The Chief Characteristics of Ankiyā Nāt

Sankaradeva is the father of the Assamese drama. The chief characteristics of his plays are the following:

• The plays are written in the Vrajāwali language.
• The Sutradhāra who introduces the characters of the plays remains on the stage throughout the performance depicting the play and supplying links between potential gaps of the plot.
• The plays are devoid of any acts or divisions. Each play may be considered as containing only one act.
• Interspersed with prose-dialogues, the plays are notable for their lyrico-rhythmic appeal.

Sankaradeva not only composed plays, but made all arrangements for successful presentation of them. He trained the musicians, dancers and actors, had all the equipments and accessories prepared by the artisans and also planned the preliminaries of the show. Thus he masterminded the entire dramatic process of medieval Assam.