''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, 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, 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 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 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) 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 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.

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'', 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 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, 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

* Annasaheb Kirloskar 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 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 * Keshavrao Bhosale * Deenanath Mangeshkar * Master Krishnarao * Pandit Ram Marathe * Saudagar Nagnath Gore (Chhota Gandharva) * Prasad Sawkar * Bhalchandra Pendharkar * Ramdas Kamat * Vasantrao Deshpande * Jitendra Abhisheki * Jaymala Shiledar * Jyotsna Bhole * Manik Varma

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 (1967)'' * ''Shapsambhram (1893)'' * '' Sangeet Sharada (1899)'' * ''Sangeet Swayamvar (1916)'' * '' Ghashiram Kotwal'' * ''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