Tamil drama in colonial Madras: the Parsi theatre connection
Tamil musical theatre (isai natakam) became a thriving form of public entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this formative period, Parsi theatre companies from Bombay frequented Madras and staged Urdu-language spectacles before heterogeneous audiences. The legacy of histori...
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Published in | South Asian history and culture Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 19 - 38 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford
Routledge
02.01.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Tamil musical theatre (isai natakam) became a thriving form of public entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this formative period, Parsi theatre companies from Bombay frequented Madras and staged Urdu-language spectacles before heterogeneous audiences. The legacy of historical contact between Tamil drama and Parsi theatre is visible at multiple levels: nomenclature, tale types, song genres, orchestration, troupe organization, use of the proscenium stage. The positive reception of Parsi theatre in Madras, however, was not a foregone conclusion, given the linguistic, social, and cultural boundaries to be crossed. Through an analysis of Parsi company performances, this essay shows the process of creating a multilingual theatrical public at the crossroads of urban Madras. It brings to light the patronage of an unsung sector, the community of Urdu-speaking Muslims clustered around the titular nawabs of Arcot. The sponsorship of the Begum of the Carnatic for a local troupe, the Madras Mahomedan Operatic Company, helped to disseminate the imported art, carrying it into wider networks of circulation. |
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ISSN: | 1947-2498 1947-2501 |
DOI: | 10.1080/19472498.2020.1816414 |