Abstract

            ‘Theatre of Roots’ is a canon used for theatre emerged in independent India comprising traditional forms and formats while dealing with the modern and contemporary topic and issues. This movement has a glorious history in modern Indian theatre. Though, the glimpses of ‘Theatre or Roots,’ theatre practice could be seen before Independence too but it become a force in modern theatre once masters like Habib Tanvir, K.N. Panikker, Shanta Gandhi, Balwant Gargi and some other started exploring idioms of traditional theatre into their modern theatre practices. Later, Sangit Natak Akademy (SNA) started funding young directors to make such projects and plays and shortly it become a ‘go to thing’ in Indian theatre practice. But, it is not as homogeneous as it appears from its name. There are various kinds of theatre practices within this domain. The article tries to explore them within the limit of ‘Theatre of Roots.’