The tradition of Indian Folk theatre reaches back to distant antiquity. It has been functioning vibrantly through the ages, from aboriginal cave man that has left the record of his theatrical activities in the form of sketches and paintings on the walls of his abode. Ancient Vedic literature, Buddhist literature, works like Arthashastra tell about the enchanting panorama of Indian folk theatre. This classic but regional form of drama typically revolves around religion, local legends and mythology.
There are signs of the impact of folk theatre on the classical Sanskrit theatre. Historically speaking, it was during the 15-16 century that the folk theatre emerged forcefully in different regions. It used different languages, the languages of the regions in which it emerged. For themes, the folk theatre looked at the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas, historical tales, folk stories of romance and valor and biographical accounts of local heroes.
Folk theatre owes its origin to the efforts of the narrator, the Sutradhara, of the folklore to make his art more visual in its impact. He resorted to acting and playing different roles all by himself in the course of his narration. He pressed into service puppets, picture-scrolls and even shadows on the screen. Mimes were used to impersonate the characters of the story.
Indian folk theatre can be broadly divided into two categories - religious and secular (Theater of entertainment and theater of religion). ). The religion mythology oriented forms emerged as a result of the Bhakti movement in medieval India. The secular folk theatre form, which belonged to the Swang tradition, took upon itself the task of folk entertainment and there emerged a theatre of entertainment. The two forms functioned together influencing each other.
States like Kerala, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have more than half a dozen differing styles of theatre traditions. Although they are considered as Folk theatre traditions, some of them have all the attributes of a classical theatre. All these language theatres are stylised as total theatres, which mean that they admirably blend elements of music, dance and poetry. Indian is also rich in ballad-singing traditions, such as Pabuji-ki-phar of Rajastan, Nupipaalaa of Manipur. Chhau and Lion Dance of Sikkim are some of the theatrical traditions.
The tradition of Indian Folk theatre reaches back to distant antiquity. It has been functioning vibrantly through the ages, from aboriginal cave man that has left the record of his theatrical activities in the form of sketches and paintings on the walls of his abode. Ancient Vedic literature, Buddhist literature, works like Arthashastra tell about the enchanting panorama of Indian folk theatre. This classic but regional form of drama typically revolves around religion, local legends and mythology.
