Modern Indian drama has been developing in a steady way, during the last fifty years, and now it has come of age. It took time to cross the initial phase of experimentation and then develop its own idiom. This first volume of anthology of Indian plays represents the imaginative endeavour of our playwrights at its best. All the playwrights included in this volume have stood the test of theatre and have won the applause of the audience and also from the critics.
It was my dream to publish this anthology to represent our dramatic achievement in its concrete form. But it was a difficult task to get these plays in English translation. I am keenly aware of the fact that there are many plays in several languages of this country which are not represented here only because they are not available in translation. Except Tagore all other playwrights belong to the post-independence period, for the obvious reason that only during this period Indian theatre is being active.
The National School of Drama (NSD) is India's premier institution which selects and trains exceptionally talented young people for career in theatre. It came into being in 1959, became an autonomous body in 1975, and is fully funded by the Government of India. To further the cause of theatre it is bringing out journals in Hindi and English apart from scholarly works. NSD's repertory company performs all over the country and abroad. NSD organises extensive theatre training workshop in rural and theatrically backward areas under its extension programme. |
