Kirtaniya is the traditional musical theatre of Mithila — a form of sung, dramatised devotion that grew from the kirtan and the lyric songs of Vidyapati and his successors. Performers enact episodes of Radha and Krishna and the gods, weaving verse, melody and dialogue into long night-time performances.
One of the oldest theatrical traditions of the eastern region, Kirtaniya shows how deeply Mithila’s literature and music are entwined — the poet’s song becoming, on the village stage, a living drama.