Aayushi Alok Jain ‘Burhar’
India is a nation with diverse cultures. Every culture has its unique customs and traditional values. Folk theatre in India is a traditional way of communication. Folk theatre is a composite art form. It carries elements from dance, music, pantomime and ballad recitation.It helps the society as indigenous tool of inter-village communication since the ancient period and is ingrained in social values, local deities and culture apart from purely entertaining masses.It helps in socio-cultural and economic development of the nation as it is a potential source of disseminating messages and creating awareness among the people through the performances and also because of wide reach among rural India.
Tamasha is one of most popular folk theatrical dance form of India. It is an energetic and bright folk performance with powerful drumming and loud gestures. Known for its intense storytelling, eloquent acting and engaging music and dance the word tamasha is an Arabic word which mean ‘fun’ or ‘play’. The roots of Tamasha have been traced back to the sixteenth century as a means of entertainment of Mughals during the military campaigns of Deccan. By the seventeenth century tamasha had become a distinct cultural and folk form of Maharashtra.Ram Joshi, a well-known Sanskrit and Marathi poet and writer, has been given credit to popularize it with another well-known Marathi writer, Moropanta. He created a form of singing known as Lavani which is a core of tamasha.It is conceptualized like Nautanki of Northern India and Jatra of Bengal to the masses mostly comprising of the working labors including farmers also. Tamasha incorporates three basic traditions–the entertainment tradition, the propagandist tradition and the devotional tradition.
Because of its sometimes-double meaning lyrics and soft erotic themes and dance movements the elites of Maharashtra have a tendency of not appreciating this art form. Avoided by the elite class tamasha was performed by the lower caste communities and the audience was also from the same section of the society.Traditionally, tamasha was performed by the members from nomadic Kolhati, Asvalvale, Bahrupi and Vasudev, Bedia communities. Most female performers in tamashabelongs to Kolhati and Bediacommunities. The dancers would be referred to as a nachyawhile a shahir or poet would be sutradhar of the performance.
Companies that organize tamasha are known as phads and the artist are called kalavanths. Each phad is akin to a close-knit family.In the morning an offering is being offered by performers in the local village temple and in the evening wrestling match is organized after that tamasha performance starts.This is how traditionally the tamasha is performed. Open space is used for the tamasha performance. Nine-yard Zari lined red or green Maharashtrian saree (Kachi) with noise pin (Nath), waist belt (Kamarpatta) and ornaments with metallic bells (Ghoongroo).
Training of tamasha performers starts at their young age. Most often, parents train their children and then they also become part of their tamasha troupe.There are two types of troupes – musical troupe (Sangeet Baris) and folk drama troupe (Dholki Baris). Musical troupes usually specialize in music and dance while the latter incorporate theatrical element with music and dance. Five to six female dancers and singers accompanied with instrumentalists form musical troupes (Sangeet Baris)whereas in folk drama troupes one main male character, six to eight secondary male characters cum choral singers, one or more female dancer-singer and instrumentalists form folk drama troupe (Dholki Baris).
Musical instruments which are used in the tamasha performances are dholki, tumtuna, daf, halgietc.nThe common element in both troupes is the stock character known as Songadaya (Clown). He serves as the comedian or punster and sometimes master of the ceremony. The job of Sangadaya is to create humour or wit during the performance.
Musical troupes
Both the Tamasha performances start with devotional song (Gan) and followed by a drama segment (Gavalan). Folk drama troupe performs short play after Gavalan known as VagNatya The popular Vag composer were PattheBapuraoand Dattoba Sali. GadhavacheLagna (Donkey’s marriage) was their one of their noted Vag and was popularized by tamasha performers Bashir MominKavathekar wrote short Vag based on the issues of dowry, education and played a significant role in creating awareness among masses.
Traditional tamasha performances were based on mythological and historical stories but contemporary performances often address current issues such as economic inequality, gender and caste bias. Contemporary tamasha collaborates with various theatrical, musical and other dance performances. Now a days tamasha performers combine traditional and contemporary dance elements while choreographing the acts. It helps in the enhancement of performances and creativity also. Influenced by television and cinema tamasha troupes are now accepting technological tools (sound and stage design, lighting,) to make their shows vibrant and more energetic.
The primary objective of current tamasha troupes is to provide voice to the underrepresented communities and to tackle to the wide range of societal concerns.
During the British rule, folk traditions were very used as the medium to create awareness among rural India by the nationalists. Tamasha was one popular form to disseminate messages among the masses during the time of Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920s. After Independence in 1948 Tamasha and Lavani was banned by Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Balasaheb Kher, because both were considered to be lascivious and obscene for public entertainment.
Realizing the Importance and powerfulness of traditional medium in 1954 Union Government set up Song and Drama Division under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to utilize traditional media to create awareness among the masses in rural India. National integration, communal harmony, domestic values, development activities, family planning, rural health schemes and many more were the themes on which this live media entertainment was used and still part of many propagative activities in the remote and rural areas of the country.
The future of the tamasha folk theatre in contemporary India is very promising as it is getting financial support from government as well as private organizations. To recognize folk traditions in 2006, the Govt. of Maharashtra constituted Vithabhai NarayangaonkarLife time achievement award to recognize tamasha artist. The award carries citation, memento and 5 lakh rupees. Folk theatre has played a significant role in establishing cultural identity.A crucial component of Indian cultural legacy tamasha, a folk theatre,is a vibrant and complex form of artistic expression.It is said that through the representation of culture, it is easy to comprehend the social structure of contemporary society.