D Anuradha Kapur 23. Ibid., pp. 180-81. 24. Ibid., p. 179. 25. Ibid., pp. 179-81. 26. Ibid., p. 180, quoting S.D. Shroffs Parsi Natak Takhto, Bombay, 1950, p. 11. 27. Ibid., pp. 181-82. 107 28. Ibid., p. 203. 29. Ibid., pp. 211-12. 30. Sharma, op. dt., pp. 24-25. 31. Ibid., p. 100. 32. Gupta, op. dt., pp. 135-36. 33. Ibid., p. 105. 34. Ibid., pp. 108-09. 35. Ibid., pp. 113-14. 36. Ibid., pp. 117-18. 37. Sharma, op. dt., p. 94. 38. Mehta, op. dt., pp. 185-90. 39. Gupt, op.dt.,p.42. 40. Mehta, op. dt., p. 192. 41. Sharma, op. dt., pp. 104-05. 42. This is Abhimanyu on his way to battle. Abhimanyu: Courage says, arise, bestir yourself, act to fulfil your vows, act to put an end to the enemy . . . Love says come hither, come to the bedroom before you enter battle.' Radheyshyam Kathavachak, Vir Abhimanyu, op. dt., p. 38. (I am indebted to Cyan Pandey for this translation and for all the following translations of Radheyshyam Kathavachak.) 43. See Ashish Rajadhyaksha, The Phaike Era: Conflict of Traditional Form and Modem Technology", in Journal of Arts and Ideas, Nos. 14-15, pp. 47-78, for more on Lala DeendayaFs work; see also Judith Mara Gutman, Through Indian Eyes, New York, 1981. 44. Radheyshyam Kathavachak, Shri Krishna Avtar, op. dt., pp. 148-49. 45. See Raymond Williams' use of this term with reference to bourgeois drama in his Culture, Glasgow, 1981, pp. 167-68. 46. See Geeta Kapur, "Ravi Varma: Representational Dilemmas of a Nineteenth Century Indian Painter', Journal of Arts and Ideas, Nos. 17-18, pp. 59-80. 47. Ibid, p. 65. 48. Ashish Rajadhyaksha, op. dt., pp. 68-69. 49. Thus Uttara's grief must be backed up by its logic, or cause. In Vir Abhimanyu the cause is Abhima-nyu's dead body which is described and which explains the grief. This m some ways diminishes the act; it is a move from the epic to the sentimental. Uttara: Alas, mother! What a state he has fallen into! This lion whose roar terrified the Kauravas. . . . This warrior who could turn his enemies to a jelly, today he is a dusty heap, sunk in a never-ending sleep. He has made a decoration of despair, like kajal to his eyes, and now spends his time in the service of Shiva. At the sight of his bowstring, the enemy did blanch, His call shook the mountains, The earth trembled askance, Cruel death, look, what you have done to this warrior, His soul has left him His camp could not be sorrier. Radheyshyam Kathavachak, Vir Abhimanyu, op. dt., p. 147. 50. Radheyshyam Kathavachak, Mera Natak Kal, Bareilly, 1957, pp. 56-57. 51. Narrated to the author in a personal interview. Numbers 23-24