Inder Sabha

Inder Sabha (Urdu: اِندر سبها) is an Urdu play and opera written by Agha Hasan Amanat, and first staged in 1853. It is regarded as the first complete Urdu stage play ever written. The play was translated into German in the 1880s as a doctoral thesis at the University of Leizig by Friedrich Rosen, and published to positive critical reception in 1892. A movie, Indrasabha, based on the play was released by Madan Theatre in 1932.

The play

The opera is set in the celestial court of Indra, the king of the gods (devas) in Hindu mythology. The play is written entirely in verse, and the central theme is a romance between a prince and a fairy. Operatic devices such as fireworks and masks are employed in enacting the play. Although the play was initially intended to be performed in royal court, songs from the play influenced the geet tradition in Urdu and quickly transitioned into popular culture, where "for at least two generations after that, actors and musicians of Oudh sang the songs of Inder Sabha." The play included "31 ghazals, 9 thumris, 4 holis, 15 songs and two chaubolas and five chhands with enough scope for dances as well."