Kitne nazare hain,
Kitne kitne lutf hote hain,
Bhopa bhopi aur kathputli ke khel dekhte hain,
Aao dekho bioscope ke meley hain...
Our traditions make our people. Our arts speak where we fail to communicate. At a time when critics have found it easier to brand traditional art forms as ‘dying’, without introspection, it was refreshingly fascinating to witness a myriad skill sets and traditional performances sewn together and presented on a platter. One almost forgot to blink watching the energies, fervour and colours on the stage. The Centre for New Perspectives, a think tank, recently brought together ten folk-community art forms in an effort to make Delhi a UNESCO creative city. The preview of the production - Tama-Show Dilli Ka Bioscope - was directed and guided by Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, and showcased performances by traditional magicians, puppeteers, jugglers, acrobats, martial artists, folk dancers and singers, storytellers, impersonators, mime artists and former animal trainers.
Speaking about the initiative, Navina Jafa of Centre for New Perspectives says that their aim has been to connect the citizens of the city with the rich cultural heritage of its art forms. “Our mandate is to include the framework of traditional skills which not only covers crafts but also cuisines, linguistics, lifestyles, rituals and beliefs. There has been a de-link in the framework of sustainable development because the development processes start from above. We are trying to prevent de-skilling from the grassroots.” In doing so, Tama Show ensured that its audience came from all walks of life, not as an audience but as the citizens of Delhi. This included the vyapar mandals (traders associations) of Shahjehanabad, lawyers, journalists, doctors, corporate organisations, schools and academics.
Loss of markets
In a survey conducted by Navina and her colleague Shailaja Kathuria with the help of economists and data analysts, it was established that there are 5,500 families whose monthly income is between ₹ 800-8000. The skill mapping revealed that these families are struggling to make ends meet, only because they have lost their markets. “We can only reconnect by making all categories of citizens participate in the livelihood programmes. We are trying to encourage them to crowdfund and organise these programmes so that they connect with the living heritage,” says Navina.
Before the 10-foot long puppet took over the show, the space resonated with verses penned down by Navina herself. The title song was written by renowned puppeteer and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Puran Bhatt. As the enormous puppet gave way came the folk dancer with meticulous steps, showcasing tremendous elasticity. Then came Puran Bhatt himself with his famous string puppet. The charming puppet told the story of the fight between two kings over a beautiful woman. One of them obviously wins the woman. Bhatt's mastery accompanied by the percussion beats was a real treat to watch. Later, the resilient movements by the acrobats made the audience question their own bodily flexibility. Formal animal trainers (saperas) repositioned their skills and formed an orchestra with exquisite powers. There were 35 artistes displaying the folk-community performance skills.
Speaking about why he decided to be a part of such an initiative, Pandit Birju Maharaj said that it is extremely important to have all kinds of artists among us. “They performed widely in front of the kings in the durbars. Since those spaces vanished, they have not been able to create them. I want them to progress so that their art is enhanced. All that they need is the space to perform,” says Maharaj.
A number of times, the artistes have been approached by the public in various forms for their events, but those remain as events and the artistes remain where they are. There is almost nothing that one can put one’s finger on and call an upliftment. Says Puran Bhatt, “The traditional arts are never-ending. It is the people who do not like watching because their tastes have changed, and so to say, become westernised. Our artistes are alive and so is the art, and hence one must stop calling them the 'dying arts'. That is also why it was important to take part in this production, hoping that we bring this to somebody's notice. Often, we perform at birthdays and weddings, but they remain as their events and not ours. These artistes are teachers. They can teach you whole theories about their artforms, but where is the space?”
Navina says that in such a scenario, it was doubly difficult to win the trust of the artistes, in making sure that Tama Show does not become another event, but a process. “The artistes are, no doubt, suspicious, because they have been let down and contained in the event. Nobody talks about the process of their sustainability. Getting them shows is the only way to keep them motivated and that is why we are getting the citizens because we can’t keep depending on the government and big corporates,” she remarks.
School for folk artistes
Tama Show hopes to continue its journey by opening the Tama Show skill school, a training and performing space for the folk and community arts. “We want to ensure that the school is self sustainable. At the same time, there should not be any dilution of traditional aesthetics, because that is the grammar. The presentation changes but one has to be careful not to change the alphabets and remain true to the vocabulary. There are many centres for the classical arts but nothing for folk artistes. The Tama Show Private Limited, as we call it, would look forward to giving world class productions by highly skilled artistes. This would ensure that their scalability increases. The artistes can perform as street performers, with event management companies, etc., creating new jobs on the go. This apart, we also hope to remove the word circus from the vocabulary of these performances as it has a colonial and very limited kind of a spatial imagery. Perhaps, ‘Tama Show’ itself can become the generic term,” says Navina.
Post the preview, the team will showcase its first show at the Delhi Gymkhana Club on August 26. Later, productions in some of the North Eastern states of India and Maharashtra have also been planned.