THEATRE IS IN THE VILLAGES 33 work of a very valuable nature. They are mostly involved in experiments with Indian folk theatre forms. Though in a country of vast cultural resources like India, their number is deplorably low, they have already managed to break new ground and lay the foundation of a genuine Indian theatre. And this is also beginning to get reflected in the works of some young and promising playwrights. For instance, Girish Karnad's interes-ing Kannada play'Haya Vadana5 (Half Horse), based upon an ancient Indian legend which also inspired Thomas Mann to write his novel 'Transposed Heads5, draws richly from a Mysore folk theatre form known as the Taksha^ana, Similarly, the Bengali playwright- producer ^^E21^^^^ recently turned the Bengali folk theatre form of Jatra to great political advantage by using its technique in his recent play about JL^Xlin 'Lemner Dak5; P L Deshpande of Bombay has done the same with his Marathi plays written and produced in a Marathi folk theatre style known as Tamasha1 The trend itself is not a new phenomenon. It dates back to the IndianPeoples5 Theatre Association during the late forties when producers like Balraj Sahni, Shombhu Mitra and Dina Pathak for the first time turned folk theatre forms to contemporary purposefulness. Today, however, a concerted effort of greater significance has to be made in order to make a dent in the lop-sided development of our theatre. It must now be realised that the vehicle provided by urban theatre forms borrowed from the West is totally inadequate for effectively projecting the social aspirations, way of life, cultural patterns and fundamental problems of contemporary India. The true pattern of Indian culture in J all its facets can best be witnessed in the countryside. It is in its villages < that the dramatic tradition of India in all its pristine glory and^l^Adta-lity remains preserved even to this day. It is these rural drama groups that require real encouragement. They need to be given an environment conducive to their fullest growth. On the other hand, it is not until the city youth is fully exposed to influence from folk traditions in theatre that a truly Indian theatre, modern and universal in appeal and indigenous in form, can really be evolved. It is yet to be fully realised that ignorance of one^ own traditions limits one^s openness to world influences to that extent and rather compels one to go in directions other than those of one^ own choice. And if true freedom is a matter of the fullest range of choices given, then receptiveness to world culture must first of all be adequately backed by a full awareness of one^ own culture. It is not as if foreign influences are in themselves bad, but they have to be accepted with a greater freedom of choice and greater deliberation. For this, k^noyyiedge^jaf. one^s own traditions is a first prerequisite. This realisation, however, is bedevilled by a terrible paradox. "'ITTe paradox is that our richest cultural tradition is couched in areas of utmost poverty - the villages. In other words, art and culture is richest precisely in those areas where