Vikas Kapoor, head of the production & industrial engineering department at MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur, and eminent theatre personality, spoke on ‘Understanding cultural plurality through theatre’ at Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur, recently.

The campus interface was organised by BL Club in association with energy major Cairn India.

Kapoor highlighted the dichotomy that Indians face as global citizens with parochial inclinations. While Indians readily embrace modern technology and Western culture, they are not quite sure of their own identity, he said.

Kapoor traced the history of theatre, both Western and Indian, and quoted examples from Aristotle’s Poetics and Bharatmuni’s Natyashastra. He pointed out the differences between Western concepts of drama and Indian theatre as an expression of nav rasa . He said theatre is a collaborative platform, secular and egalitarian, which does not recognise class differences.

Kapoor also elaborated on the different movement in arts, literature and performing arts from Greek tragedy to Elizabethan drama, from expressionism, realism, naturalism, existentialism, absurdist theatre to post-modern drama.

Vice-Chancellor of the University M.L. Kumawat proposed a vote of thanks. Pro Vice-Chancellor B.S. Yadav was present.

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