TAMASHA: FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

An Uncertain future?

For some years now, the Marathi theatre has seen the evolution of a more sophisticated form of the Tamasha P.L. Deshpande, Vijankatesh Madhulkar and Vasant Bapat were the first among the “sophisticated” Tamasha writers. Then Tamasha was heavily oriented towards satirising the post-independence socio-political situation in Maharashtra. Political leaders were their favourite targets. The traditional Tamasha framework is retained but without the ribalry. Greater sophistication was brought into these types of Tamasha. This urbanised form could adversely affect and endanger the traditional form of Tamasha.

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Today, the economic condition of many traditional Tamasha artists is precarious and may have not escaped the taint of prostitution. This is a great pity because Tamasha artists, despite their lack of education, have natural vocal, mimic or choreographic talents. Enlightened State support is needed for the preservation and promotion of this art form. 

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Ban on Tamasha

After Independence, at the time of the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Sri Kher, received a number of complaints from all sections of society about the increased vulgarity that was being used in Tamasha and after going through these complaints and after finding the reality, he has imposed a ban on the performances of Tamasha. After the imposition of ban, all the Tamasha phad owners were distressed and became nervous and helpless. By that time, several hundreds of Tamasha phads were giving performances. By this ban, thousands of kalavanths became unemployed. As the kalavanths were not aware of any other work except performing Tamasha, they became helpless and had to struggle for their livelihood. The imposition of ban not only threw the kalavanths onto the roads but it also had an effect on their families.

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After seeing the condition of the kalavanths, some of the well wishers, senior phad organisers, senior artists have appealed to the government to lift the ban, keeping in view the poor condition of the Kalavanths. The persons who took active participation in the lifting of ban were Obasahib Mujumder, Bapusahib Jintikar, Popatlal Saha, Ahmed Seth Tambe etc who tried to lift the ban on Tamasha.

In April 1949, a Maha Sabha was held on Tamasha at Aryabhushan Theatre in which all the Tamasha people(Tamashgirs) assembled. The senior Tamashgirs stressed the need of lifting the ban on Tamasha. After the Mahasabha, all the participants have passed a resolution for lifting the ban and to save the Tamasha Kalavanths.

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Influence

The folk theatre, Tamasha influenced a lot of creative works over the time. Main elements of Tamasha, like loud humour, suggestive lyrics and dance numbers, proved influencial in the development of the Bollywood films, which is based in Mumbai. Even today, the mainstream cinema or so-called masala films complete with their suggestive dance numbers, popularly known as item number, humour sequences remain largely entertainment oriented.

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Over the years, some modern theatre practitioners have incorporated the traditional forms like Tamasha and Dashavatar into their plays. In the 1970s, during the rise of modern Marathi theatre, the Tamasha form was employed as narrative device and style in several notable plays like Gashiram Kotwal by Vijay Tendulkar, Vijaya Mehta’s Marathi adaptations of Bertolt Bretch’s The Good Woman of Setzuan as Devajine Karuna Keli(1972) and Caucasian Chalk Circle as Ajab Nyaya Vartulacha(1974), P.L.Deshpande’s Teen paishacha Tamasha (1978), an adaptation of Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera.

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The 1972 Marathi hit film, Pinjara directed by V.Shantaram, starring Shriram Lagoo and Sandhya in lead roles was set in the Tamasha musical theatre.

A 2006 multilingual documentary film, Silent Ghungroos, traces the origins of Tamasha in the Peshwa period to its contemporary form, where the form competes with modern entertainment mediums. 

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

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 Sets, costume and make-up

One of the greatest advantages of Tamasha play is its flexibility in matters of costume and decor. It uses no sets. When the king rides a horse, he simply mimics the action. Change of locale is indicated by a simple stratagem of the character going round and round the stage. There is an instant audience-performer rapport. The costumes of the Tamasha players are not period costumes. The male actors and musicians all wear dhotis and kurtas. A red sash round the waist, called sela, is common and the turban is a must. There are various characters in the play. The women wear the traditional Maharashtrian nine yard sari. Only the jester takes the liberty of wearing a funny dress. Make up too, is very simple and ordinary. If in this process, unexpected anachronisms arise, they are very much in the spirit of Tamasha.

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Music and musical instruments

Tamasha troupes traditionally consisted of two untouchable communities of Mahars and Mangs. Various roles were assigned to the members of particular professions. The butcher, a Muslim would play the dholki; the carpenter would play the daf (a kind of drum) whilst the Brahmins would compose the verse.

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The Shahir was accompanied by a band of musicians. The instruments traditionally used the dholki, daf and tuntune (single stringed instruments), cymbals and an iron triangle used to beat the rhythm. The instrumentalists are singers as well, who join in the refrain in high pitched voices. There is also the surtya who provides the drone. In the time of the Peshwas, the last phase was the mujra which consisted of homage in verse to noted shahirs and saints. Today, one finds very few examples of mujra. The musical compositions of the Tamasha manifest the typical phenomenon of the simultaneous use of the Raga system and the incorporation of several folk melodies. Amongst the Ragas, Yaman, Bairavi, and Pilu are common.

TAMASHA: FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Theme and its treatment

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The crux of Tamasha today lies in the wag (play). These plays are based on mythological themes but this is only a pretext for a mixture of satire, force and ribaldry. This peculiarly uninhibited ribaldry is essential to the full impact of the Tamasha. Traditionally, Tamasha would be performed only in front of a male audience. The wag is presented through prose dialogue which is, more often than not, improvised. The principal singer introduces the character by the first Lavni and gives, in gist, the main plot of the story. The musicians at the back provide the refrain or often a comment on the main character. This provides scope for sharp sarcasm on the genteel world. The actors speak their parts through prose passages and the next Lavni takes the story further. The two are interspersed with dances by the actresses. Loud sounds of ji-ji-ji and hai-hai-hai, resound all throughout.

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Members: Backbone of Tamasha

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The composer was generally the proprietor of the troupe as well. He was known as the Shahir which is a derivative of the Persian word Shayar meaning poet. The Shahir was accompanied by a band of musicians. Next to the Shahir, the two most important members of a Tamasha performance are the farceur and the danseuse. The farceur, properly called the Songadya or “player with many faces” is the key element of a Tamasha show. He is in some ways a character akin to the western Greek chorus, manipulating the strands of the plot as they unfold from situation to situation. The farceur has retained his importance to the present day. Famous modern farceurs include Daha Konde, Nilu Phule and Raja Mayekar.

The danseuse, who is often partnered by junior dancing girls, is accompanied by the singing of the Lavni. It is customary to see an elderly singer standing near the harmonium while her three daughters sing and dance on the stage. The art of Tamasha, whether it be that of the farceur or of the danseuse, passes down from generation to generation within the same family.

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Performance:Heart of Tamasha

The performance begins with the entry of the musicians. It is the dholkiwala who enters at first playing on a dholki and the Halgiwala playing on a daf. While the dholki provides the basic rhythm, and the usual metrical cycles or kala are played on it while the daf provides the sharp accents and other piercing sounds. The beginning of the recital is announced by them. Then enters the cymbal player and the tuntune player. Then the singer enters and takes his position in front of the group.

An invocation to Ganesha is sung. The entire group of musicians move forward and backward with their backs to the audience. Sometimes, the invocation is to Shiva and Parvati. The singing is known as gana and the whole invocatory composition is called the avahana.

Tamasha performers in the middle of the play
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This is followed by the gavalana or gowlan, which literally means milkmaid, but in the Tamasha context, it grew into a song woven around the theme of Krishna and the milkmaids. Krishnalila, is replaced by an atmosphere of every day love, teasing and tantalizing. The gowlan (who is a female heroine) enters the stage and begins a dialogue with the principle singer, with the end of her sari across her head and held by two outstretched arms. This provides a moment of suspense and excitement to the audience, which is all too eager to see her face. She enters with her back to the audience and moves around the stage in rhythmic steps, surrounded all the time with the musicians who follow her. The songadya or the farceur feigns the role of Krishna and there are exchanges between the gowlan and the songadya. The instrumentalists join the conversation here and there is scope for pure dance or nritta by the gowlan and erotic dialogue by them. The hero-jester pair maintains a link between the songs as also between the audience and the performers. The theme of the Danlila, where milkmaids going to sell their wares are way laid by Krishna and his pendya, who demand toll from them is presented in a manner of teasing tomfoolery and even some amount of sarcasm. There is also the comic character of an elderly lady Mavashibai accompanying the milkmaids. For greater fun, this is played by a male actor.  

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Lavni and Gondhal: Significant parts of Tamasha

At the heart of Tamasha performance is the Lavni, which is a kind of semi erotic song, full of literary embellishments. This could be called the Marathi equivalent of the Urdu ghazal. Lavni songs are composed on a variety of subjects but the stress is on eroticism. The word Lavni is suggestive of both singing and dancing. Lavni refers to dancing to a song and in doing so, bending the body artistically in different alluring poses. The dance is one of gay abandon. 

Shakuntala Nagarkar, a famous lavni performer
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Against the semi erotic content of the Lavni, stood another type of verse composition, the Gondhal. This was widely prevalent in the Tamasha of the Peshwa days. This had a decisively mystic orientation and centred round the alleged dichotomy between Shiva and Shakti. Followers of Shiva were called Turrewala, and followers of Shakti were called Kalagiwala. 

Gondhal
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The argument was usually expressed through a sort of question and answer session (Sawaal-jawaab) during which intricate conundrums would be posed and answered. This form of musical repartee has since long disappeared from the Tamasha and with it also all vestiges of mysticism from its verse compositions.

TAMASHA:FOLK FORM OF WESTERN INDIA

Background of Tamasha

Tamasha is traditionally a form of Marathi theatre which involves singing and dancing. It is performed by local people of Maharashtra as well as the travelling theatre groups. It came into existence in the 16^th century of Maharashtra.

The word Tamasha, is originally Persian. In Indian official languages like Hindi, Urdu, Marathi- the word Tamasha denotes fun or play. More precisely, the word connotes something which is hilarious. Many times the word is used to identify some act as irritating or not desirable. More or less, the word for sure, means some excitement and cheer. The theatre greatly combines play with song and dance.

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Traditionally, Tamasha is influenced by many Indian art forms which include kaveli, ghazals, kirtan, dashavatara and very popular dance form, Kathak. Though it came into existence in the 16^th century but the theatre form took the bigger and prominent shape only in 18^th century. With the development of textile industry in 19^th century in Bombay(now Mumbai), workers from rural side shifted to the city carrying the theatre form with them. Thus a complete move of the theatre called Tamasha took place only then. In the early years of textile industry in Bombay, Tamasha performers were invited to showcase the art form but it is later the art form flourished as more and more people joined the theatre group and learned the art form. In the beginning, the so-called low castes of Indian castes system used to perform Tamasha which includes Kolhati, Mahar, Mang and Bhatu from outskirts of Maharashtra. After Independence, however, the urban middle class turned away from traditional art forms creating a distinction between urban and rural audience, as Tamasha continued to sweep the urban audience.