A serious Tamil writer of yesteryear once told me that he wrote for himself, not for others. He wrote short stories and novels. I wondered if he could have said this if he had been a playwright. Even in the context of being a short story writer or novelist, can it be a genuine statement to declare that you are least concerned about the readership? Writing, any kind of writing, be it an article, short story or a play, is a social act. Like a kite needing the opposition of the wind to fly, a writer of fiction, poetry and essays needs a reader, and if he writes plays, he needs a spectator.

Drama or a dance performance demands an audience seated immediately before its executants. Some people argue that there are two categories of plays – one, for reading and the other, for performance. Bharata’s Natya Sastra clearly indicates that all plays are written for the stage. The playwright definitely has the audience in his mind when he writes a play.