Siddhartha Singh
Associate Professor, Department of English, Sri JNMPG College, Lucknow, India. Email: siddhartha.singh8@gmail.com
Volume 12, Number 6, 2020 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n6.16
Abstract
A major form of folk theatre, Nautanki, still holds an important place in the collective consciousness of the rural mass of the north India. The storyline of this musical folk theatre, exceptional in preserving the written texts, is derived from multiple sources ranging from mythology, history, romances, and folklores to contemporary icons. With its emphasis on music, both vocal and instrumental, accompanied by its most important companion Nakkara or Nagara, the highly intensified operative theatre can hold the nerves of thousands of people for the whole night. Due to the pressure of Bollywood and new sources of entertainment, Nautanki started losing its distinctive character, yet its survival has kept the hope alive. The present paper will not only introduce the form in detail, but will also shed light on some of the important issues and challenges in Nautanki today.
Keywords: Nakkara, Sangit, Swang, Bhagat, Music, folk, Virangana, Patriarchy, Indian Feminism.