Pedagogical Aspects of Andher Nagari by Bhāratendu Harishchandra: An Analysis for Visual and Performing Arts Education

Abstract

The play Andher Nagari by Bhāratendu Harishchandra has acquired a special place in the modern Hindi theatre for its satire, social relevance, humor, drama, and politics. However, the pedagogical potentials of this play in the field of visual and performing arts education are yet to be explored. This paper attempts to present Andher Nagari as a source to develop creative and critical abilities, ethical reasoning, communication, collaboration, performance skills, and experiential learning of the visual and performing arts. The research problem of the paper is the lack of attention to classical Hindi dramatic texts as resources for experiential learning in the visual and performing arts education domain. The objectives of the paper include examining the pedagogical potentials of this play’s dramatic features for learners, theatre workshops, role-play activities, scriptreading practices, and performance. The paper employs a qualitative, descriptive, and interpretive research design that utilizes secondary sources of information. The primary source of this study is the dramatic text of Andher Nagari , while the other sources include scholarly articles, research papers, and publications on Hindi theatre and pedagogy. The findings of the paper demonstrate that this play can be fruitfully used in the educational process to promote experiential learning of dramatic arts. The study concludes that Andher Nagari can be employed as a pedagogical tool in the visual and performing arts education to enhance interdisciplinary learning, learner agency, cultural awareness, and critical thinking.