The plays Tughlaq and Hayavadana were written by
- A.Vijay Tendulkar
- B.Girish Karnad
- C.Badal Sircar
- D.Habib Tanvir
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Girish Karnad, who wrote in Kannada and translated his own work into English. Tughlaq uses the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq to speak about idealism turning into failure, and Hayavadana draws on a tale from the Kathasaritsagara about exchanged heads; Nagamandala and Yayati are also his, and he received the Jnanpith Award. A is wrong because Vijay Tendulkar wrote in Marathi and is known for Ghashiram Kotwal, Sakharam Binder and Shantata Court Chalu Aahe. C is wrong because Badal Sircar wrote in Bengali, is remembered for Evam Indrajit and founded the Third Theatre movement that took plays out of auditoriums. D is wrong because Habib Tanvir worked with the folk performers of Chhattisgarh and is known above all for Charandas Chor. These four names cover most questions on post-independence Indian theatre.
Read the full article: Famous Plays and Dramatists: Exam Notes and Lists
Practice Questions
View allThe Sanskrit play Mrichchhakatika, known in English as The Little Clay Cart, was written by
- A.Kalidasa
- B.Shudraka
- C.Bhasa
- D.Bhavabhuti
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Mrichchhakatika is a ten-act play about the love of a poor Brahmin merchant for a courtesan, set against a palace revolution, and its English title The Little Clay Cart comes from a toy cart that appears in the story.
Read the full explanation →Mudrarakshasa, the play dealing with Chanakya and the rise of Chandragupta Maurya, was written by
- A.Kautilya
- B.Vishakhadatta
- C.Banabhatta
- D.Kalhana
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Mudrarakshasa is a political drama whose plot turns on the statecraft of Chanakya as he brings down the Nandas and places Chandragupta Maurya on the throne, and historians use it as a literary source for that change of dynasty.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is a play written by Kalidasa?
- A.Meghaduta
- B.Vikramorvashiyam
- C.Ratnavali
- D.Uttararamacharita
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It tells the story of King Pururavas and the celestial nymph Urvashi.
Read the full explanation →The Sanskrit play Swapnavasavadattam was composed by
- A.Bhasa
- B.Shudraka
- C.Vishakhadatta
- D.Rajashekhara
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Swapnavasavadattam, the dream of Vasavadatta, turns on King Udayana and his queen and is regarded as his finest work; Urubhanga and Pratima Nataka are also his.
Read the full explanation →The Natyashastra, the oldest Indian treatise on dramaturgy, is ascribed to
- A.Panini
- B.Bharata
- C.Patanjali
- D.Abhinavagupta
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The Natyashastra lays down the rules of the stage, of acting, gesture, music and stagecraft, and gives the theory of rasa, the set of aesthetic moods a performance is meant to create in its audience; it is the foundation of all later Indian dramatic and dance theory.
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