About The Book

Two Plays from India’ presents a theatrical canvas drawn from the pages of history and annals of mythology in India, articulating quintessential questions on deeply held spiritual values, portraying archetypical characters that evoke ageless questions for the modern spectators. Celebrated play “Once in India” explores the real value of ‘non–violence’ or ‘ahinsa’ through the saga of a Hindu King. In the play ‘The King of Mathura’,through a famous religious legend, the playwright has crafted an exceptional narrative around India’s first semi-mythological dictator, ‘Kans’, the uncle of Hindu god Krishna. This play explores the workings of a dictator’s mind and the extreme potential of the human capacity for evil, and despite apparent omnipotence, the presence of anxiety and terror in the human psyche. Both plays highlight diverging ideational drives, poignant characters, pathos and drama, while aptly highlighting India’s cultural ethos and mystique.

About The Author

Daya Prakash Sinha is one of the most renowned playwrights in India today. A recipient of Academy Award by Sangeet Natak Akademi (the National Academy of Performing Arts) and host of other prestigious awards, his plays are larger than life, timeless and rare modern classics, theatrical interpretations of historical or mythology inspired events; outstanding grand spectacles that unfurl across time and cultural eras. Acclaimed by both academics and the theatre world, his plays are taught in several universities across India and are very popular with PhD candidates. They are regularly enacted by different theatre groups all across the country.