Introduction

In the expectant pre-performance hush enveloping the open-air arena, scholars sat facing the red velvet curtain—itself an established metaphor for Marathi theatre — on which was pinned a small garland of fragrant white flowers. Marathi drama invariably settled for delight — as mandated by the Natyashastra, the ancient and authoritative Sanskrit text on dramaturgy. Surprisingly, there existed a parallel tradition of Marathi stylised mythologicals unknown to Maharashtra until the turn of the 20th century. The greatest Maratha hero is undisputedly Chhatrapati Shivaji, son of Shahaji Bhosle. The intelligentsia appropriated leadership of theatre as both dramatists and discerning spectators. The vast outreach of theatre as a mass medium predictably prompted public leaders to deploy it for disseminating social and political messages. The tiny, initially vulnerable island of Mumbai or 'Bombay' which was the East India Company's commercial outpost was catapulted in 1818 into a British political stronghold and gradually a centre of Western education, culture as well as industry.