Three Modern Indian Plays

Plot

The three modern indian plays brought together here are established classics by leading figures of india's national theatre movement. Girish karnad's tughlaq, originally written in kannada, explores the psyche of a medieval monarch, sultan muhammad tughlaq, who was perhaps india's most idealistic and intelligent ruler, and also one of its greatest failures. The play reflects the disillusionment which followed the era of nehru's idealism. Karnad himself has done the present english translation. Badal sircar's evam indrajit was originally written in bengali and uses myth to examine some of the frustrations and dilemmas of the indian middle class, and the reality of poverty and unemployment at the time. It has been translated into english here by girish karnad. Vijay tendulkar's silence! The court is in session, originally written in marathi, dramatizes role-playing as a hazardous, lethal game, and exposes the subordination of women in indian society through the medium of a mock trial which turns all too real. The translation is by priya adarkar. About the author: about the author: girish karnad, world theatre ambassador of the international theatre institute, paris (it1), was a rhodes scholar at oxford. Apart from his work in theatre, he has directed and acted in films. He has served as director, film and television institute of india; chairman, sangeet natak akademi (the national academy of the performing arts); and director, the nehru centre, london. He has been honoured with the padma bhushan and was conferred the prestigious jnanpith award. Badal sircar is widely known in bengal for his refreshing brand of street theatre. Famous playwright, actor, and director, he is the unofficial leader of experimental theatre in kolkata, and his works have been translated into several indian languages. He has been honoured with the padma shri, the sangeet natak akademi award,