Indian drama and theater unfolds the rich saga of expressions, forms and ritualisms. Classical Indian musical theater is a popular genre of indian drama and is reckoned as one of the revered art of the classical Hindu temple culture. When it becomes too much to articulate through words then the romantic longing of expressing through dance and music comes; classical musical theater is therefore a typical style of Indian drama where thoughts, ideas, design, logic and dramatical devolepment almost everything gains a proper shape through the artistic form of dance, rhythm, tune, timber, harmony and above all through music. "Natya Yoga" as it has been named, the classical indian musical theater is an effort of depicting the Divine and a harmonious way of illustrating the celestial elements. Quite ideally therefore the Classical Indian Musical theater is a successful personification and a graceful embodiment of the realities of life.
It is through the dance forms like "Bharatnatyam", "Odissi", "Kuchipudi", "Kathakali", Kathak, Manipuri, Mohiniaattam, Yakshagna and Sattriya the true verve of the classsical Indian musical theater finds a tuneful dimension. While Odissi, Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi claims to preserve the mainstream and traditional styles it is the very inventive splendor of Kathak that actually added that tinge of modernism in classical Indian musical theatre thus making it lot more contemporary. Kathak is particularly different from other forms of dance pattern . In Kathak the dancers facial expression, movement of the hand, “mudraas†and the gentle rhythm of the dance aids in weaving the magical enchantment. Classical Indian musical theater is therefore the art of saying a lot without actually articulating any; It is the art of personifying the Divine through mudraas and movement.
In the modern days classical indian musical theater is lot more than just being the representation of the classical dance form. In the recent eras it is a harmonious union of songs, music, dance and spoekn dialogue. Precisely it is an effort of communicating the emotional content through music, words, tune and dance. There is no fixed length for a musical drama or theater and it can range from an one act play to often to a three hour long musical theatre. Since the remote past of the ancient rime dance, art, music and harmony has gained an articulate diction in Indian classical musical theater.
