Folk Theatre, Religion & Politics: Mapping Bengali Jatra Of Eastern India

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The cultural renaissance in Bengal witnessed a period of great intellectual, artistic, and cultural awakening during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Within the contestation between popular folk theatre, seen neither as a 'living fossil' nor undergoing a mutation, this book contextualizes Bengali popular folk theatre, Jatra, within a changing social structure at different historical junctures and under different patronages.

From the medieval Krishna Jatra of Vaishnavism to the emergence of theatrical Jatra in colonial times, performed with a touch of European modernity and nationalist concerns, it also incorporated Marxist ideology (IPTA) before evolving into a more cinematic form in the present era. In this context, this book aims to trace the shifting patterns of modernities in their aesthetic and material dimensions-hybridity and intersectionality.

A book on Bengali jatra has long been overdue. It is not that writings are scanty, but an account of a world of Bengali jatra in its entirety is absent. Jatra, one of the most popular travelling theatre forms originated most probably in the undivided Bengal and still thriving in its bordering regions such are Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. Although all jatra forms in Eastern India share a great deal of commonalities and mutual influences among themselves till date, they express differences in regional attributes beyond languages and non-theatrical genres such as folktale, folk song, legend, and epic. The larger impact however on all jatras of Eastern India from Bengal jatra. Solely because of Bengal has been the center of cultural renaissance since 16th century onwards and more particularly since late 19th century and early 20th century, "the harmonizing elements from both Occidental and Oriental cultures Tagore said 'European thoughts and literary forms found immediate hospitality in Bengali literature from the very beginning of their contact with our mind". (Sumanta Banerjee 1989:5). Jatra continued to grow, transform and reinvented in every periods of history in Bengal.

The primary concern of this volume is to contextualize Bengali jatra within a changing social structure at different historical junctures. A meticulous historiography facilitates to explore the contemporaneity of the cultural phenomenon evolved in several eras in the book. It is argued that some cultural forms become dying traditions or are preserved as 'living fossil'; however, folk arts do not disappear but undergo a mutation. An inherent reflexivity allows the addition of new elements without discarding the past. It thus ensures a coexistence of different stages in a given time and space. Traditional theatre has often resisted modern mass media and established itself as a dynamic form, contesting the idea that folk culture 'will be eclipsed by the mass culture'. The perceived dichotomy of the rural/urban, oral/written, Great/Little, tradition/modern, sacred/profane and folk/classical doesn't hold much water in South Asia, as the above categories operate and exist in a continuum, both among the peasantry and urban.

As an evolving performing art, it traverse several types of folklore like moving from ritualistic processions to secular plays with a pronounced drama element, pālā, performing texts, are particularly important for the jatra's identity and continuity. Jatra can be placed between the two dominant cultures, namely folk and elite (bhadralok, in case of colonial Bengal); the term "popular", which denote certain amount of mass culture slowly emerging in case of this genre of art. Hugely dependent upon the secondary literature, the study largely adopted the orientalist approach of reading the history of the performing arts. It is truly fascinating to historicize a form that has deep and long connections with varied religious, folk and political changes in pre-colonial Bengal. Since then it undergoes considerable changes until the emergence of modern theatrical jatra in early 1900s in colonial Bengal and has been a flourishing time of jatra till today's usage of jatra by political, commercial and professional stages.

The jatra performances combine narratives, dance, music and histrionic arts, and entertain millions of audiences every year. Incorporating elements from classical texts of the Vedic age to various folk performing forms, jatra has evolved in a continuity through varied social conditions that rightly raises the concerns of nationalism and indigeneity in its aesthetics. From the medieval Krşņa jatra of Vaishnavism to the emergence of theatrical jatra in colonial times performed with a dab of European modernity and nationalist concerns, it also incorporated Marxist ideology (IPTA), before it became more cinematic in the present era. Under the influence of modern Bengali dramas, jatras began to incorporate more prose and structured plots. The operatic mythological and devotional character of jatra palas shrunk, to make place for the growing interest in social and family stories. A new generation of Jatra palakars or playwrights like Bhairabh Gangopadhyay, Brajendra Kumar Dey and Phanibhusan Bidyabinod responded to this demand for contemporary relevance and revived the form, bringing it to new heights of success in the 1960s. Drawing heavily from proscenium theaters of Kolkata, the action is melodramatic, marked by the delivery and pitch of the typical jatra actors, different from the realistic dialogue delivery in modern drama. Jatra was quick to adopt these innovations in its lengthy performances and continued to refine them. The changes can be observed in performance settings, acting techniques, make up, lighting and sound properties.

Another question is about the political economy of jatra. As its patronage shifted from people to zamindars, and then the middle-class in colonial periods and the emerging entrepreneurial class in Calcutta of post-Independent India, in its popularity it has surpassed cinema, television and other forms of media. The focus on the changes in aesthetics around the 1990s, when new entertaining elements like Bollywood gimmicks, cinema and television actors entered commercial jatra enterprises. The establishment of state patronage, such as the Paschimbanga Jatra Academy, aims to preserve the century-old folk theatre.

In this context, my research aims to trace the shifting patterns of modernities in their aesthetic and material dimensions -hybridity and intersectionality, and, despite facing rejection from the Bhadralok, made its home in the rural moffusil and lower classes of urban Bengal. The methodology of the study is a combination of fieldwork made: interviews with actors and scholars, watching and with a dab of European modernity and nationalist concerns, it also incorporated Marxist ideology (IPTA), before it became more cinematic in the present era. Under the influence of modern Bengali dramas, jatras began to incorporate more prose and structured plots. The operatic mythological and devotional character of jatra palas shrunk, to make place for the growing interest in social and family stories. A new generation of Jatra palakars or playwrights like Bhairabh Gangopadhyay, Brajendra Kumar Dey and Phanibhusan Bidyabinod responded to this demand for contemporary relevance and revived the form, bringing it to new heights of success in the 1960s. Drawing heavily from proscenium theaters of Kolkata, the action is melodramatic, marked by the delivery and pitch of the typical jatra actors, different from the realistic dialogue delivery in modern drama. Jatra was quick to adopt these innovations in its lengthy performances and continued to refine them. The changes can be observed in performance settings, acting techniques, make up, lighting and sound properties.

Another question is about the political economy of jatra. As its patronage shifted from people to zamindars, and then the middle-class in colonial periods and the emerging entrepreneurial class in Calcutta of post-Independent India, in its popularity it has surpassed cinema, television and other forms of media. The focus on the changes in aesthetics around the 1990s, when new entertaining elements like Bollywood gimmicks, cinema and television actors entered commercial jatra enterprises. The establishment of state patronage, such as the Paschimbanga Jatra Academy, aims to preserve the century-old folk theatre.

In this context, my research aims to trace the shifting patterns of modernities in their aesthetic and material dimensions -hybridity and intersectionality, and, despite facing rejection from the Bhadralok, made its home in the rural moffusil and lower classes of urban Bengal.

Jatra is a traveling, popular folk theatre genre that is prevalent today in Odisha, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh. It most probably originated in undivided Bengal. The core of this book is of a historical nature, broadly traversing five eras. The narrative begins around the first century BCE, in light of comparable performance culture that has vague but not insignificant documentation. It then progresses to the sixteenth century, when jatra might have taken shape, even though specific details remain largely speculative. The nineteenth century provides actual documentation of the genre as we understand it today, flourishing in various forms throughout the twentieth century and continuing to the present day. From a historical perspective, jatra can be understood as a folk form-a religious procession that has evolved into a modern mass entertainment.. There has never been one jatra, but its basic from has undergone multiple metamorphoses, particularly with the emergence of Bhakti, under colonial rule, during the rise of Indian modernity, as well as nationalism and eventually in a capitalist market economy. With the onset of modernization and urbanization, the pālā (performing texts) gradually shifted from mythological to secular, and Bengali jatra flourished in a transformed avatar capable of responding to social changes and capturing the imagination of the masses. Similarly, the old musical form evolved into dramatic and action-oriented performances adapting to new categories of theatre and mass media. Jatra, nonetheless, remained critical of itself and of the social, cultural and political life in Bengal.

This book aims to chart out and contextualize over five hundred years of the evolution of Bengali jatra, a popular folk travelling theatre genre. While tracing its evolution and revival in West Bengal, from the 16th till the 21st century, this research focuses on the survival of a performing art tradition within the context of continuity and change. Jatra, which is also prevalent in Bihar, Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Manipur and present-day Bangladesh, is a 'ubiquitous and shape shifting form, popular in rural as well as urban centres of Bengal' (Bhattacharya 2018:1). Jatra has its origins in a historical era which has limited documentation. What has been passed down to us through various branches of performance culture provides insight into what it might once have been in the past and the transformations it has undergone to evolve into the modern avatar of jatra, which lies at the centre of this study. Jatra underwent multiple transformations at different junctures, broadly, with the emergence of Bhakti, amid colonial rule, during the rise of Indian modernity as well as nationalism and eventually in a capitalist market economy. Nevertheless it retained a distinct character and language. Putting its major objectives in brief,

this study seeks to: trace the origin and evolution of jatra in Bengal from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century

understand the political economy of commercial jatra and politics of political jatra

access the contemporary challenges and changes of jatra

in West Bengal

Methodology: Data Collection and Analysis

The study is based on primary material, which include printed jatrapala texts, posters, tickets, photos and audio-visuals, as well as recorded interviews with actors, scholars as well along with videos of performances. Secondary literature comprises academic studies, journals and newspaper clippings. For my research I have consulted the Natyashodh Sansthan, the Paschimbanga Jatra Academy, the National Library and the personal collections of jatra scholars like Prabhat Das and Meghdoot Bandopadhyay in Kolkata. Furthermore, I have visited the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology in Gurgaon, as well as the library and archives of the Sangeet Natak Academy in New Delhi. Interviews with select company producers and owners, actors, directors and close observation of performances have been the methods employed to understand the politics, popularity and survival of the jatra.

Etymology of the Term Jatra

Contemplating its contemporary meaning, the name or term jātrā (as transcribed from Bangali) may appear rather indistinct but does indicate towards its historic precursor. The etymology of jatra or yatra in Sanskrit translates, among other things, as pilgrimage, journey or procession (Monier-Williams et al. 1960:849; see as well Chattopadhyaya 1974:132; Richmond et al. 1990:241; Yajnik1933:54-55). 'A "yātrā" originally may have been such a procession as was customary with worshippers and devotees at the time of the regular festivals of their own god or cult. Some kind of musical performance and sympathetic dancing must have formed a part of the procession' (Guha-Thakurta 1930:8). Even though with a regional marker, a similar definition is given by Ananda Lal (2009:245) giving jatra as the '[b]est-known form of travelling Bengali theatre. In older times, procession at a religious festival where a community of devotees danced and sang in several voices, perhaps while carrying idols, was such a specialised "journey". At some juncture, which will be discussed in the following chapters, these musical processions gained independent character and purpose. As for modern day jatra, of far greater importance than the name are the labels, such as folk or popular, that come along the performance genre.