• ISBN13: 9788126938636
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: History
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Atlantic
• Publication Date: November 18, 2024
• Pages: 324
• Original Price: INR 1195.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 530 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): N/A

A History of The Jana Natya Manch chronicles the birth and growth of the Jana Natya Manch (Janam), a Delhi-based radical theater group which has been active since 1973. Beginning in the early 1970s, when a group of young students in Delhi sought to continue the legacy of the Indian People’s Theatre Association, the book takes a close but critical look at the various phases in the four decades of the theater collective’s existence. The author captures the functioning of Janam as an organization, its methods of attracting and training fresh talent, the process of scripting, interactions with mass organizations, the experience of performing skin-to-skin with its spectators in the grime of Indian streets, and much more. This book is not only a narration of Janam’s history, development and functioning, it is also an attempt to throw fresh light on the practice of theater.

Arjun Ghosh is a Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. He works in the areas of Digital Humanities and Performance Studies. His publications include Freedom from Profit: Eschewing Copyright in Resistance Art and an annotated translation of Bijon Bhattacharya’s Nabanna (with a critical introduction). He is a member of the Governing Body of the Digital Humanities Alliance for Research and Teaching Innovations (DHARTI) and the Voyant Consortium.

• List of Illustrations viii
• List of Abbreviations x
• Foreword by G. P. Deshpande xiii
• Preface xvii
• Acknowledgments xxi
• 1. Introduction 1

• Part One

• 2. The Early Years (1973–1980) 23
• 3. An Eventful Decade (1981–1988) 60
• 4. Martyrdom and After (1989–1994) 86
• 5. New Directions (1995–Present) 109

• Part Two

• 6. The Experience of the Streets 149
• 7. A Different Proscenium 162
• 8. Actors and Organizers 183
• 9. Players, Spectators, and Bazaars 222
• 10. Agents of Change 257
• 11. Conclusion 266
• List of Plays 279
• Bibliography 283
• Index 288
• About the Author 294