to broaden the student's exposure to the behavioral expectations of a contemporary society. Here, he learns the social amenities necessary to democratic living in the world at large as well as within his own cultural group.

As a result of these procedures, most students seem to gain self-affir­ mation. They emerge strengthened, proud, and confident, exercising newly found powers of self-direction. In 1971, 54~~ of all students com­ pleting work in the 12th, 13th and 14th grades enrolled in colleges or higher educational art schools elsewhere. 61 CREATIVE EDUCATION

The Institute is moving (1971) toward gaining accreditation at the college level for its returning post high students, and professional courses are now offered in the training of young Indians to become cultural specialists in several areas: Teacher training, museum work, commercial arts related to special needs of Indians, film arts, and business approaches to the utilization of craft skills in jewellery, ceramics and sculpture. Professional courses for training in the performing arts, tourism and travel, and National Park positions are being readied to help young Indian adults, tapping heretofore neglected cultural resources in special program­ matic curricular, offerings not available in standard higher educational institutions elsewhere. In summary, the Institute of American Indian Arts is embarked on an exploratory programme, with many steps yet to be taken. We are aware that cultural change is always difficult, and even traumatic when it involves alteration of one's own traditional foundation in favour of new values-especially when the latter emanate from an alien source. But we must assume that change is inevitable. Therefore, the needis to find ways to encompass it healthily, taking care to avoid the destruction of ethnic traditions. Thus far in our job, we have found that by stressing cultural roots as a basis for creative expression and by offering a wide range of media in which to work, Indian students can be-inspired to new personal strengths in dimensions heretofore unrealised. As a result of the Institutes heritage­ centered approach, a gratifying number of its students do discover who they are and what it is they have to say to the world; and they develop the self-respect and confidence to express themselves accordingly. They are helped to function constructively, in tune with the demands of their contemporary environment but without having to sacrifice their cultural being on the alter of either withdrawal or assimilation. This method of dealing with Indian minority problems seems to hold promise of being an effective educational approach for dealing with the needs of other minority groups in the United States and throughout the world, wherever similar problems prevail. It cannot be overemphasised that the programme at the Institute could not succeed without the presence of a sensitive, creative, alert facu~ty who are attuned to the youth of today and are immediately empath~Uc; who appreciate and use wisely the great storehouse of positive ethnic forces that can be turned to the advantage of our American Indian students.

LLOYD H. NEW is Director ofthe Institute of American Indian Arts ill Santa Fe, New Mexico set up by the U.S. Bureau ofIndian Affairs. BOOK REVIEWS

AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIC; B. Chaitanya Deva; Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govern­ ment of India; Rs. 10.

This book is a welcome addition to the literature on Indian Music where there is a real dearth of books in English giving correct information. Dr. Deva is a scientist-musicologist and therefore his presentation has been precise and lucid. The overall brevity of treatment of most of the topics seems deliberate in order to cater to the uninitiated but genuinely interested Western and Indian. listener-student of Indian Music. The language is modern and wherever possible and necessary, the traditional definitions have been given in English translation. There are in all nine chapters on Melody, Scales And Ragas, Rhythm, Form & Style, Musical Instruments, Folk and Traditional Music, Mind and Music, Then & Now and Among The Great covering most of the important aspects of music. The explanations present both the Hindusthani and Karnatak Music view-points, as for instance under Melody & Rhythm. But the difference between and the significance of the Hindusthani and Karnatak Music talas havenot been brought out with sufficient clarity. For instance the basic difference between the two tala systems is that Karnatak Music adheres to that old system where a tala of any required matra could be created by altering the value of the lag/Ill. Whereas in Hindustani Music, each tala has a bole (mnemonics) calIed the theka which is fixed, and there are more than one tala having the same number of matras but the thekas of which are quite different. The significance of the introduction of theka in Hindustani Music was indeed outstanding because of the possibility it offered for the first time for real vilambit-Iayn singing (in this case, the khyal). Some of the explanations and definitions would have been better under­ stood if they had been elaborated a little more as this book is meant essen­ tially for the beginner. For instance the definition of tanas as 'fast phrases' seems inadequate. tamms are melodic figures . incorporating. diverse ornamentations and help to bring out of the full import of the raga. 63 BOOK REViEWS It would have been perhaps more helpful if the current musical terms also h~d been used i~ Hindustani Music along with their English equiva­ lents like badhat, fiirat, bol-upaj, bahlava etc. Certain definitions are misleading like prabandha being a 'closed composition" it is in fact a well­ knit composition. Some descriptions are too brief 'and hence vague. In th~ chapter Form & Style, the description of Poorab style of thumri exposition as 'slow and subdued' and the Punjabi style as 'more mercurial' does not convey much musically.

The chapters on Musical Instruments and Mind & Music and biographies are both precise and perspicuous. There are quotations in the book without any reference. References should have been given. If the diacritical marks had also been given on all the Sanskrit and technical terms of music, it would have prevented plenty of mispronuncia­ tion. The bibliography and discography at the end of the book are bound to be very useful.

The book, as a whole, is interesting and informative and could be relied upon by anyone interested in understanding Indian Music-both Hindustani and Karnatak. M.R. Gautatn

MUSIC OF EASTERN INDIA, Sukumar Ray, Publishers K.L. Mukho­ padhyaya, Calcutta, 1973; pp. xv+264, Rs. 45.

The greatest handicaps in Indian musicology, are two. First is the 'concept' of the monolithic origin of our music. It has become an un­ questioned-and eyebrows are raised if you do question-assumption that all Indian music stems from the vedas and everything has an Aryan source. Arising out of this is the second: excessive reliance on musical texts. A text written thousands of years ago is said to describe all Indian music; but it is forgotten that with the means of communication what they were, the music of this subcontinent ocould not have been 'one'. It is healthy to pause and reflect on the point that our culture has an eIectic base and textual matter has to be carefully tallied with ethnic movements. We, therefore, require more information on local musics. Not many such books are available. Vamanrao Deshpande and G.H. Ranade have given us simple books on the music of Maharashtra. This is not enough. There is almost no source material on other areas: tevaram, sopana sangee­ tam, yakshagana, soofiyana kalam and innumerable other tributaries. The present volume is, therefore, very welcome and is certainly an im­ portant contribution in this areas of musicology. In short, it is a good study of the desi music of eastern India. SANGEET NATAK 64

The-author has attempted to bring together information on the music of Bengal, Assam, Orissa and Manipur, The canvas extends from ancient Buddhist Chants to the present day 'light music'. The chapters cover Buddhist songs, Vaishnava music, Syama sangeet, impact of raga music (dhrupad, kliyal, thumri and tappa), folk music, medieval and folk music of Orissa, Assam, Manipur; Rhythm; Tagore, D.L. Roy, Atul Prasad, Nazrul and even very recent 'composers' and singers.

Unfortunately, Shri Ray, however takes the same old line in deriving modern music from Sama veda (p. ix). It would have been better if he could relate ethnomusically local music to the 'invading' one.

The methodology though, certainly breaking new ground, is not very strict. For instance (p. 15) "light music is approachable by observation of smallest units raga music (it) is not". What then will be pakad and ang?

Again, "The first step is to comprehend the idea of that . ...as enunciated by Pandit Bhatkhande." Why? The Bhatkhande system, after all, has many diserepencies.

The distribution of srutis on p. 17 appears to me to be incorrect. However, the way he has indicated the relation of the melas is good. Also, the section on thumri is a general essay on the thumri but does not say much on Bengali thumris.

There seems to be an organological mix up (p. 107). No basic difference is shown between khamak and ektara, As far as is known to this reviewer, what is called goopi jantra here is khamak in other sources.

The chapter on Rabindranath Tagore's music is indeed very good. Here, it would be worth saying a few words on this. Tagore's music has rarely, ifat all, been put to 'improvisation' as classical cheezas. He did not develop any new raga grammer. Under these conditions many a classical musician asks, rightly, whether it would not be more appropriate to call this as Rabindra geeti and not Rabindra sangeet, Note that we have Nazrul geeti and not sangeet,

There are somes quaint stylistic expressions. "Scene of slight endearing manhandling" (p. 92) "Nidhubabu was the first man in the history of Bengali music to focus attention on the artistic execution of music." (p. 156. Emphasis music).

There is a glossary. There are SOme errors here. e.g. Anabaddha vadya; anga: the two sections of the middle octavae; dhaivata based on three srutis, Madanti, Rohini and Ramya (is it correct to apply ancient theories to current music). 65 BOOK REVIEWS

A few sample notations of bhatiali, baul etc. are useful. So is the discography.

The book is strongly recommended to all musicologists.

R.C. Deva THE MIRACLE PLAYS OF MATHURA: By Norvin Hein; Oxford University Press; Delhi; 1972; Rs. 30.

The Miracle Plays of Mathura by Prof. Norvin Hein is the result of his field-study which he conducted in Mathura-Brindavan when he stayed there for a year in 1949-50. The volume was earlier presented as a thesis for a doctoral degree of Yale University. Prof. Hein is the Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at Yale University since 1950. Prof. Hein has in his study covered both the Krishna and the Rarna legend plays, Rasleela and Ramleela, the two religious forms which have a long and continuous tradition in Hindi-speaking regions. He has also rightly called them miracle plays. Leela plays have many similarities with the miracle and mystery plays of Europe of medieval ages.

Prof. Norvin Hein has done great service to the cause of the studies of these two important and highly developed religious dramatic forms by presenting such a systematic study in this volume. Prof. Hein gives a well­ documented history ofthe origins and the development of the leela plays utilising all available research material. Apart from presenting the histori­ cal background, he also discusses presentational techniques and gives excerpts from Rasleela plays with English translation. The study of the performance techniques and textual material is based on his personal experience of watching the plays and talking to the experts in the field. He has also given some account of the important Mandalies functioning in Mathura-Brindavan during that period, and also the organisational aspect of the performances. In the Appendix he gives the translation of a handbill, the Leela-Patra, as it is called, which is a calendar of the Ram­ leela cycle plays as presented in Mathura, The volume also contains a comprehensive glossary.

Prof. Hein devotes one chapter to the study of the Jhanki style of pre­ sentation of the Krishna and Rama legends. A Jhanki performance is really not a dramatic form in the true sense of the world but it certainly played an important role in the evolution of these two dramatic forms. Unfortunately Prof. Hein does not discuss this role ofJhanki. It was in the Jhanki style of presentation of these two legends, with great poetic litera­ ture and rich devotional music, that the dramatic qualities of these two forms were further developed. Even in the fully developed forms ?f Ramleela and Rasleela one can see Jhanki playing an important role III the dramatic structure. The Jhanki really is the base-line on which the, SANGEET NATAK 66 dramatic structure of these forms is built up. And the play seems to move from one Jhanki to another. Jhanki or Tableau Vivant has played an important role in all the medieval arts, whether it was royal and religious pageantry, the sculptural frieze in the temples or the dramatic scenes mounted on floats and carts.

Though Prof. Rein has studied Ramleela also under the miracle plays of Mathura, it is really Rasleela which is the product of the literary and artistic tradition of this region and prevalent only here for more than four centuries. Brindavan had developed into a great cultural centre during the 15th and 16th centuries in the wake of the Bhakti move­ ment which greatly enriched the literary, the performing and the plastic arts. The Rasleela of Brindavan also inspired the evolution of other religious dramatic forms in different regions of the country. Ankia Nat of Assam evolved by the great social reformer Shankaradeva and the Krishna Jatra evolved by Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Dev in Bengal are two such forms which owe inspiration to Rasleela, Ramleela is prevalent all over North India in many forms and styles, and Varanasi is the main centre and not Mathura. As such Prof. Rein should have, even if briefly, talked about this vast and varied tradition of Ramleela, Without this broader coverage the reader does not get a full idea of the Ramleela tradition in its variety and richness. This volume will be of interest not only to the students of the traditional and religious theatre in India and abroad but also to sociologists and an­ thropologists and to the students of oral literature and traditional culture. It is hoped that this volume will encourage similar studies of the Vaish­ nava and the Shaiva theatre of the different regions in the country. In fact there is a need for studying the Krishna and the Rama legend theatre on a pan-India basis indicating similarities of features and elements and also possible historical links between the forms prevalent in one region and other regions. Krishna and Rarna legend theatre has been prevalent for the last 2000 years and continues to flourish with all the vitality and richness even today in many forms and styles all over the country. It continues to be performed in temples and it has also moved out of the temples and is performed in the midst of the community and in the streets. Suresh Awasthi Registered with the Registrar of News­ papers in India under No. R. N. 12760,65