Bishohorir Gaan
‘Bishohorir Gaan’, a form of popular Bangla indigenous theatre of north Bengal, narrates the conflicting story of Mansha Debi and Chand Sowdagar as described in ‘Mansha Mangal Kabya’. This structure of the pala, named ‘Dhamer Gaan’ is practiced in Thakurgaon with different names, including- ‘shorigaan’, ‘sorigaan’ or ‘surigaan’. Dhamer Gaan is a structure of storytelling through performances, where different types of social and religious stories are plotted, and Bishohorir Gaan is one of those. Although the word ‘Dham’ originated from ‘home’ or ‘place’, but in this case, it indicates the small square-sized space where the performance takes place. Bishohorir Gaan is represented in lyrical and narrative verses, accompanied by luxery body movements. Generally, this ‘pala’ is staged during the period between Janmashtami and Kaalipuja.
The concert at the beginning of the play, which actually calls the audiences to take their seats, resembles a flavor of jatra. Khol, kartal and pipes are used to build up the concert, by highly skilled musicians, who have been playing these for decades. Right after the concert, the remaining performers come to the stage and start the vandana (worship) song, where they worship their God and Guru. The play starts, where one actor usually portrays more than one character, by changing or adding a small, yet significant prop.
All the characters, irrespective of gender, are performed by male actors. The costumes and make up they put on do not imitate any traditional style, but are influenced by pop culture. Despite representing stories directly related to Hindu beliefs, starting the play with uludhoni and performing puja in many episodes, Muslim actors also perform.
Generally there is a narrator, accompanied by a jest, who tells the story. Bishohorir Gaan usually takes seven nights to complete, but the duration may also be customised according to the audiences’ preference. Although the story is mythical, they also add contemporary elements to their script to make it more enjoyable to the audience.
The money they make out of this is not enough to bear their daily expenses. As a result, there are not more than a couple of professional troupes existing right now.
Comments