Bangladesh--Culture Smart! by Urmi Rahman

Author:Urmi Rahman [Rahman, Urmi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-85733-696-2
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2014-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Jatra

A traditional Bengali form of entertainment is jatra, a kind of folk theater or open-air opera performed in towns and villages at melas (fairs) or at a particular celebration. The jatra is held in an open space, on a platform with no curtain, and the audience sits around the stage. The actors use exaggerated gestures and declamation. Until the 1970s there were no female actors; men used to play the female parts. Most performances are of historical plays, with a vague sense of nationalism and patriotism, but there are melodramatic social plays too.

A jatra performance begins late in the evening and often continues until just before daybreak. Music and songs dominate the show. Musical instruments include the dhol or dholak (drums), mandira (a pair of metal bars used for rhythmic effect like bells) and karatal (cymbal), banshi (bamboo flute), and khol (also a kind of drum). The adhikari, who is actually the manager-conductor, plays the role of the narrator, explaining and commenting on the songs and linking the scenes, often extemporizing.

There are more than two hundred registered jatra groups in Bangladesh but only a few are active today. Demand has diminished in the present cultural climate. Protests by radical religious groups have led the authorities to refuse permission to stage shows, and many skilled and talented people involved with jatra have become jobless or changed their profession. A change in audience taste is another reason for its decline in popularity.

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