Kavyesu Natakam Ramyam, a popular Sanskrit adage, which means drama or theatre, is the most charming form of literature. It has been accorded the status of Panchama Veda or fifth Veda after Rig, Yajur, Sam and Atharva. According to Indian mythology, Indra and other gods and goddesses urged Lord Brahma, the creator of all four Vedas, to script one more segment to impart moral lessons to human beings but in a playful way. Realising the importance, Brahma took a few elements like dance, music, dialogue, expression and aesthetics from all the four Vedas to create the fifth one. Following that, Bharat Muni, the ancient theatrologist, was assigned to do the documentation of the fifth Veda. He wrote and named it Natya Shastra, the first book on performing arts. Even today, Natya Shastra is considered the last word on performing arts, with theatre regarded to be the finest of all forms.
World Theatre Day
For centuries, theatre has been the mirror of society. At the same time, it also represents the culture and lifestyle of the people of a country, state and region. Besides, it also has the power to start a revolution and bring about a change. However, a few years after World War II, the form started losing its appeal. In a bid to raise awareness on the importance of theatre, International Theatre Institute, the world’s largest performing arts organisation, started observing World Theatre Day March 27 from 1961. The theatre fraternity, through various national and international events, started raising awareness on how the medium plays an important role in the world of entertainment and how it has the potential to bring in positive changes in lives and society. Back home, Indian theatre is mainly divided in two parts — Margi (classical) and Desi (folk). Despite rapid urbanisation and availability of more technology-oriented recreation options, folk theatre is still considered the ‘theatre of the people’. It has evolved over the centuries and is an integral part of the lives and culture of rural population. Besides, it has a charm of its own and is among the most valuable legacies of our rural heritage.
Theatre-making can be a sacred act and the actors indeed can become the avatars of the roles they play. Theatre has the potential of becoming a shrine and the shrine a performance space—Shahid Nadeem, Pakistani playwright, and the message writer of World Theatre Day-2020
Much like other Indian states, Odisha too has a vibrant folk art culture. Prominent among them are Danda Nata, Jatra, Pala, Dasakathia, Desia Nata, Sakhi Nata, Dhanu Yatra and others. However, of the many forms that Odisha takes pride in, Mughal Tamasha holds a special status for its style and the objective with it is staged. Although satirical in nature, this art form continues to promote communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims like no other form of theatre. So much so, that the former additional chief secretary AN Tiwari had gone on records saying that there can’t be any better advertisement of communal harmony than this form of theatre in India. The then Chief Minister also asked Abhinaya Natya Sanstha, a Bhubaneswar-based troupe that has till date staged 52 shows across the country, to state a special show of Mughal Tamasha for his family and friends at Rabindra Mandap in the 1980s. However, this form of folk theatre is gradually fading into oblivion.
Ahead of World Theatre Day, Sunday POST takes a look at the art form’s evolution and style and talks to a few eminent directors of Mughal Tamasha on its present state.
Background
The Mughals set foot in Odisha towards the end of 16th century, following the reign of Afghans. However, they didn’t dismiss all Afghan officers. Those who surrendered before the Mughal army were given an opportunity to stay back and become residents of Odisha. Over the next more than 200 years of Mughal rule, Persian remained the official language of the region. On the other hand, Afghan officers who were holding higher ranks at that time were leading a luxurious lifestyle which was adversely affecting the administration. The subjects were far from satisfied with the Mughal administration but were afraid to raise their voice. However, they mustered some courage and started taunting the Muslim rulers and their administrative policies after the Marathas wrested power in the second half of 18th century. The taunts and mockery was primarily aimed at the luxury and pompous display of wealth that Mughals indulged in. This laid a platform for the development of Mughal Tamasha. However, the form didn’t encourage communalism. Instead, it only ridiculed the rich and affluent ruling class and their oppressive mannerisms which put both Hindus and Muslims at the receiving end. However, it was all on a lighter vein. Therefore, Mughal Tamasha gained popularity amongst both Hindus and Muslims.
Place of origin
Although there is no concrete record, it is believed that Mughal Tamasha took birth at Sangat, a sleepy village in Bhadrak, which was the commercial hub during the Mughal and Maratha rule, as it was well connected with other counties by water. Even today, Bhadrak occupies a prominent space in the geographical map of Odisha. The folk play was the brainchild of genius poet Banshi Ballav Goswami, who composed it in 1728 AD using five languages, which is one-of-its-kind in the annals of theatre history. Goswami had scripted seven works of Tamasha, a traditional form of Marathi theatre but Mughal Tamasha is the only one that survived the vagaries of time for its timelessness.
Striking feature
Actors mouthing dialogues in five languages – Odia, Bengali, Hindi, Persian and Urdu — is the most striking feature of Mughal Tamasha, and certainly one of the most unconventional formats in Indian theatre. Perhaps this is the reason it withstood the test of time while six other Tamashas composed by Goswami became extinct. Apart from Hindus and Muslims, the play brought together people of different linguistic backgrounds under one umbrella. Isn’t it fascinating to watch Mirza Saheb, a representative of Mughal establishment, chanting ‘Jay Shiv Shambhu’ (Hail Lord Shiva), at the beginning of a play? Needless to say, no form of folk play has so successfully promoted brotherhood like Mughal Tamasha has done for centuries.
Plot
The play is based on the cultural interaction between the locals and the representatives of top Mughal rulers and is an unbiased reflection of Mughal era governance. In the past, the head of an empire used to rule the faraway regions under his regime with the help of representatives or governors. The subjects in those faraway lands often used to get exploited by the appointed governors. Mirza Saheb in Mughal Tamasha is one such representative who is on a visit to a village and the play portrays his interaction, mostly in verses, with the locals. It doesn’t have a fixed plot and the characters are unrelated. They mostly belong to the community of sevayats or the service providers to the rulers likes the khansama or cook, bhandari or barber, gumasta or manager, hukawalla or the person who arranges huka, daptari or peon, pankhawala or the man who fans and doodhwali or milkmaid. Earlier, Mughal Tamasha used to be a night-long affair but now it has roughly a running time of two hours. The use of different musical instruments like kubuji, violin, sitar, pakhawaj, tabla duggi, harmonium along with the indigenous kahali or desi clarinet, jodi nagara or dhola mahuri create an ambiance that takes the audience back in time.
Mughal Tamasha was designed to promote communal harmony. On the other hand, it also slammed the prevailing corrupt practice of the officials of that era which is relevant even today. For example, Mirza gets attracted towards the milkmaid and professes his love for her. The milkmaid objects as she is married. But he tries to tempt her promising good fortunes when the woman doesn’t give in to his demands. Finally, the milkmaid ignores the allurement and leaves the stage that marks the end of the play. Even now, the audience can relate to the scene as the situation is more or less the same today.
Directors’ take
Although Mughal Tamasha is a satire on the style of Mughal governance, it was being exhibited to full house in the district headquarter town of Bhadrak in Odisha, and its adjoining areas which have high concentration of Muslims. It thus is evident that this folk drama is the best in its category to promote peace between Hindus and Muslims. Unfortunately, not too many theatre troupes outside Bhadrak have staged the play in the past two decades leaving the theatre form on the verge of extinction. A few directors of Mughal Tamasha share their thoughts with Sunday POST on its declining popularity and how it could be revived
Abhinaya Natya Sanstha’s Lalatendu Mohanty, a well known figure in Odisha’s theatre circuit who has directed nearly 50 shows of Mughal Tamasha, refused to accept that the form is dying. An ardent lover of this theatre form, Lalatendu says, “We shouldn’t consider it as a dying art when Odisha Sangeeta Natak Akademi and culture department are regularly sending Bhadrak-based troupes to various festivals to perform Mughal Tamasha. It will soon be staged in Aligarh Muslim University also. I am sure, it will go global one day”
Talking about his successful production, he says, “Mughal Tamasha is one of the most attractive plays produced ever in Odisha. This is the play that got the first prize at a national level festival held in Delhi beating a play written by the legendary playwright Vijay Tendulkar. I still remember the kind words jury members Manoj Kumar, Utpal Dutt and Manoj Mitra had said about the production on that day.”
Narendra Parida from Bhadrak got Odisha Sangeeta Natak Akademi award for promoting folk theatre (Mughal Tamasha) in 2016. Parida, who has been acting and directing the play for about 20 years, acknowledges that the form is fast losing its charm. He says, “Mughal Tamasha is part and parcel of the heritage of the state. I have tried my best not to tamper with the original form of the play. Unfortunately, the form is gradually disappearing and there is a need to revive it.”
Asked about the changes required for a revival, Parida says, “There is a misconception about Mughal Tamasha. A section of Muslim community is of the view that it has showed them in poor light. But they must understand that the plot is not against them. We can also bring in some changes in the dialogues and add classical music to attract the audience.”
Like Parida, Badal Sikdar is also responsible for keeping alive the centuries-old Mughal Tamasha in Bhadrak. He says, “We have been staging the play for the past 30 years strictly maintaining the tradition. The form originated in Bhadrak and used to be staged in every village. However, it lost popularity over time and was declared a dying art. Since, not only Bhadrak, the entire state takes pride in Mughal Tamasha, we have been performing it for several years.”
Sikdar further says, “We have performed at places like Kolkata, Nagpur, Raipur, Guwahati, Manipur, Shantiniketan and the response has been really encouraging. Since the play promotes communal harmony, given the prevailing communal tension in many parts of the country, it is high time the government should back the troupes to perform more shows across the country.”
Well known theatre director and president of Odisha Natya Sangh, Haren Sahoo was associated with Mughal Tamasha as an actor when Abhinaya Natya Sanstha staged the play across the country. However, the troupe stopped enacting the play after 2002 for various reasons. Sahoo, the secretary of Bhubaneswar-based theatre troupe Panchama Beda, is now planning to take the play to other states with better preparation.
“We are planning to stage the play on a bigger canvas this time. We will have at least a two-month-long rehearsal schedule with competent actors and record the music using indigenous instruments to take the audience to the time the play was penned by Banshi Ballav Goswami.” he adds.
Lesser known facts about Mughal Tamasha
Mughal Tamasha was written by poet Banshi Ballav Goswami in the 18th century depicting the corrupt practice prevailing in Mughal administration.
Actors mouthing dialogues in five languages – Odia, Bengali, Hindi, Persian and Urdu is the unique feature of the folk play, a classic case in point of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Bhadrak is the only district where the play is being staged for more than two hundred years now.
Abhinaya Natya Sanstha, a Bhubaneswar-based theatre troupe that staged 52 shows of Mughal Tamasha across the country had won the first prize ahead of Vijay Tendulkar’s play at a national level theatre festival held in Delhi in 1980s. Hindi film actor Manoj Kumar, and prominent Indian theatre personalities Manoj Mitra and Utpal Dutt were among the juries. The play was directed by Lalatendu Mohanty.
