ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I express my heartfelt gratitude to the course faculty, Mrs Ranita Chakraborty

Dasgupta, associated with the course, 20th Century Indian English Drama for her
invaluable guidance in completing this assignment titled Critically Analysing
“Post Office” and “Dance like a Man” from a Synchronic and Diachronic
Perspective.

ABSTRACT

Drama, as a developed or finished literary genre or type, presumes a long period

of development not only in the literary expression of a people but also in its fine
arts, including architecture, sculpture, painting, music and dancing. In India,
from the earliest times in the history, at least more than 2000 years ago, the art
of drama seems to have been well established. India has made significant
contributions to the world’s dramatic literature. Through a series of works in
Sanskrit of outstanding merit and beauty produced by the most talented
dramatists in the ancient India and also during the modem times under the
European influence. Drama is first and foremost, meant to be staged. It is an
audio-visual medium of expression. So, it is very effective and powerful genre
in world literature. In Bharat Muni’s Natyashastra, drama is hailed as the fifth
Veda, Natyaveda. Indian Drama has established itself as a unique phenomenon
in the literary world.
INTRODUCTION

Indian English Drama showed its sophistication and brilliance in the 20th
century. Many important and influential playwrights, such as Rabindranath
Tagore, T. P. Kailasam, Aurobindo Ghosh, A.S.P. Ayyar, Bharati Sarabhai, and
Harindranath Chattopadhyay, emerged during the pre-independence era and
contributed significantly to the growth of Indian English Drama. The first
Indian playwrights to achieve literary success were poets Rabindranath Tagore
and Sri Aurobindo Ghosh. As The Essence of Indian Spiritual Heritage,
Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel Prize for literature. His plays were
initially written in Bengali, but they were then translated into English. While
some of his plays were translated by him, others were done so by English and
Indian translators. The best illustrations of Indian philosophy can be found in
his well-known plays, including Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office, Mukta
Dhara, The Cycle of Spring, and The King of the Dark Chambers. Tagore is one
of those playwrights who heavily relied on symbolism and allegorical
importance in the productions.
Another important dramatist of this period is Girish Karnad who is the living
legend of contemporary Indian English Drama, and has given the Indian theatre
a richness that could probably be equated only with his talents as an actor and
director. His contribution goes beyond theatre as he has represented India in
foreign lands as a representative of art and culture. A noteworthy playwright and
a successor of Girish Karnad is Mahesh Dattani who has written on many
themes like the Indian joint family system and its impact, the plight of women
in Indian society, homosexuality etc. He also writes about the oppressed or the
marginalized class like minorities, women gays, eunuchs etc. He has enriched
Indian English drama and wants to give more opportunity to the new voice of
contemporary era. Vijay Tendulkar was a creative writer and had written short
stories, later children's plays, and screenplay writing who in his play’s deals
with many themes. He shows the agonies and suffering suffocations and cries of
man; they also focus on middle class society. He shows themes of isolation and
violence in individual, in most of his plays. Badal Sarcar is another known
name in the field of contemporary theatre whose plays are based on different
themes; political, social psychological and existential problems have been
depicted.
THE POST OFFICE (RABINDRANATH TAGORE)

Rabindranath Tagore's Post Office (Dak Ghor) is the most popular and perhaps
the best of all his dramatic works. Mixing simplicity with sophistication,
realism with symbolism, this play gives expression to man's passionate longing
for the faraway and spiritual freedom. At the heart of the play is a young boy,
through whose imaginative mind Tagore, the poet and the dramatist, sings a
praise to the beauty and romance of life. Even though the boy ultimately dies,
the imaginative and the poetic aspects of life triumphs over its materialistic
concerns. It is not, however, a tragedy in the conventional literary sense of the
word. Realistically viewed, it is an agonizing depiction of the human condition.
Symbolically interpreted, it is gentle and reassuring of ultimate fulfilment. It is
the interplay of this dual significance which gives the drama its delicate charm
and its unique status between tragedy and comedy. Even though The Post
Office contains elements of a tense human drama, moving fairy tale and a
deeply suggestive spiritual symbol, its enormous popularity at home and abroad
has made it a world classic of all times. Post Office was originally written
towards the end of 1911 and published in January, 1912.

According to his Bengali biographer Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee, a passionate

feeling of wanting to go somewhere far away made Tagore emotionally restless
during this period and the Post Office is the imaginative expression of this
restlessness. The Post Office was first translated into English in 1914 by
Debabrata Mukherjee who had called the play The Message Office. Even
though Edward Thompson had described the play as one of his few works that
are truthfully represented in the English text. In a letter to Ajit Kumar
Chakraborty dated August 1912 he wrote that Tagore’s style was flamboyant
and he had to tone it down. Despite Tagore's dissatisfaction with the English
rendering even after revising it himself, The Post Office, in its first ever English
translation, has occupied a distinctive position across the globe as one of
Tagore's masterpieces.

Later, at present, Dr S.C. Sengupta rightly comments One of the most original
and beautiful things in this drama are the ways in which the poet discovers
through Amal the inner romance in the humdrum activities of life. Ajit Kumar
Chakravarty also thinks that this yearning for the unseen and the faraway
constitutes the basic theme of the play. In an interview given to a Calcutta
English daily Wolfram Mehring who directed the play (translated by Martin
Kamp Chen) in Europe and India, rightly characterized The Post Office as, a
play over Sehnsucht or Yearning.
DANCE LIKE A MAN (MAHESH DATTANI)

Mahesh Dattani's play Dance Like a Man, released in the form of a book in
2006, is a significant play in modern context because it portrays several social
issues that are still relevant today. The play is set in south India, and it explores
the theme of societal expectations, gender roles, family dynamics, and the
conflict between tradition and modernity. One of the crucial aspects of the play
that is relevant in modern context is the portrayal of gender roles. The play
portrays how patriarchal attitudes can limit an individual's potential and
reinforce gender stereotypes. The play highlights how societal norms often
dictate what is appropriate for men and women, which can significantly affect
individual choices and aspirations. This is a powerful message that is still
relevant today, as women's and men's roles in society continue to be subject to
societal expectations and stereotypes. Moreover, the play addresses the
importance of pursuing one's passion and how the pursuit of a passion can be an
act of defiance against societal norms.

Audience referred the fact that, through the play, Mahesh Dattani is exploring
through the two key aspects; the general inhibitions to a man taking dance as a
career and that too a dance which is usually and traditionally performed by
women; the relationship between a husband and wife who have, contrary to all
public impression of being a happy and well suited couple, grown apart and
have done enough harm to each other; how their own thwarted ambitions and
frustrations affect their own daughter who is in love with a man who has
nothing to do with the art scene at all. Mahesh, true to his tradition of writing
has created various layers in this play. His language is very accessible as it is
closer to the speaking rather than the literary language. There is humour, which
can be understood by any viewer. But, beyond all that, there is pathos, the
pathos of human predicament, which he explores in a subtle fashion.

Audience, at present, mentioned the fact that Mahesh Dattani explores the
theme of clash between tradition and modernity, highlighting the struggle of the
characters to reconcile their traditional values with their desire to embrace
modernity. The play depicts the traditional Indian society and how the traditions
of the past clash with the aspirations of the present generation, particularly in
their pursuit of cultural expression through dance. The conflict between
tradition and modernity is showcased through the character of Jairaj, who is
struggling to balance both the traditional expectations of his family and his
passion for dance. The play suggests that embracing modernity is important to
stay relevant and feel liberated from the constraints of tradition. The play urges
for Indian society to evolve progressively and embrace new ideas without
leaving behind the essence of tradition.
CONCLUSION

India has a long history of play that has made a significant contribution to world
literature. The qualities of Indian English drama have varied over time and in
response to various contexts. The range of theatre produced by Indian
playwrights is notable on a worldwide scale because it is distinctly and
authentically Indian and accurately portrays Indian society and the changes that
have taken place through time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dance like a Man: A Cinematic Exploration of Gender Roles and Biases

Prevalent in Indian Society by Chetali Shekhawat (Global Media Journal)

Theme of Deliverance in Tagore's Play 'The Post Office’ by Prof. Shweta

Panwar (International Journal of Research in all Subjects in Multi Languages)

Between Page and Stage: A Study of Contemporary Indian English Drama

Indian English Drama and its contributions to the World Literature

(International Journal of Research Culture Society)