Broadening the Canon: Encountering Indian Theater

In Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s elementary Hindi class, we had a theater workshop where a guest entered the classroom. The first thing I noticed was her black sari—glittering and dramatic yet reserved. Accustomed to vibrant purple, green, red, and gold tones of my mother’s saris, I remember thinking, ‘I’ve never seen a black sari’. Surely, it signaled something unique about its wearer. 

As Mayuri Raman began to speak, the second thing I noticed was her animated style of speech. As she described her career in Indian drama spaces, her voice wavered between passion and nostalgia. As if read from sheet music, her expressions and gestures created accents and crescendos in her ideas. 

Raman taught our Hindi 102 class about the dramatic arts in India. She spoke about the various elements of great drama, including detailed costuming, passionate acting, and expressive music. I myself grew up studying classical violin and piano, while appreciating South Asian arts at home. As I listened to Raman speaking, I realized that I had spent much of my life turning a critical eye to master works of Western art, but had never paused to appreciate the same scholarly merit in South Asian art. Indian cooking, visual arts, music, and clothing have always been a steady current in my life, but until I took Hindi courses at Duke, they had never had a place in my formal education. My Hindi education at Duke has remedied this deficiency through experiences like cooking classes, daily music appreciation, and drama workshops. 

Much of what our class learned from Mayuri Raman was implemented later in the semester as we pieced together a skit entirely spoken in Hindi. It was quite the feat for someone such as myself, who only began learning the language eight months ago. The skit centered around the pre-wedding arrangements between two families, and included awkward pleasantries, a heated fight, and a dramatic exit for the star couple. 

The Duke AMES department has nurtured my appreciation for Indian arts and language. Each day, our class learns not only grammar, but also bonds over bits of culture, music, and art. As I reflect on Mayuri Raman’s visit, I realize that although I may not understand every word she spoke as a beginner Hindi student, I understood something more important: the depth of feeling  and passion behind them. Her visit caused me to think deeply about language, not only as a tool for communication, but also a medium for art, cultural memory, and self-discovery. 

This event was supported by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.