Folk theatre
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For 40 days in the year, an entire village in Rajasthan’s Mewar region loses itself in the celebrations of the mother goddess, Gavari. We train the spotlight in this unique festival in which all members of the local Bhil tribe come together to perform a mystical dance and music drama like none…
in Article
Pandit Om Prakash Sharma is considered to be the face of maach folk theatre form in India. He belongs to the Ustad Kaluram school of maach. Ustad Kaluram was his grandfather, and he has been practising the folk art of maach since his childhood. His contribution to maach is not restricted to its…
in Interview
I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate
way in which a human being can share with another the sense of
what it is to be a human being.
—Oscar Wilde
In the social structure of India, living traditions hold a prominent position. Any form of living tradition has…
in Overview
Since the early eighteenth century, maach, a musical folk theatre form of Madhya Pradesh, has been an integral part of the local culture of the Malwa region. Performed mostly by men who also don female roles, the performance art form uses satirical humour in its songs and dialogues to make…
in Module
Krishnan A, who hails from the Kollengode region of Palakkad, has been a porattukali performer for the last 34 years and is the master trainer of his troupe. Although his many physical ailments have pushed him towards retirement, he perseveres because he wants to preserve this dying art form.…
in Interview
Porattukali or porattunadakam is an art form that originated in the Palakkad district of Kerala and is performed by the Panar community which is an underprivileged caste. It has been in existence for around 170 years and yet is unfamiliar to the best part of the state’s population in a state where…
in Overview
Porattukali is a multi-disciplinary art form performed in the Palakkad district of Kerala. Developed by the Panar community, it is exclusive to the Dalit communities of the region and is a representation and celebration of their lives. Since the Dalit people were kept out of the temple premises…
in Module
Porokiya bhabe brojo modhho baas
Prembhabe paiya ami hoilam daas
Mori re mohabhab loiya ami bandha dinu mon
Krishnoshokti janiya deho korilam shomorpon
(My heart bleeds with the clandestine trappings of illicit love
Enslaved by the yearnings of intimacy
Torn within, my acquiescent mind gives in…
in Overview