*Consider importance of drama in your country today:

Completely engrossed into the drama being performed, the audience forgets about themselves and immerses into the characters of the drama; they laugh with the laughter on the stage and shed tears along with sad scenes. Undoubtedly, dramas are primarily made to entertain people, however in the case of Nepal they are mainly used to create awareness among people-social, political or cultural. Performed since the ancient times, these dramas not only preserve our culture but also provide employment, platform and eminence to people. With the benefits it has provided to Nepal, drama is undoubtedly a sturdy backbone of our society, culture and country at large.

Shimmering lights, amusing props and adorned stage- drama has moved beyond these superficial items; in fact today drama in Nepal has taken up a rather serious role, role of an education imparter. With various staged plays about the social life of Nepal, these dramas have successfully imparted education to Nepali citizens, along with a dash of entertainment. The “Sarwanam Theater Group” presented a play “Raise Voice” which dealt with the position and behavior of women in Nepali community. On the other hand another play titled as “Naya Adhyaya” dealt with political crisis of Nepal, focusing mainly on the delayed constitution writing: the audience received education about political condition of Nepal in an interesting way. Not only staged dramas, but also the dramas broadcasted through television and radio have played an influential role in educating people about the social evils prevailing in the Nepali society. Common to all the 75 districts of Nepal, Radio with its inspiring plays about ghastly effects of social evils and taboos, has raised awareness to people of both urban and rural areas. “Ek apas ka kura”, a 30 minutes long radio drama dealing with HIV/AIDS, a serious matter in Nepal was broadcasted in Radio Nepal and multifarious FM stations across the country, With due concern about the state of the community, television also started dramas with educational matter-ranging from immoral social practice, taboos to political scenario, health edification. The most popular television drama-“Hijo Aaja ka Kuraa” was triumphant in portraying the current scenario of Nepal and delivering important messages to people in an amusing manner.

Minus the stage and lightning effects, Street drama, simple yet influential, has been performing a significant role in altering the social scenario of Nepal. For the illiterate population of Nepal, street drama with its uncomplicated language, applicable story plot and characters with which the people can easily relate to, has given access to a brand new concept of providing awareness to the people. The street drama named “Khabardar”, based on the people’s revolution, demonstrated the political aspirations of people and the present condition of the country. With ease the uneducated people grasped the story line of the play, making them conscious of the political scenario of the country. Also, on 12th Earthquake day, the NSET in Nepal organized a street play on Earthquake, natural disaster Nepal is quite prone to.  Taking up a sensitive, often a taboo, issue and presenting it in a beautifully realistic manner, this form of drama has successfully brought about modification in social structure of Nepal. “The Street Talent Concern Nepal” took a brave step of performing a street drama with a subject matter of HIV/AIDS across various areas of Kathmandu city, educating people about the often hushed subject.

Along with providing social awareness, these dramas have been protecting the cultural ornamentation and traditional prosperity of Nepal. What began as an absolute pleasure item for the Kings in the late Malla dynasty has today transformed into a significant aspect of our ancient culture, preserving our ethnicity till date. “Lakhe Dance”, a typical Newari musical play performed during Indra Jatra, began from the ancient Malla reign and is still continuing with full panache. This antique dance of the devil captures the tradition of newar community and presents it with such a beautiful performance, never allowing the custom to die out, not even in the present times of modernization. These cultural dramas are in fact the celebration of collaboration of mythological stories and thousands years of tradition. In Janakpur, the birthplace of Goddess Sita, during Bibha Panchami dramas in theaters and open streets are performed showing the holy marriage ceremony of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita. Also, the satirical dramas displayed during Gai Jatra, a ceremony where the dead relatives are remembered, has been performing since olden age and is still in full practice.

Carrying on the thousands years of tradition, dramas have also entertained and reaped creativity from the raw minds of people along the process. Dramas ranging from street dramas, production plays or cultural one have indeed become a source of entertainment to Nepali people-young and old. Those cultural dramas have enthralled the younger generation with the glorious past of our country and made the older generation proud for the antique traditions that are still followed rigorously. Apart from these traditional plays, the modern production houses have also produced various plays to entertain the people. Nepal Shakes, a Nepali drama production house, produced two plays, “Othello” and “Exit the king” respectively, entertaining not only the Nepali people but also the foreigners. Also, dramas provide platform for people to utilize their creativity and showcase their talent. The cast of “Othello” consisted entirely of the talented school students, allowing them to demonstrate their potential in front of everyone. Also, the new Nepali dramas such as “Sano Sansar” and “Kagbeni” have seen younger generation partaking with enthusiasm.

Although Dramas do not assist in economic division of Nepal tremendously, yet in a minute but significant way they provide employment and fame to numerous people in Nepal. The classic form of drama-Theater- is providing employment to people, although not in large numbers; nonetheless people have gained popularity through it. Sunil Pokhrael, the guru of modern drama in Nepal, earned eminence through his theater performances and direction. However it is the reformed form of Drama that is providing numerable job opportunities to people- Film dramas. With increase in popularity of Film dramas in Nepal, new people are attracted to the limelight it provides; thus creating more job opportunities. The recent drama “Mero Euta Saathi Cha” opened its arm to newer generation of cast and crew, offering employment opportunities to numerous people. Also Nepali stars like Rajesh Hamal and Bhuwan Kc have shot to fame with their involvement in the dramas.

As a distinctive provider of awareness to the Nepali community, drama has played a major role in uprooting the social evils and the prevailing taboos; either as a staged play or street drama. Also, the antique culture and tradition of our country has been preserved by the cultural dramas presented during various occasions. Providing a center stage for creative minds and entertainment, drama has also offered employment prospects to multifarious Nepalese. Drama has always been an integral part of the Nepali community and is still on rise.

(* Essay received from a reader)