SAKUNTALA VS. WESTERN PLAYS Unlike Western plays, there is no tradition of tragedy in India, and Kalidasa's plays always have happy endings. In Hinduism, everyone has an infinite number of chances to achieve enlightenment and liberation from the wheel of rebirth. A life that ends badly is only a prologue to another opportunity. Hence the basic premises on which tragedy is based are lacking. Just as ancient Greek drama was part of a religious ritual (…showed first 75 words of 1800 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1800 total…complex of classical drama. It’s alternating between the lowly world of the hermitage, the dazzling but worldly palace, and the transcendent celestial regions is quite contrary to how Western drama is written, and at times it does require a suspension of belief due to its surrealism, but in the end it is this surrealism that sets it apart from its Western counterparts as one of the most visionary pieces of literature ever. Simply brilliant!