Thesis Abstract

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p>Communication as a social tool includes a wide range of functions such as instruction, persuasion,</p><p>education, entertainment, development and so on. Over the ages, all the communication mediums</p><p>have evolved themselves to accommodate the various functions of communication and this is true of</p><p>the theatre as well. This paper is a humble endeavour towards interpreting the theatre as a</p><p>communication medium that can significantly contribute towards ably performing the various</p><p>2</p><p>communication functions. It also seeks to deliberate upon the need for approaching the study of</p><p>communication in the Indian perspective drawing comparisons between Aristotle’s Poetics and</p><p>Rhetoric and Bharata’s NÄtyasÄstra.</p><p>Key Words: Theatre, Communication, NÄtyasÄstra, Poetics, Rhetoric</p><p>Introduction</p><p>“In a universe that is suddenly deprived of illusions and of light, man feels a</p><p>stranger. His is an irremediable exile…. This divorce between man and his life,</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>the actor and his setting, truly constitutes the feeling of Absurdity.”</p><p>– Albert Camus</p><p>Thus writes Albert Camus in his seminal work, “The Myth of Sisyphus”. However, the universe that</p><p>Camus talks of is representative not only of one physical world as a whole but a number of small</p><p>mini worlds that individuals create of their own. Perhaps it is only fair then that in context of theatre,</p><p>the stage is representative of the audience’s world and the actor represents the individuals viewing</p><p>the act as theatre, essentially, refers to performing a drama on stage. A drama is considered to be allinclusive.</p><p>It embraces all types of topics and represents all kinds of natures, as it is intended for all</p><p>classes of people. Thus, it is a mirror of human existence intended to be presented on the stage. But</p><p>as Victor Hugo says, ‘If the mirror is an ordinary one, it produces a poor, faithful but colourless</p><p>image; it must therefore be a focusing mirror.’ Thus, drama must provide a physical semblance to</p><p>human existence on the stage. (Ramamurti, 1964)</p><p>Drama occupies a significant place in Indian culture. India has always been a paradise for art lovers,</p><p>be it music, dance or drama. However, perhaps it would be fair to place drama a notch above music</p><p>and dance because drama essentially incorporates both the forms. The various aspects of drama have</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>been comprehensively discussed in a particular text composed in ancient India known as the</p><p>NÄtyasÄstra. The NÄtyasÄstra ascribed to the Indian sage Bharata is generally considered to be the</p><p>earliest treatise on dramaturgy. The Sanskrit term for ‘Drama’ is NÄtya. NÄtya, says, Bharata Muni,</p><p>is an imitation of the various emotions and situations of the people through abhinaya (acting). The</p><p>word Abhinaya is a combination of two words, ‘abhi’1 meaning ‘towards’ and ‘ni’ meaning ‘to</p><p>1 abhi—towards (Srimad Bhagavad Gita 1.14.12)</p><p>3</p><p>carry’. Thus, abhinaya literally means carrying the performance of a play to the point of direct</p><p>ascertainment of its meaning towards the audience. (Pandya, 1990)</p><p>But then, the question emerges as to how the actor shall carry the meaning towards the audience.</p><p>Herein comes the role and importance of communication. Communication refers to the act of</p><p>transmission of ideas between individuals through the use of significant symbols. It is a process by</p><p>which a person or a group of persons attempts to make another person or a group of person aware of</p><p>its ideas on a particular subject. It is of paramount importance to social living as social life can exist</p><p>only when meaningful symbols are transmitted from one individual to another. Thus, communication</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>essentially refers to the process of establishing commonness among the participants involved in the</p><p>act of communication through the act of information sharing. When any communication process</p><p>continues for a considerable period of time, particular attitudes and values are inculcated in the</p><p>minds of the audience which ultimately leads to building of social relationships. Emphasizing the</p><p>importance of communication in building up of relationships, Raymond Williams asserts that men</p><p>and societies are tied together to relationships in describing, learning, persuading and exchanging</p><p>experiences. This exchange of experience is facilitated by communication. (Mukhopadhyay, 1999)</p><p>Thus, it is only fair that theatre is seen as a medium of establishing a relationship of commonness</p><p>between the actor (communicator) and the audience (communicated) that hinges on the art of</p><p>communication.</p><p>Communication as a human function is multi-dimensional in nature. While communication has</p><p>primarily been regarded as an information sharing process, the scope of communication is vast</p><p>indeed. It includes a wide range of functions such as instruction, persuasion, education,</p><p>entertainment, development and so on. Over the ages, all the communication mediums have evolved</p><p>themselves to accommodate the various functions of communication and this is true of the theatre as</p><p>well. We shall now discuss how the theatre as a communication medium can significantly contribute</p><p>towards performing the various communication functions.</p><p>Information Function</p><p>The first and foremost function of any communication endeavour remains information. It is from the</p><p>information function of communication that all the other functions find application. The primary</p><p>function of any form of media, thus, is to collect, store, process and disseminate information in order</p><p>to help the receivers understand and react to their existing environment. (Andal, 2004) This is true of</p><p>4</p><p>the theatre as well. Since ancient times, the main function of the theatre has been to disseminate</p><p>some form of information, either directly or indirectly to the audience which fulfils the basic need of</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>communication process. As a matter of fact, in the ancient times, it was widely regarded that the duty</p><p>of the dramatist was to equally entertain the masses and to provide men with information which</p><p>gives ample opportunities to flourish him.</p><p>The relevance of theatre as an important medium of informing the masses was brought to the fore</p><p>when this medium was utilized in states like Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to apprise the rural</p><p>population of the Kargil conflict. At a time when there has been an exponential growth in broadcast</p><p>media and means of transport and travel are within the reach of the common man; the theatre</p><p>emerged as perhaps one of the few successful channels to inform the rural people of the various</p><p>aspects of the conflict as also the valour and sacrifices made by the Indian soldiers. The plays were</p><p>equally successful in instilling a feeling of patriotism in the audience. (Vir Bala Aggarwal, 2002)</p><p>Command or instructive function</p><p>The second important function of communication is command or instructive function.</p><p>Communication as a command or instructive function posits that the primary purpose of</p><p>communication is telling the recipients of the information what to do, how to do when to do etc.</p><p>Theatre has always been a chosen medium of instruction since the ancient times. In the words of</p><p>Bertolt Brecht, “Oil, inflation, war, social struggle, the family, religion, the meat market, all became</p><p>subjects for theatrical representation. Choruses enlightened the spectator about facts unknown to</p><p>him….Right and Wrong courses of action were shown. People were shown who knew what they</p><p>were doing, and others who did not. The theatre became an affair for philosophers, but only for such</p><p>philosophers as wished not just to explain the world but also to change it. So we had philosophy, we</p><p>had instruction.” (Mukhopadhyay, 1999)</p><p>Persuasive function</p><p>The third important function of communication is the persuasive function. According to David Berlo</p><p>(1960), the sole purpose of communication is to influence people and persuade them into any</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>particular way of thinking or acting. The persuasive function of communication is extremely</p><p>important for inducing people into changing their behaviour in any particular desirable direction.</p><p>Theatre, through repeated use of messages over long period of time, can persuade its audience in the</p><p>5</p><p>formation of certain attitudes and behaviour patterns. History has shown us how the theatre has often</p><p>acted as a vehicle for agitation and propaganda.</p><p>The first significant drama of social protest in India was Nildarpana (The Mirror of Indigo Planters)</p><p>by Dinabandhu Mitra, published in 1860. The play dramatizes incidents drawn from the revolution of</p><p>1858 in which Bengali indigo cultivators were mercilessly persecuted by the British planters for</p><p>refusing to sow their crops. The play aroused considerable public sentiment in Bengal against British</p><p>rule and paved the way for a host of patriotic works written along similar lines elsewhere in the</p><p>country. (Richmond, 1973)</p><p>Education function</p><p>Education has always been one of the most important functions of communication throughout ages.</p><p>However, communication for education has been generally limited to formal communication</p><p>practices and has rarely been experimental in nature. However, theatre can be effectively used as a</p><p>medium of education. In Chapter I of the NÄtyasÄstra, the great sage Bharata narrates to us the</p><p>educational purpose of drama as declared by Lord Brahma. Thus says Bharata, “This (NÄtya/</p><p>Drama) teaches duty to those bent on doing their duty, love to those who are eager for its fulfilment,</p><p>and it chastises those who are ill-bred or unruly, promotes self-restraint in those who are</p><p>disciplined, gives courage to cowards, energy to heroic persons, enlightens men of poor intellect and</p><p>gives wisdom to the learned… It will [also] give relief to unlucky persons who are afflicted with</p><p>sorrow and grief or [over]-work, and will be conducive to observance of duty (dharma) as well as to</p><p>fame, long life, intellect and general good and will educate people.” (Ghosh, 1950)</p><p>One of the primary concerns related to education today is the excessive workload upon the students</p><p>that threatens to have a de-humanising effect upon them where they increasingly find themselves cutoff</p><p>from the mainstream society. The theatre can come to our rescue in this regard. Techniques of</p><p>drama blur many boundaries by transforming the formal space of the classroom through the use of</p><p>games and conversations, sometimes even actually breaking down its physical order. Some</p><p>minimising of the social distance between the teacher and the taught infuses trust in the latter and</p><p>makes conversation possible. More than interaction, the regard and respect of community practices</p><p>that honour children’s out-of school skills in storytelling can go a long way in making children</p><p>communicative. (Singh, 2004)</p><p>6</p><p>Entertainment Function</p><p>Entertainment has emerged as an important function of communication. The entertainment function</p><p>of communication was first proposed by Charles Wright. Prior to him, the utility of communication</p><p>in Harold Laswell’s opinion was limited to three functions – surveillance, correlation and</p><p>transmission. While entertainment media are much more concerned with likeability and physical</p><p>attractiveness, it is these characteristics that attract people to entertainment shows and can create</p><p>attitude change via a peripheral route in entertainment settings. Generally speaking, the broadcast</p><p>media such as TV and films best reflect this function. (Xiaoli Nan, (2004 However, the entertainment</p><p>function of communication is by no means limited to the broadcast media. It is worth mentioning</p><p>here that the theatre started as a medium of entertaining the masses. Entertainment, however, here is</p><p>to be seen as an expression that addresses the broader canvas of providing relief to the people from</p><p>the mundane concerns of life that includes multiple aspects of diversion such as delight, recreation,</p><p>pastime or mere distraction from the problems of real life even if momentarily.</p><p>Development function</p><p>The importance of communication in mobilizing people and seeking their willing participation in the</p><p>development of a country is well recognized. In India, this concern above reaching people,</p><p>communicating with them and equipping them with new skills has been emphasized over and again</p><p>in successive five year plans which provide the blue print of the country’s planned development.</p><p>(Kumar, 2006) While communication for development has generally been ascribed to the usage of</p><p>the modern mass media forms, the latter half of the last millennium has shown us that the modern</p><p>mass media forms have not been able to live up to the expectations of development communication</p><p>planners in the developing nations. This is primarily owing to the fact that people still cannot connect</p><p>themselves with the modern mass media forms as comfortable as with the traditional media forms of</p><p>communication.</p><p>In this regard, the MacBride Commission in its report titled ‘Many Voices One World’ asserted,</p><p>“Even when modern media have penetrated isolated areas, the older forms maintain their validity,</p><p>particularly when used to influence attitudes, instigate action and promote change. Extensive</p><p>experience shown that traditional forms of communication can be effective in dispelling the</p><p>superstitions, archaic perceptions and unscientific that people have inherited as part of traditions and</p><p>which are difficult to modify if the benefits of change are hard to demonstrate. Practitioners of the</p><p>7</p><p>traditional media use a subtle form of persuasion by presenting the required message in locally</p><p>popular artistic forms. This cannot be rivalled by any other means of communication.” (Kumar,</p><p>2006)</p><p>Theatre can be used as important mode of communication for development primarily owing to its</p><p>certain qualities. It is one of the cheapest media available, it does not rely on literacy, it can be more</p><p>flexible and topical than other media, and above all the audience can participate in the play making</p><p>the theatre a genuine two-way medium for communicating information. (Kasoma, 1974) The theatre</p><p>holds more relevance in Indian perspective primarily owing to the fact that the Indian folk theatre is</p><p>a composite form of containing songs, music, dance, and drama that seeks to fulfil all the intellectual,</p><p>emotional, and aesthetic needs of its spectators. It is more than entertainment, a complete emotional</p><p>experience and creates a state of receptivity in which messages can be most effectively transmitted.</p><p>Folk theatre has functioned as an instrument of social awareness, protest, and change. Regional rural</p><p>drama performance is known to be dependable and persuasive change agents, acting as a bridge</p><p>between different rural areas, and between rural and urban areas. Unlike in western theatre, folk</p><p>performance is a composite art in India. It is a total art with fusion elements from music, dance,</p><p>pantomime, versification, epic ballad recitation, religion and festival peasantry. It imbibes</p><p>ceremonials, rituals, belief and social system. It has deep religious and ritualistic overtones and then</p><p>again, it can surely project social life, secular themes and universal values. (Kumar S. , 2012)</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The theatre by its very nature and particularly because of its communality and its fictionalized</p><p>situations provides a forum, whereby communication can easily take place without the attending</p><p>antagonisms which would normally occur in a directly realistic situation. As part of an educational</p><p>and organizational process, theatre can play a range of roles: bringing people together and creating</p><p>contexts for collective reflection and action; drawing out participation and expression of popular</p><p>concerns, and analysis; overcoming people’s fears and rationalizations and building confidence and</p><p>identity; stimulating discussion and a critical understanding of problems, contradictions, and</p><p>structures underlining everyday reality; clarifying the possibilities and strategies for action; stirring</p><p>people’s emotions and mobilizing people for action. (Warritay, 1988)</p><p>It is worth mentioning here that the great Greek philosopher Aristotle who wrote the first Western</p><p>treatise on drama, the Poetics, is also credited with the earliest model of human communication.</p><p>8</p><p>Though Aristotle himself never gave any model per se, the model has been derived by later thinkers</p><p>from his ideas given in another treatise written by him, the Rhetoric, which essentially deals with the</p><p>art of conversation. The model includes five essential elements of communication, i.e., the speaker,</p><p>the speech or message, the audience, the occasion and the effect. In the Rhetoric, Aristotle presents</p><p>his ideas on the art of speech construction by speakers for different audiences on different occasions</p><p>for producing different effects. However, it would not be out of place to assume that Aristotle’s idea</p><p>was based on his personal experience of the Greek theatre and shaped by his observations on the</p><p>same. As it appears, the speaker that Aristotle talks of, in all likelihood, refers to the actor while the</p><p>occasion refers to the act of theatrical presentation. The remaining elements are important</p><p>components of any dramatic act, that is, the speech by the actor, the audience experiencing the act</p><p>and the effect produced in the minds of the audience.</p><p>While Aristotle’s model does give us a basic idea on the communication process that apparently</p><p>takes place in our daily lives, it is found lacking in certain aspects of communication. Perhaps owing</p><p>to the fact that Aristotle was primarily addressing the subject of speech construction in the Rhetoric,</p><p>the importance of non-verbal communication in any act of communication seems to have been</p><p>completely overlooked by him. This aspect of non-verbal communication has been comprehensively</p><p>discussed and addressed in Bharata’s NÄtyasÄstra. Having said so, Bharata does not undermine the</p><p>importance of speech in communication. Thus says Bharata, “One should take care of words… In</p><p>this world, the ÅÄstras are made up of words and rest on words; hence there is nothing beyond</p><p>words, and words are the source of everything. The Verbal representation is related to [a knowledge</p><p>of] nouns (nÄma), verbs (Äkhyta), particle (nipÄta), preposition (upasarga), nominal suffix</p><p>(taddhita), compound words (samÄsa), euphonic combination (sandhi) and case-endings (vibhakti).”</p><p>(Ghosh, 1950) Speech, Bharata, terms as vÄcika. However, Bharata takes note of the other aspects as</p><p>well that play a vital role in deciding the outcome of any communication endeavour. These include:</p><p>1. Physical representation (AngikÄ)</p><p>2. Costumes and make-up (Äharya)</p><p>3. Temperament (Sattva)</p><p>9</p><p>Thus, Bharata emphasizes on approaching communication in a four-fold manner of expression</p><p>comprising of vÄcika, angikÄ, sattva and Äharya. While Bharata postulates the four-fold principle of</p><p>communication primarily in parlance of drama, it would not be out of place to assume that Bharata</p><p>also had in his mind the universe while laying down the tenets. As Bharata ascribes the following</p><p>words to Lord Brahma, “The drama as I have devised, is a mimicry of actions and conducts of</p><p>people, which is rich in various emotions, and which depicts different situations.” Besides, this fourfold</p><p>approach is indeed, a more, practical and hands on approach towards analysing and decoding the</p><p>process of communication.</p><p>Communication, after all, is not merely about expression of either words or actions. Rather, it</p><p>incorporates all the aspects of human expression that can play an effective part on conveying the</p><p>ultimate meaning to the recipient of the information. The absence or disproportionate representation</p><p>of any one of the given aspects necessarily results in confusion in the minds of the audience and that</p><p>is what gives rise to the feeling of absurdity. No wonder then, the Indian approach to communication</p><p>is referred to as sÄdhÄranikarana which essentially means establishing a feeling of uniformity</p><p>between the participants involved in an act of communication. This, in turn, can be achieved only</p><p>when commonness is attained at the various intermediary levels of human interaction between the</p><p>communicator and the communicated through their respective abilities. It is this feeling of</p><p>commonness and uniformity that is the driving force of communication in this universe. The theatre</p><p>being a miniature representation of the same is no different.</p><p>References</p><p>1. Andal, N. (2004). Communication Theories and Models. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.</p><p>2. Ghosh, M. (1950). The Natya Shastra (English Translation) Volume I (Chapters I-XXVII).</p><p>Calcutta: The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.</p><p>3. Kasoma, K. (1974). Theatre And Development. Retrieved September 2013, from <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cfhst">http://www.cfhst</a>.</p><p>net: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cf-hst.net/unicef-temp/Doc-Repository/doc/doc479081.PDF">http://www.cf-hst.net/unicef-temp/Doc-Repository/doc/doc479081.PDF</a></p><p>4. Kumar, H. (2006). Folk Media and Rural Development. 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