NAUTANKI: a performance with a bit of exaggeration

             Nautanki

       “All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed”

-          Sean O’ Casey

The term ’Nautanki’ per se evokes a sense of melodramatic presence in our minds. As soon we see it or someone says it, it triggers a series of mimicry and cacophonic slideshow within our minds.   However, putting the feelings aside, if we must define it:

Nautanki has acquired huge popularity in the folk theatre performances among the common masses of South Asia especially around Northern India. Before the Hindi film industry came into being, Nautanki was the only source of entertainment in the country of northern India. There was a time when the common people made plans for a Nautanki show with friends and family, booked the tickets in advance and enjoyed immensely. Nautanki had rich musical compositions and amusing story-lines and hold a strong sway over rural people's imagination. Even after the spread of mass media (that is the age of television and video cassettes) a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 can still be seen at the top Nautanki performances.

The roots of Nautanki lie in the Saangit, Bhagat, and Swang theatre traditions of Northern India. In fact, one of the Saangit performances named “Saangit Rani Nautanki Ka” enthralled the audience so much that the entire genre was nicknamed as Nautanki. Huge stages were erected and people gathered around the seats very early, ready to take their seats. Only two minutes into the performance and people started cheering up the dramatis-personae, standing up from their allotted seats. In fact, the aspect of viewing the show sitting silently was considered a major failure for the performance.

Making up the traditional story-lines was no easy task. Earlier, the Nautanki plays were based on mythology and folk tales and rarely on contemporary heroes. The traditionally popular plays such as Satya-Harischandra and Bhakt Moradhwaj are adapted from mythological themes. Indal Haran and Puranmal  originates from folklore. Sultan Daku , Jalianwala Bagh and Amar sing Rathore are few ‘Nautankis’ who have found an enigmatic place in the hearts of the common masses as it dealt with the oppression of the Feudal landlords and the British against the Indians , around the earlier 20^th Century.

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