Indian English Dramatists

Rabindranath Tagore

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and was entitled as “the epitome of Indian Spiritual Heritage”. He wrote primarily in Bengali, but most of his plays were translated into English.

His best-known works are Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office, The Cycle of Spring etc. Tagore was first to use symbolism and allegorical significance as a prime technique in his plays. He presented a synthesis of East and West in his plays.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and was entitled as “the epitome of Indian Spiritual Heritage”. He wrote primarily in Bengali, but most of his plays were translated into English.

His best-known works are Chitra, Sacrifice, The Post Office, The Cycle of Spring etc. Tagore was first to use symbolism and allegorical significance as a prime technique in his plays. He presented a synthesis of East and West in his plays.

Sri Aurobindo

He wrote five complete and six incomplete verse plays. There is a variety of periods and places in his plays. He dealt with human evolution and love in his drama. His famous plays are-Perseus the Deliverer, Prime of Edur, Eric etc.

Harindranath Chattopadhyay

His plays fell under four groups- Devotional, Social, Historical, Social and Devotional. In his social plays, he presents social evils and problems through symbolism. He is deeply influenced by the Progressive Writer’s Movement.

S.P. Ayyar

He was a social reformer who exposed ills of contemporary Indian society. His main grounds were widowhood, religious orthodoxy, superstition and hypocrisy.

P. Kailasam

He wrote both in English and Kannada. His dramatic genius is fully expressed in his plays:- The Burden, Fulfilment, The Purpose etc. He was regarded as the father of modern Kannada Drama.

Bharati Sarabhai

She gave a touch to Gandhian Touch to Indian Drama. Her two famous plays-The Well of the People and The Women are based on Gandhian Philosophy.

N. Lobo Prabhu

It was the last great name in Pre-independence Indian English Drama. Out of his dozen plays, only two were published before independence-Mother of New India and Death Abdicates.