What is the Pune Tamasha, all about!!!
Tis Getting Curioser & Curioser!
The Pune of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule and D R Gadgil has a new kid on the block. Its Vishwas Nangare-Patil. He is a man on a mission. He raids rave parties. He gate-crashes into a tamasha kala kendra and detains 49 persons, including 21 women and two bureaucrats. Patil proclaims, the centre is a cover-up for a dance bar.
Nine of the 21 arrested women are booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. On cue, there is a response from Ashok Jadhav, president of the Maharashtra Tamasha Theatre Owners Association. He says, the women were wrongly booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.
I was at a wrestling akhaada in Kolhapur when I read the news in the local daily. It was early morning, the young trainee-wrestlers were marched off to buffaloes across the street, where morning milk had to be drunk straight from the udders. Then, it was back to the pit. 3 feet deep with red soil for rigorous training. Some of the younger ones got an ear massage, with pulls and tugs, so that they could withstand a competitor’s ear twisting routine in the future.
I shared the Pune news. The Kushti coach was irked. He muttered, Tamasha is the key to life in towns and villages of Maharashtra. Like Kushti it is popular. Tamasha troupes are invited for the annual Jatras of Gods like Khandoba or Dhairoba; or for Goddess Bhavani. It is entertainment. And it is quite common to see women and children attend these performances.
So, what is the Pune Tamasha, all about?
Tamasha (Dholkicha Phad and Sangeet Bari) travel across the length and breadth of Maharashtra for seven months. The season begins during Dashehra (October) and ends in May. According to a rough estimate, there are approximately 15 big companies and 150 smaller companies. Tamasha is their livelihood.
In these 210 days, the groups cover 8 Jatras (fairs), 30 invited shows, (an invitation is called Suparee); 172 performances at different venues. Performances are all-night. Each company has 50-60 artistes: 15 female dancers and singers and 35 male artistes and accompanists.
It is imperative to understand the economics to demystify things!
The bigger companies pay Rs 5000 to female artistes and Rs 4000 to male artists. Yes, this is one sector where man has no right to earn more than a woman. But men continue to exploit. The smaller tamasha company works on a cooperative basis. There is an equal division of earnings. But all in all, its a saga of borrowings, money lenders and high interest rates.
For touring across the state, each Tamasha company needs buses and trucks. And of course diesel. A big company has 7-8 hired vehicles and needs 200 litres of diesel. A small company has two hired vehicles – and 50 liters of diesel.
So calculate the cost of diesel required for one season:
200* 15 * 210 = 630000 liters* Rs 35 (cost of diesel per liter) = 22050000
50* 150 * 120 = 900000 liters * Rs 35 (cost of diesel per liter) = 31500000
Total amount of expenditure on diesel = Rs 53550000 (Five crores thirty five lacks fifty thousand only).
All the vehicles are hired:
Rs 1000 per day per vehicle for big companies.
1000* 8*15*210= Rs 25200000 (C).
And Rs 750 for small companies:
750*2*150*120. = Rs 27000000 (D).
C+ D= 52200000. Approximately 5 crores…. (Again, this money goes to transportation business which can easily get loans from banks and security of insurance)
Add to this cost of hiring light and sound equipments and generators. (Electricity is a commodity, which is available only to a few big metros of Maharashtra)
The big company pays Rs 5000 to female artistes and Rs 4000 to male artists. (At least there is one sector where man has no right to earn more than women. But there are men are nevertheless biggest exploiters in this system too,)
5000*15* 15* 7= Rs 7875000.
4000*35*15*7= Rs 14700000
Total E + F= Rs. 22575000. 2 crores.
The Small Company works on a cooperative basis. There is equal division of earnings.
Small companies do not have tents.
But each big company has gates and tents.
Approximate investment of each company is Rs 5 lakhs or more. Since these tents are manufactured with cloth, a touch of blade can begin its demise. Such tents cannot be insured. Insurance is after all a business. And why should someone sponsor fireproof, weightless tents?
In addition to all these expenses all the artistes are paid Rs 10000 as an advance (Uchal) so that they can fend themselves and their families, take care of land if they have.
Since owners do not have great savings so they borrow money form Sahukars at the rate of 6% per month. The advance is deducted at the rate of Rs 1000 per month from their salaries. But the owner has to pay interest…….
Hmm.
So, most Tamasha artistes die with the crucifix of incurred debts!
For instance, even the mighty Lok Shahir Annabhau Sathe who has roads and busts in his honour, lived a life of penury and destitution. Besides the awards and cultural organizations that have now been floated in Annabhau’s name, two major examples of this would be a special commemorative issue of 1 November 1993 of Lokrajya a state government fortnightly, published from Bombay, and the collected edition of his works, Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Nivdak Sahitya, issued under state auspices in 1998.
After spending 22 years in a Ghatkopar slum, Annabhau moved to a modest house in Goregaon, provided by the Government in 1968, only a year before he died. Despite a state government award for Fakira in 1961, Annabhau died politically isolated, broken and utterly poor, after enduring the humiliation of trying to secure a regular modest pension, and also the ignominy of finding his family name missing from electoral lists in the 1960s on more than one occasion.
The loss of caste-based cultural repertoires is registered in the Indian English sphere only occasionally. Even if the articulation of caste occurs in regional literatures, the theme of cultural loss and depletion of vernacular repertoires tends to be posed as a problem vis-a-vis the dominance of English and the mass/ electronic media. Rarely has the erasure of lower-caste expressive traditions been seen as central to, or even contributing to the depletion of regional language repertoires.
A biography by Annabhau’s brother recounts that the family worked in the labour camps at the site of the Kalyan tunnel when it was being constructed, and that later, Annabhau practiced reading while watching subtitle and credit cards for the silent movies he loved to watch in Mumbai. See Shankarbhau Sathe, Majhe Bhau Annabhau, pp. 50-73.
Consider his achievements. Annabhau Sathe was a founding member of the Lalbawta Kalpathak of the Communist Party, and an important mobiliser in the Samyukta Maharashtra campaign. He went on to produce some 14 loknatyas or tamashas, 10 povadas, one play, a travelogue to Russia, 22 short-story collections, some 30 novels, including the best-selling Fakira [currently in its 19th edition], and 12 screenplays. He courageously defied the hostile ban on tamasha shows during Morarji Desai’s tenure as Home Minster in the Bombay government in the late 1940s by boldly renaming his popular performances as ‘loknatya’.
One could go on.
But the point is, recognition for Annabhau’s work has been belated and marginal, and these efforts have been part of the gestures in the 1990s to appease the OBC constituency in Maharashtra .
Conclusion:
Madhukarbhau Nerale of Hanuman Theatre (once the hub of Tamasha in Mumbai) says, “These artistes do not have understanding of management of finances. They are uneducated.” He continues, “fishermen get subsidy on diesel, then why not Tamasha artistes? They never get loans from banks because they have nothing to offer as a security. How can a bank consider ghunghroo, harmonium, tabla, dholki as a security!”
He adds, “the answer lies in the caste system. These artistes do not belong to the Uchha Varna (upper caste). They have been deprived of education for ages and neglected by the political system for more than 50 years of independence.”
For example, consider the issue of license fees charged by the revenue department?
For this, one has to answer a simple question: Will there be a difference in the license fees for a Sholay or Iqbal in a multiplex in two different cities? Then why such a complicated fee structure for one of the most disorganised industry run by uneducated rural folks!!!
Read the statistics of licenses per show:
Pune – Rs 2000
Sangli, Solapur, Satara and Kolhapur- Rs 1300
Nagar – Rs 250
Nandurbar – Rs 1700
This is for the same show; and the same ticket rate.
When a Tamasha company has no advance planning – and still needs a license; then what is the procedure to get a license. Madhukarbhau says, “you have to give chirimiri.”
Chirimiri? Your guess is as good as mine!
So, what does the future of Tamasha portend?
Bleak. Unless one proposes a naive or simple revival, which among other things include that these artistes can perform their art with dignity and decency.
Vishwas Nangare-Patil and his supporters dont think it is possible. They feel, Tamasha is exploitative and anti-women. They say, Tamasha is wicked and vile. Are they right?
What they tend to forget that Tamasha is an art form which has the marvellous felcity to permit a performance of zada khaal cha tamasha, when there is no stage. Or a khaddi gammat tamasha which is performed on the feet all through the night. Or a powada in Vidharbha; or Vithabai Mang or Chandrakant Dhavphulkar performing in Narayangaon; or a lok shahirs criticism of Lord Rama for deserting his wife; or a Songadya (Jester) who ridicules a Minister for botching-up the export of onions.
There is no question – as to which is the greater threat.
The point is, Indians (especially from the lower castes and lower classes) are being steadily squeezed out by the politics of state. The decline of a people’s art form like Tamasha has already affected the quality and temper of public debate. The long-term consequences are worrying. The disappearance of ground-level dialogue will mean an erosion of the institutions of civil society, a shrinking of the space for dissent, and a rise in the politics of retribution and revenge.
This has happened in Pune earlier. Books have been banished, plays punished, playwrights’ penalised, a ten o clock ban is imposed on performances.
And alarmingly, each time, the response from civil society is muted.
Meanwhile things are getting Worser & Worser!
(An edited version of this article appeared in HINDUSTAN TIMES, Mumbai on 13th March 2007)
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Kathak, Kuchipudi etc. were dances which were patronised by rulers & temples that’s why they became accepted artforms. Then someone came forward and systematised them. The Maratha rulers at Tanjore patronised Bharatnatyam. How come the ones at Satara, Kolhapur or Pune or the numerous Sardars didn’t do anything about Tamasha? Since these jatras are associated with temples, doesn’t that make Tamasha legitimate? Why is there still a stigma attached to Tamasha (like in the case of mujra)?
Thanks for sharing this article.
AMIT, its a very good question. I’m marking a cc to OZ, so that he can upload it.
For example, in Tamil Nadu (I’m informed by dramateur Sadanand Menon); almost all the forms at the popular level are now being actively commandeered under an over-arching umbrella for political use by the DMK. Interestingly, it throws rural forms together with metropolitan forms, juxtaposes the dalit with brahmin and couples ‘high’ art with ‘low’ art.
What is transpiring in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are different aspects of the same phenomenon, in which cultural processes get flattened out and can be ‘accepted’ only under a revised agenda of the state to either sanitise or to spectacularise – and its amazing how much of it is happening at such rapidity without any public comment.
To specifically answer your query; and I’m quoting the experts here:
Both lavani and tamasha have had a significant presence in the cultural life of the Deccan, with a long and evolving history of at least three centuries. This has included the inroads in film and such. But more importantly, from one important political family in Maharashtra: Mohite-Patils from Akluj.
As mentioned in the POST, lavani and tamasha is performed by low-caste communities (mang-matang, mahar and kolhatti communities). The status grew during the Peshwa period as it attracted elite patronage because the performances entertained the Maratha armies during military campaigns. Soon enough, it became part of aristocratic households and court arenas. However, with the advent of the colonial VICTORIAN period, there was loss of patronage among the elite, as well as a revaluation among official colonial and upper-caste native discourse as low, vulgar and obscene.
Scholars like Veena Naregal (Insititute of Economic Growth, New Delhi) and Sharimla Rege (Univeristy of Pune) have done seminal work on the subject of patronage. Dr Naregal has done an interesting study betwen Patte Bapurao (born in a Brahmin family) and Annabhau Sathe (low caste); and the discrepancies recognition and patronage.
Today, there instances of elite persons who in the name of promoting Tamasha in USA / UK have given Lavani a classical Kathak appearance. They were shy / scared to project the rawness of the form. Meanwhile, Tamasha artistes slave like bonded labourers under a contractor. This contractor is exploited by the system (mentioned in the post). And in this way, the artistes try to earn a day-to-day living.
Can you also throw light on the Jatras in Bengal vis-a-vis the Tamasha..how do they sustain themselves? Are they still as popular travelling form village to village or is their popularity diminishing, and is the state (Left govt) supporting them?
Ramu,as always very intersting post. But isnt it more or less the same with lavani. if m not wrong at many places lavani has been used to mask the prostitution racket as well. n thats how its image has changed ? or is it the other way round ? because of some extra money, entertainment is by all means.
some time back, we were doing reserach for a project on lavani in pune.the guys who were running the shows at many places were very shady.it mostly was catering to lower middle class with minimum resources.it was more of prostitution n pimp thing with police racket n all that. but may be thats one side of the coin.
Aditi, in bengal…jatra has changed tremendsly. have watched lots of them and absoultly loved them…during my growing up years.now its more bollywoodish than anything else. sex,violence, rape,remix songs,fireworks,special effects…u name it n they have it. n may be thats why they hav survided….catering to pupular deamnd. they have also been able to rope in tv & film artist’s lot many times….serve as extra attraction…better money. people want to c them live n more so in smaller cities and villages. many unsuccessful actors from bollywood have also performed for jatras, like shakti kapoor. the last jatra i saw was almost 4-5 years ago. m sure things must have changed drstcly. Ramu, can throw more light on this.
Greetings Phoenix.
Yes, there’s HUGE exploitation, but then again, exploitation of women is rampant all across India. But that would be the subject of a different post!
…
Vis a vis your comment, we need to define various terms.
There are two main contextual variations for LAVANI.
As you know, there’s the SANGEETBARI ‘parties’ which comprise of four or five women and their accompanists. These ‘parties’ are mostly managed by women and perform lavanis and other music and dance numbers over a 45 minute slot every night against one-year contracts at sangeetbari theatres, where they live during that period. Incidentally the numbers of such theatres have increased significantly in the last decade or so, a story that will have to be told separately. It doesn’t require a great deal of insight to make the connection between the sangeet baris and kotha culture.
Besides, DHOLKI phads are the other type of groups that perform the lavani. The latter are much larger, numbering over a 150 people in the case of the well-known troupes, and involve large budgets. Dholki phads are touring companies that hire artistes and labour on monthly salaries and travel to perform as many shows as they can find contracts for over a nine-month period between Dassera to the summer month of chaitra in the Hindu calender. The dholki phads perform the full-length tamasha, which comprises of multiple capsules within a single show that starts after 10 pm and lasts till 3 am.
This format of the tamasha, with the inclusion of the VAG NATYA – basically a full-length prose drama that can extend over a few hours – has been evolving over the last 150 years or so.
The most popular parts of the tamasha in the recent past have been the rang bazi which is made up of mainly traditional and Marathi filmi lavanis and Hindi film songs and the vag, whose importance is now said to be declining; yet, there still are troupes that offer the vag as their special attraction. I’ve seen a Tamasha group that ONLY performs the VAG NATYA.
And then again, shahirs like Patte Bapurao and Annabhau Sathe are called LAVANIKARS in certain parts of Maharashtra.
The point is, I’m trying to make is, the nomenclature changes from district to district; and the marketing strategy of the group.
AMITS COMMENT
So basically it’s colonial/ Victorian morality + high caste disapproval that caused the downfall of tamasha/ lavani?
I am assuming that these performances had heavy sexual overtones which (probably lacked) in other dances? Were these dancers like gypsies compared to Bharatnatyam dancers who (i’m assuming) stayed in one place?
Wasn’t any form of dance frowned upon by upper castes? Did Brahmin women practice Bharatnatyam etc in the 18th C? Were Kathak/ Kuchipudi etc. practiced by higher caste artists? Were the colonials okay with them?
Or is it just bad luck/ twist of fate for Tamasha people?
TOO MANY QUESTIONS! I hope I’m not being a nuisance…
RESPONSE TO AMIT
many issues, actually.
1. economics
2. caste. caste. caste.
3. cultural hegemony
4. misconceptions & marginalisations
5. deterioration in the art form
no, they are not gypsies. they are low caste, landless labourers.
brahmin and upper caste women HIJACKED bharatnatyam, much later.
I wonder how/why they continue when the financial picture doesn’t seem very good for them. Maybe education is 1 factor as they may not be good in anything else but there must be some other reason. Anyway aren’t there anybody who will/can do something for them.