1 The word popularly used for the lower-caste section of society, termed ‘untouchables’ until the term was prohibited with the proclamation of the Indian constitution in 1950.

2 SNA was formed by the Government of India in 1953 and since its inception has been an important funding source for publications on the performing arts, as reflected in its mission statement: ‘The purpose of this Scheme, which has been implemented by Sangeet Natak Akademi since its inception, is to encourage the publication of books and periodicals on music, dance and drama in all the languages of India, besides English. Books and periodicals on these subjects are often not commercially viable, and the scheme by meeting printing costs makes it possible for authors and publishers to present their work to the reading public. Financial assistance under the scheme is sanctioned after expert assessment of manuscripts, so far as books are concerned, and published issues in the case of periodicals.’

3 Most of these publishing houses were founded after 1960 and were mainly dedicated to research in the performing arts. Mārg and Arts & Ideas also included publications on fine art. Some publishers succeeded in getting government funding but many of them were closed down in the 1980s because of financial problems.

4 Bhagavadgita is the essence of Vedic knowledge and is one of the most important scriptures in Vedic literature narrated by Lord Krishna during the great war of the Mahabharata, emphasizing the importance of the philosophy of Yoga and karma. Nātyashāstra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts. It is thought to have been written in the fourth century bc in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Sage Bharata.

5 Advaita philosophy is the basis for the path of self-knowledge or Yoga. Vedanta is one of ancient India's six main systems of thought – a scientific approach to religion and religious truth. The philosophy of Adviata and Vedanta is discussed in detail in Bhagavadgita in the tenth chapter of the Mahabharata.

6 The term ‘mainstream theatre’ is generally used for the theatre of metropolitan towns, although there is a lot of confusion over this as it is also popularly used to refer to theatre in English and Hindi.

7 The Dramatic Performances Act 1876 granted the power to prohibit certain dramatic performances on the grounds of their being deemed ‘(a) of a scandalous or defamatory nature, or (b) likely to excite feelings of disaffection to the Government established by law in India, or (c) likely to deprave and corrupt persons present at the performance’ (Section 3 of the Act) and the ‘Power to grant warrant to Police to enter and arrest and seize’ (Section 4) in the event of a prohibited performance taking place.

8 J. N. Kaushal, ‘In Search of Style’, ENACT, 155–6 (Nov-Dec. 1979), book review section.

9 Description of the book, http://www.indiaclub.com (accessed 2 July 2009).

10 Vatsyayan, Kapila, Traditional Indian Theatre: Multiple Stream (Delhi: NBT, 1980), p. 185Google Scholar.

11 The process of publishing doctoral dissertations is usually very slow in India. Copies of unpublished dissertation studies are held in university libraries.

12 Shampa Chaterjee, online review of India: From Midnight to the Millennium authored by Shashi Tharoor, http://www.curledup.com/india.htm (accessed 4 July 2009).

13 Based on my personal interview with Ranbir Sinh, Jaipur, 30 June 2009.

14 See http://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/2005 (accessed 5 August 2009).