Launch of  3 volumes of Indian Contemporary Play series in English, edited by Alok Bhalla and Anju Makhija, published by Sahitya Akademi

Sahitya Akademi launched 3 volumes in its new series on contemporary Indian theatre in English, edited by Anju Makhija and Alok Bhalla as part of the Sahitya Akademi - Open Space literary seminar cum utsav, titled, "The Image of The Writer in Literature" in February 2007

The new volumes include plays by Ramu Ramanathan, Vikram Kapadia, Ninaz Khodaiji, Cyrus Mistry and Partap Sharma

These new volumes from the Sahitya Akademi bring to readers a judicious mix of younger playwrights such as Ramu Ramanathan and Vikram Kapadia as well as more experienced playwrights such as Partap Sharma and Cyrus Mistry. The combination allows readers to witness different styles of writing, different concerns as well as new approaches to the stage and stagablity.
The publishing of play scripts for Indian plays enhances the idea that Indian theatre has come of age in terms of criticism and scholarship. The plays represented here are presented as literary texts as well as scripts for performance.

Anju Makhija herself is a playwright and Alok Bhalla has translated Hindi plays into English so that they reach a wider audience.

Open Space drew audiences through our usual methods of publicity – a poster campaign, press kits and special interview appointments, posting on our website as well as an announcement on our mailing list. We also sent out printed invitations to local people involved in the arts. We spoke directly to Heads of college English departments about bringing their students to the sessions. As with all Open Space programming, all the events were free and open to all.