Jhadipatti’s simplicity is its soul. From caste conflicts to family feuds or farm crisis, this theatre form addresses problems that affect rural audiences.
Jhadipatti looks for themes like caste conflict and farm woes
NAVARGAON/CHANDRAPUR: Jhadipatti’s simplicity is its soul. From caste conflicts to family feuds or farm crisis, this theatre form addresses problems that affect rural audiences.
But the theatre of the forest belt is also a big employer for five to six months in the four districts of eastern Vidarbha. Hundreds of men and women earn through ancillary work: stage settings, light and sound arrangements, transportation, parking and food stalls. For the main performers and production companies though, it’s full-time work.
“In the off season when we don’t stage shows, we are mostly busy writing scripts on new themes or scouting for new talent,” says Sadanand Borkar, a well known theatre personality of Jhadipatti belt.
“I have never seen a dull moment during these days,” says Ghulam Sufi, a tabla player and actor. Associated with Vyankatesh Natya Mandal of Borkar, he hails from Wadsa (Desaiganj), a small town in Gadchiroli and Jhadipatti epicentre. Ghulam says, “If this theatre form dies, many families would be on the streets.”
Usually a drama group charges upwards of Rs 30,000 for one show, depending upon the local village drama mandal. The mandal in turn earns back money through ticket sales; and there are strictly no passes. O
n a given day, a village mandal can clock up to Rs 2 lakh on ticket sales. These mandals may some time use these collections as short-term low-interest loans to its members in the need.
Jhadipatti’s drama groups and plays survive only on the ticket sales, and the poor audiences buy tickets to keep this theatre ticking. The tickets are priced between Rs 20 and Rs 100, depending upon the show.
Scholar and researcher Dr Pramod Munghate explains: “From early stages, the themes mend into four broad categories — Mythological, Period or Historic, Social and Musical.”
Head of Marathi Department at Nagpur's Saint Francis de Sales (SFS) College, Dr Munghate is currently doing a UGC-sponsored project on ‘Mass movement of people's theatre of eastern Vidarbha’.
While the evenings are reserved for plays, during the day there is Shankar-Pat, a carnival of sorts, of bullock cart races and bazaar. The plays usually start very late at night and end in the wee hours next day.
“That is not without reason. The poor hosts can feed their guests who specially come to watch the plays, but cannot offer them warm clothing. That problem is taken care of automatically. They leave for their own villages early morning after watching the drama throughout the night,” explains Shekhar Patale, a Jhadipatti actor.
Changes and aberrations have crept in, says Dr Munghate, but it hasn't shaken the foundations. Two years ago, at a village called Delanwadi, audiences razed the drama tent when they found the play was vulgar and obscene.
The scripts are hand-written. Every year, over a hundred local playwrights give shape to burning social problems or family issues. Good actors may make Rs 3-5 lakh in one season. From a minimum of Rs500, the per show honorarium can be as high as Rs 5,000 per actor. Production companies go scouting for actors and fresh faces for ensuing season even in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur or any other major city.
But as Durvas Kapgate, proprietor of ‘Jhadipatti Marathi Rangbhoomi’ at Wadsa (Desaiganj),
points out: “There is no guarantee that good mainstream theatre artists will survive on this stage. The dynamics of this theatre is quite different.”
(This is the concluding part of a two-part series)
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