Form of Indian Theatre

Like human emotions theatre has also various type of forms among which these are the famous and still exist in India. Today, I am going to talk about it.

Jatra

• Jatras are traveling theatre groups which perform under the open sky. They are essentially in the form of an opera with definite characteristics.
• It assumes different forms in different regions within the eastern parts of India, which include mainly the states of Assam, West Bengal and Orissa. Yatra literally means a procession or a pilgrimage from one point to another.
• Fairs in honour of gods, or religious rituals and ceremonies have within their framework musical plays are known as Jatra.
• This form was born and nurtured in Bengal. 
• Jatras are usually epic four-hour-long plays, preceded by a musical concert often lasting an hour, used to attract audiences.
• Krishna Jatra became popular due to Chaitanya's influence. 
• Later, worldly love stories too, found a place in Jatra.
• The earlier form of Jatra has been musical. Dialogues were added at later stage.
• The actors themselves describe the change of scene, the place of action, etc.

Bhaona

• It  is a traditional form of entertainment, always with religious messages, prevalent is Assam, India.
• The plays of bhaona is popularly known as Ankiya Nats and their staging is known as bhaona
• cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen,
• The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese.

Tamaasha

• Traditional folk theatre form of Maharashtra.
• came into existence in the early 16th century 
• Evolved from the folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan,
• Tamasha includes songs and dance along with the musical instruments like the Dholki, Drum, Manjira, Harmonium etc.
• Unlike other theatre forms, in Tamaasha the female actress is the chief exponent of dance movements in the play. She is known as Murki.
• Classical music, footwork at lightning-speed, and vivid gestures make it possible to portray all the emotions through dance.

Mudiyettu

• Traditional folk theatre form of Kerala is celebrated in the month of Vrischikam (November-December).
• It is usually performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala. 
• It enacts the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika and depicts the triumph of goddess Bhadrakali over the asura Darika.
• In 2010 Mudiyettu was inscribed in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Dashavatar

• Theatre form of the Konkan and Goa regions; 
• Performers personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
• Dashavatar performers wear masks of wood and papier mache.
• It  personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu – Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narsimha (lion-man), Vaman (dwarf), Parashuram, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. 
• The Dashavatar performers wear masks of wood and papier-mache.

Yakshagaana

• Traditional theatre form of Karnataka;
• Based on mythological stories and Puranas;
• The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata i.e. Draupadi swayamvar, Subhadra vivah, Abhimanyu vadh, Karna-Arjun yuddh and from Ramayana i.e. Raajyaabhishek, Lav-kush Yuddh, Baali-Sugreeva yuddha and Panchavati.

Kariyila

• Popular folk drama form of Himachal Pradesh.
• Most popular in the districts of Shimla, Solan and Sirmour. 
• The season of Kariyala generally starts after the festival of Deepavali. 
• It  is an open-air theatre, which consists of an entertaining series of small playlets, farces, skits, revues and burlesques.
• It is generally staged during village fairs and on some festive occasions. 
• The Kariyala entertainment starts in the evening and goes on throughout the night staging various popular items one after other. 
• The square-performing arena is called Khada. 
• In the centre of Khada, a bonfire is lit which is considered very sacred. 
• A number of musical instruments like chimta, nagara, karnal, ranasingha, shahanai, basuri, dholak and khanjiri are used to provide background music.