This post was written by new DCist contributor Sriram Gopal

Unlike its cinema, music, dance, and literature, India's dramatic arts have made very few inroads in garnering any international exposure. So it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Jana Natya Manch (The People's Theater Forum), or JANAM, one of India's most active street theater groups, would be stopping in DC for a week as part of its U.S. tour.

The political theater group has spent the last few decades performing works devoted to social movements, topics ranging from communalism and economic policy to unemployment and globalization; the troupe's founder, Safdar Hashmi, died as a result of an attack that took place at a performance at a rally for factory workers demanding a wage increase. Four days later, his wife and the remainder of the company finished the play on the very spot he was killed. This event, in part, led to the creation of a National Street Theater Day in India, April 12.

Last night, the audience watched as the eight person troupe transformed a dance studio at the Emergence Community Arts Collective into a factory gate at the outskirts of New Delhi or a village square somewhere in North India. The cast performed Nahi Qubool ("Unacceptable"), delivered mainly in Hindi with a written synopsis provided to the audience. Despite the language barrier, the subtext of the play was quite clear because of its strong imagery.

In the satirical play, the president of the United States, portrayed as a gun totin' cowboy, visits India. There, leaders, obviously based on the current Indian Prime Minister and high-ranking officials, try to impress him by dismantling pieces of India's economic soul bit by bit. They start with programs designed to protect the working class, then move on to government institutions regulating student tuition levels and rural farmers. The play culminates with the Ministers' attempt to sell India's flag, at which point the people rise up and resist.

The performance was engaging, entertaining, and most importantly, thought-provoking. The group is comprised entirely of self-trained actors whose motivations are as much political as they are artistic. The performers use broad strokes rather than refined acting technique in order to communicate a complex political topic to audiences of various social and economic backgrounds.

The subject matter of the company's work is decidedly leftist. While most attending last night's performance were clearly sympathetic to JANAM's mission, there are certainly some people who would disagree with the group's political message. Politics aside, we hope that JANAM's visit is at least a sign of a burgeoning South Asian arts scene here in our nation's capital. The full remaining schedule is available here. Today, they stage "Words Afire" at Flashpoint Studio; Friday, they will stage "Voh Bol Uthi" (And She Spoke Up) in Art-o-matic's courtyard, with events continuing through Saturday.