''Sangeet Natak'' (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

for 'musical drama') is a form of

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

which combines

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

in the form of

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

to convey the

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

, similar to

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. They have played a vital role in the development of Marathi theater and

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

, as well as the

Indian film industry The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...

. ''Sangeet Nataks'' start with the praise of Lord Natraja, which is called ''Naandi'', ''Mangalaacharan'' or ''Suchakpad'' – usually the famous "Panchatunda Nararundamaldhar" from ''Sangeet Shakuntal''. They are popular for the use of

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

. The "Dramatic Music" is called ''Natya Sangeet'', one of the two popular forms of vocal arts in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and surrounding states. The other is '' Bhavageet''.

History

The beginning

Vishnudas Bhave Vishnudas Bhave (died 9 August 1901) was the leading dramatist of Maharashtra, India and considered as pioneer of Marathi theatre. He was born in Sangli and he staged the first Marathi-language play ''Sita Swayamvar'' in Sangli in 1843.#Da, Datta, ...

is considered the founder of Marathi theater. In 1843, his group staged the first public performance of Marathi play ''Seeta Swayamvar'' (सीता स्वयं‍वर). The integration of music in the dramas took place quite late in 1879 when

play writer A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwright" ...

and producer Trilokekar presented his musical play Nal-Damayanti (नल-दमयंती). It was the first musical play on Marathi stage. But only when Balwant Pandurang Kirloskar (popularly known as

Annasaheb Kirloskar Balwant Pandurang Kirloskar (31 March 1843 − 2 November 1885), popularly known as Annasaheb Kirloskar, was a Marathi playwright from the Bombay Presidency in British India. Kirloskar was born on March 31, 1843, at Gurlhosur in Belgaum distric ...

) staged his first musical play ''Shaakuntal'', based on Kalidas's play

Abhijñānaśākuntalam ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ''The Sign of Shakuntala'', and many other variant ...

, on October 31, 1880 in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

did the trend of Sangeet Natak really start. Kirloskar included 209 musical pieces in his ''Shaakuntal'' of 7 acts. They consisted of a mix of

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, with Hindi and Urdu being its two standard registers * Hindustani Muslims are the Urdu-speaking, Hindust ...

and

Carnatic classical music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

, and lighter music. During its early period, Sangeet natak was dominated by religious plays like ''Sangeet Saubhdra'', which is legend in Marathi sangeet natak. The trend changed with coming of sangeet Manapman, which depicts bravery of its hero Dheryadhar and his love with Bhamini which was written by

Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar Krishnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar (25 November 1872 – 26 August 1948) was a Marathi writer from Bombay Presidency, British India. George calls him "a prominent lieutenant of Lokmanya Tilak". He was editor of Kesari, Lokmanya and Navakal. The ...

Golden age

The new trend of ''Sangeet Natakas'' caught up with the popularity quite quickly. With

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

then existing in India, ''Sangeet Natakas'' were compared with the

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s and thus local

Indians found synonymous recreation. In the blooming times, Sangeet Natakas were mainly based on mythological stories of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

which would hence easily connect with the masses. They did not cover the complete epics but were limited to only small stories in them. With popularity & success, experimentation started on stage with abandoning mythological themes and bringing social issues to audiences. ''

Sangeet Sharada ''Sangeet Sharada'' is an 1899 Marathi Sangeet Natak (Musical play), written and directed by playwright Govind Ballal Deval. The play is considered as the first play in Marathi to showcase the social problems and broke the norms by dealing with ...

'', for example, by portraying the feelings of a teenage girl to be married to a widower in his late seventies, brought out a social message. Few dramas, like '' Kichak Vadh'', even agitated the

British rulers This is a list of rulers and office-holders of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and predecessor states. Heads of state *List of English monarchs *List of Scottish monarchs *List of rulers of Wales *List of British mon ...

to the extent that they were banned. ''Kichak Vadh'' compared the Britishers with ''Kichak'', an evil character from ''Mahabharata'' who tried to dishonour ''

Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...

''. ''Draupadi'' was then synonymous with the oppressed common Indian masses. During the 1960s, another turn came in natya sangeet with the emergence of

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished hims ...

, who was credited with applying simplicity to the complex composition of Natya Sangeet.

Plays

The recent play Katyar Kaljat Ghusli by Zee studios opened up a new era of musical cinemas. This movie was based on the legendary play bearing the same name. Its music was composed by Jitendra Abhisekhi and sung by Vasantrao Deshpande.

Notable contributions

who founded the Sangeet Natakas also offered other famous plays like ''Sangeet Saubhadra'' and ''Ramrajyaviyog''. Bal Gandharva's ''Gandharva Natak Mandali''; Vasudeorao Dongre's ''Dongre Mandali''; Pandoba Gurav Yavateshwarkar's ''Waikar Sangeet Mandali''; Janubhau Nimkar and Keshavrao Bhosale's ''Swadesh-Hita-Chintak Mandali'', which evolved into ''Lalit-Kaladarsha Mandali''; and Master Dinanath's ''Balwant Natak Mandali'' were the other main performing companies which were formed in Maharashtra. * Jaymala Shiledar (1926-2013) - Jaymala, her husband Jayaram Shiledar and daughters,

Kirti ''Kirti'' was a Punjabi monthly started by the veteran Ghadarite Santokh Singh in February 1926. It was purely a communist production, subsidized by the Ghadar Party in the United States. Within a few months, Sohan Singh Josh took over as the ...

and Lata kept Sangeet natak alive during the lean period of 1960s to 1990s. They staged 25 new musicals, including 'Ekhadyacha Nashib', Mumbaichi Manasa', 'Anantphandi', and Abhogi through their company, Marathi Rangabhoomi. She was a protege of Bal Gandharva.

Natya Sangeet Maestro

Bal Gandharva Narayan Shripad Rajhans, popularly known as Bal Gandharva, (26 June 1888 – 15 July 1967) was a famous Marathi singer and stage actor. He was known for his roles as female characters in Marathi plays, since women were not allowed to act on s ...

* Keshavrao Bhosale *

Deenanath Mangeshkar Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was an Indian actor, Natya Sangeet musician and, Hindustani classical vocalist who was active in Marathi theatre. He is the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bho ...

* Master Krishnarao * Pandit Ram Marathe * Saudagar Nagnath Gore (Chhota Gandharva) *

Prasad Sawkar Pandit Prasad Sawkar (born 14 December 1928) is an Indian vocalist, and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. He received prestigious Padma Shri award in the year 2006 for his work in music and Sangeet Natak Early ...

Bhalchandra Pendharkar Bhalchandra Pendharkar (25 November 1921 – 11 August 2015) was a Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state ...

* Ramdas Kamat *

Vasantrao Deshpande Vasantrao Deshpande (2 May 1920 – 30 July 1983) was a Hindustani classical vocalist renowned for his contribution to Natya Sangeet (musical dramas). Early life Vasantrao Deshpande was born into a Deshastha Brahmin family in Murtizapur, A ...

* Jaymala Shiledar *

Jyotsna Bhole Jyotsna Keshav Bhole also known as Jyotsnabai Bhole () (11 May 1914 – 5 August 2001), was a veteran Marathi stage artist and a Hindustani classical singer. Along with Padmabai Vartak, she was among the first female actresses to perform ...

Manik Varma Manik Varma (16 May 1926 – 10 November 1996) was an Indian classical singer from the Kirana and Agra gharanas (singing styles). She was honored with the Padma Shri Award in 1974 for her contribution to the field of music. Career Besides t ...

List of famous ''Sangeet Natak''s

To attract the audiences, many of the ''Sangeet Natak''s used to prefix the word ''Sangeet'' before their actual name. * ''Sita Swayamvar'' * ''Shaakuntal'' * ''Sangeet Saubhadra'' * ''Sangeet Maanaapmaan'' * ''Matsyagandha'' * ''Sanyastkhadga'' * '' Kichak Vadh'' * ''Ramrajyaviyog'' * ''Mruchhakatik (1889)'' * ''Sangeet Sanshaykallol'' * ''

Katyar Kaljat Ghusli ''Katyar Kaljat Ghusali'' is a Marathi musical play (Sangeet Natak), originally released in 1967. The play gained such popularity that more than 1,000 shows were staged in a very short period. The play was written by Purushottam Darvhekar. The ...

(1967)'' * ''Shapsambhram (1893)'' * ''

(1899)'' * ''Sangeet Swayamvar (1916)'' * ''

Ghashiram Kotwal '' Kotwal'' is a Marathi play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1972 as a response to the rise of a local political party, in Maharashtra. The play is a political satire, written as historical drama. It is based on the life of Nana Phadn ...

'' * ''Devmaanus'' * ''He Bandha Reshmache'' * ''Moruchi Mavshi'' * ''Mandarmala'' * ''Geeta Gati Dnyaneshwar'' * ''Suwarnatula'' * ''Sangeet Vidyaharan'' * ''Ekach Pyaala'' * ''Bhavbandhan'' * ''Madanachi Manjiri'' * ''Punya Prabhav''

References

Reading list

* * Book in Marathi by Govindrao Tembe "माझा संगीत व्यासंग" (My Study of Music) 1939

External links

Kamat.com - Marathi Natya Sangeet
{{Hindustani Classical Music page end Musical theatre in India Marathi music Culture of Maharashtra Marathi theatre Hindustani music