teenage girl to be married to a widower in his late seventies, brought out a social message. Few dramas, like Kichak Vadh, even agitated the British rulers to the extent that they were banned. Kichak Vadh compared the Britishers with Kichak, an evil character from Mahabharata who tried to dishonour Draupadi. Draupadi was then synonymous with the oppressed common Indian masses. During the 1960s, another turn came in natya sangeet with the emergence of Jitendra Abhisheki, who was credited with applying simplicity to the complex composition of Natya Sangeet. Plays The recent play Katyar Kaljat Ghusli by Zee studios opened up a new era of musical cinemas. This movie was based on the legendary play bearing the same name. Its music was composed by Jitendra Abhisekhi and sung by Vasantrao Deshpande. Notable contributions Annasaheb Kirloskar who founded the Sangeet Natakas also offered other famous plays like Sangeet Saubhadra and Ramrajyaviyog. Bal Gandharva's Gandharva Natak Mandali; Vasudeorao Dongre's Dongre Mandali; Pandoba Gurav Yavateshwarkar's Waikar Sangeet Mandali; Janubhau Nimkar and Keshavrao Bhosale's Swadesh-Hita-Chintak Mandali, which evolved into Lalit-Kaladarsha Mandali; and Master Dinanath's Balwant Natak Mandali were the other main performing companies which were formed in Maharashtra. Jaymala Shiledar (1926-2013) - Jaymala, her husband Jayaram Shiledar and daughters, Kirti and Lata kept Sangeet natak alive during the lean period of 1960s to 1990s. They staged 25 new musicals, including 'Ekhadyacha Nashib', Mumbaichi Manasa', 'Anantphandi', and Abhogi through their company, Marathi Rangabhoomi. She was a protege of Bal Gandharva. Natya Sangeet Maestro Bal Gandharva Keshavrao Bhosale Deenanath Mangeshkar Master Krishnarao Pandit Ram Marathe Saudagar Nagnath Gore Prasad Sawkar Bhalchandra Pendharkar Ramdas Kamat Vasantrao Deshpande Jitendra Abhisheki Jaymala Shiledar Jyotsna Bhole Manik Varma List of famous Sangeet Nataks To attract the audiences, many of the Sangeet Nataks used to prefix the word Sangeet before their actual name. Sita Swayamvar Shaakuntal Sangeet Saubhadra Sangeet Maanaapmaan Matsyagandha Sanyastkhadga Kichak Vadh Ramrajyaviyog Mruchhakatik (1889) Sangeet Sanshaykallol Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (1967) Shapsambhram (1893) Sangeet Sharada (1899) Sangeet Swayamvar (1916) Ghashiram Kotwal Devmaanus He Bandha Reshmache Moruchi Mavshi Mandarmala Geeta Gati Dnyaneshwar Suwarnatula Sangeet Vidyaharan Ekach Pyaala Bhavbandhan Madanachi Manjiri Punya Prabhav See also Bhavageet Natya Sangeet Musical theatre Opera Further reading Marathi book by Govindrao Tembe "माझा संगीत व्यासंग" (My Study of Music); published 1939 References Reading list Book in Marathi by Govindrao Tembe "माझा संगीत व्यासंग" (My Study of Music) 1939 External links Kamat.com - Marathi Natya Sangeet