Mobile Theatre

Mobile theatre as we know it is a form of popular theatre exclusive to the state of Assam which has revolutionarized the very concept of ‘Drama’ in India. We do not often give the art form much credit for it despite its large scale popularity.

These groups of Mobile theatres are also called the ‘bhyrmoman natak’ in Assamese and consists of actors, singers, dancers, directors, producers, etc, just like any other kind of theatrical group. There are about 60 mobile theatre groups performing plays across the state presently, but what led to the beginning of this mesmerizing form or folk media? How did it come to be one of the most popular forms of traditional media even in this new age of advanced communication technologies?

We all know that Drama and Theatre have always formed an integral part of our culture and Indian theatre has been one of the earliest forms of folk media in the world.

The art of theatre, which originated in India, is termed as ‘Natyaved’- a synthesis of knowledge comprising the elements of all existing books and art forms. The Natyaved comprises of ‘Natya Shastra’ or the science of drama written by Bharata Muni over 2000 years ago.

The concept of theatres appealed to the audiences and gained popularity among the Indians due to establishment of a close and intimate relation between performers and spectators. The Sanskrit dramas, one of the oldest in the world gradually lost popularity due to a change in the preferences of people with the rise of the Islamic Sultanate and the fall of ancient Hindu empires. The growth of Indo-Aryan and modern Indian languages were another one of the reasons for classical Sanskrit Drama to gradually grow faint and disappear.

Ankiya Naat, the oldest form of Assamese drama emerged after the disappearance of the classical Sanskrit Dramas that had once left a lacuna in the theatrical world. Just like any other form of modern-day theatre, this native Assamese form of drama shared some habitual rudimentary attributes. The Ankiya Naat is what we commonly refer to as Bhaona, especially in the upper Assam region today.

The Neo-Vaishnavaite preacher Srimanta Sankardev was the Polymath who propagated and promulgated the art form which later emerged into Ojhapali, Dhuliya Nisukoni Geet, Kushar Gaan, Bhari Gaan and the Putala Naach or the Putula Bhaona puppetry. Srimanta Sankardev’s most accomplished disciple Madhavdev continued this tradition of spreading religious reforms through this traditional mode of media.

Later, with the rise of the British Empire, the contemporary theatre in India also began. This contemporary form of theatre is what influences our modern day concept of theatre and drama in India. Shifting focus from religion to romance and entertainment, this form of theatre engulfed other forms of folk theatre throughout the country. The separation of the audience and the performers on the stage and having to pay for the tickets to watch a performance not only disconnected the audience from the performance but also created a demand of ‘value for money’ among the audience making it a more competitive mode of entertainment.

Mobile Theatres began in the rural concept and later even catered to the urban areas of Assam. It started first in a small rural town called Pathshala, situated 110 km from Guwahati and gradually spread across the State.

Scholars have argued that mobile theatre cannot be looked at in binary terms. This is an encounter between the ‘modern’ and the ‘traditional’, the ‘rural’ and the ‘urban’, the ‘local’ and the ‘global’ within it. It can only be understood by using the conceptual category of ‘hybridity’.

Mobile theatre uses Assamese language, addresses no deity, has no fixed theme yet cannot be described as modern theatre.

Although the mobile theatre industry receives no financial assistance from sponsors, the mobile theatre industry has arrived at a milestone where it has an annual turnover of over Rs 10 crore and will not pass into oblivion anytime soon.

Rifa Deka,

Guwahati.

Also read: Natasurya drama festival at Baan Theatre from July 31