Sutradhar and About 10-15 Players Who Enact the Play
Paper: 2 Relationship Of Dance And Theatre, Study Of Rupaka And Uparupaka, Traditional Theatres Of India Module 6 Krishna In Traditional Theatre The impact of Krishna theme in Indian art, be it painting, sculpture, literature, dance or music is far-reaching and profound across India. In Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda or Vidyapati’s verses, Chandidas’ lyrics in Bengali or Surdas’ Hindi poetry, Krishna has inspired the flowering of Shringar and Vatsalya rasas all across the country. As in poetry, in painting too, the Krishna theme was depicted by miniature artists of all schools -- Rajasthani, Pahari, Basauli, Kangra, and Mughal with intricate details of the flora and finery described in literary sources and enriched by the fertile imagination of the artists. The performing arts too have a rich repertoire of Krishna-based themes, with Krishna Lila being enacted in song, dance, music and drama. In Natyasastra, Bharata states that the gods are never so pleased on being worshipped with scents and garlands as they are with the performance of drama. Krishna himself is said to have been trained in the dramatic arts in Guru Sandipani’s ashram. No wonder that the Krishna theme is so popular in folk theatre forms across India. Even watching a play or nrityanatika (dance drama) based on a Krishna theme is considered an act of holiness that accrues merit or punya. 1 Literary Sources of Krishna Lore: The stories about Krishna are found not only in Mahabharat and Puranas like Padma, Linga, Narada, Kurma, Vayu, Agni, Brahma, and Vishnu Purana but it is the Bhagavata Purana that provides rich details of Krishna’s exploits and dalliances.
[Show full text]