Read the passage. Choose the most appropriate option from the options given:…
2023
Read the passage. Choose the most appropriate option from the options given:
As part of the great cultural renaissance generated during the post-independence period, there has occurred a most meaningful encounter with tradition in various fields of creative activity. The return to and discovery of tradition was inspired by a search for roots and a quest for identity. This was a part of the whole process of decolonization of our lifestyle, values, social institutions, creative forms and cultural modes.
The modern Indian theatre, product of a colonial theatrical culture, felt the need to search for roots most intensely to match its violent dislocation from the traditional course. Directors like B.V. Karanth, K.N. Panikar and Ratan Thiyam have had a most meaningful encounter with tradition and, with their work, have reversed the colonial course of contemporary theatre and put it back on the track of the great Natyashastra tradition. It sounds paradoxical, but their theatre is both avant-garde in the context of conventional realistic theatre, and still belongs to the Natyashastra theatrical tradition.
Post-independence cultural renaissance in Indian theatre focused on
Answer: C. Search for traditional Indian theatre — ConceptA passage-based main-idea question asks for the statement that captures the author’s central emphasis, not a related detail. The best choice must…
- A.
Development of Western theatre
- B.
Return to traditional Western theatre
- C.
Search for traditional Indian theatre
- D.
Modern Western theatre
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
A passage-based main-idea question asks for the statement that captures the author’s central emphasis, not a related detail. The best choice must account for the repeated ideas and the direction of the whole passage.
Signal words and repeated contrasts reveal that emphasis: here, the passage repeatedly sets colonial or Western influence against a recovery of indigenous tradition.
Application
The passage says that post-independence cultural activity involved a search for roots and identity. It then applies this idea to Indian theatre: directors reversed the colonial course and returned contemporary theatre to the Natyashastra tradition. Thus, the central focus is the search for traditional Indian theatre.
Contrast
Development of Western theatre points toward expanding the influence from which the passage describes a cultural recovery.
Return to traditional Western theatre changes both the cultural source and the direction described in the passage.
Search for traditional Indian theatre combines the passage’s repeated ideas of roots, identity, indigenous tradition, and Natyashastra.
Modern Western theatre names the colonial theatrical influence, while the passage emphasizes reversing that course.
Cross-check
Cross-check: the choice remains consistent with both paragraphs—the general discussion of decolonization and the specific example of Indian theatre returning to its traditional roots.
Result
Therefore, the passage focuses on the search for traditional Indian theatre.