Gerasim Lebedev

 ( 1749 Births ) 

With assistance from local intellectuals, Lebedev founded the first European-style proscenium drama theatre in India. This theatre opened in Calcutta in 1795. Lebedev translated two plays into Bengali; they were Love is the Best Doctor and The Disguise. These two were the first performances in the theatre, with music composed by Lebedev himself and lyrics borrowed from the Bengali poet Bharatchandra Ray.

The theatre Lebedev established at Domtala (Ezra Street) used for the first time Bengali actors and actresses. The show held on 27 November 1795 is considered the first performance of the modern Indian theatre. At that time there were two theatre halls for the English in Calcutta. Lebedev was so successful that it aroused envy in Englishmen and two of them burnt down his theatre.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), p503 Lebedev's attempt was somewhat premature, but it proved that a nucleus of clients ready to pay for public performances had already been formed in the city.Majumdar, Swapan, Literature and Literary Life in Old Calcutta, in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol I, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, p187, Oxford University Press,

He compiled a small Bengali language dictionary, wrote a book on arithmetic in Bengali and translated part of Annadamangal into Russian language. His dictionary was published in 1801. He wrote to the Russian ambassador in London about publishing Bharatchandra Ray's works in Russia.

However, the British administration was not supportive of Lebedev's activities and was annoyed by his sympathetic stance towards the Indians. He also lost a court case against an employee, theatre decorator Joseph Batsh and was broken financially. Finally, the British authorities expelled him from India in 1797. He was virtually bankrupt, possessing only a small bag of belongings valued at Rs. 295. He was forced to stay a few months in Cape Town to earn money for the ticket to Europe.