The village maidan resounds with the beat of the dhamsa, the roll of the dhol and the notes of the shehnai. Wide-eyed children and prayerful grandmothers watch in hushed awe as Durga Ma enters in all her finery. Her ‘mukut’ (headgear) glitters in the spluttering gaslights. She brandishes her trident and the demon, ‘Mahishasura’, trembles in fear.
The scene is an enactment of the ‘pala’ (episode) of ‘Mahishasuramardini’ in the Chau dance style. Tarapoda Rajak, one of the exponents of this folk art, reminisces about his childhood when an entire village used to turn up for such performances. His elder brother, Bikal Rajak, a renowned Chau dancer, is his guru. “I have been performing for 25 years now,” says the younger Rajak.
Chau dancer Tarapoda Rajak
“Chau”, Rajak says, “is native to [the eastern states] Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. The three styles are respectively from Seraikela, Mayurbhanj and Purulia.” Rajak himself is from Bengal’s Purulia. In the Seraikela school of Chau, the headgear is small. ‘Karuna rasa’, or compassion, is the dominant mood. In Orissa, the dancers do not wear headgear at all. They colour their faces according to the character they portray.
Different styles of Chau
“In the Purulia style, which I follow, the dancers wear an elaborate crown, which is the identification of the character,” Rajak says. The characters commonly portrayed are Shiva, Ganesha and Devi and the mood is ‘veera rasa’, or the mood of courage and heroism. The stories are invariably about the triumph of the virtuous protagonist over the evil antagonist. Typically, an evening’s programme consists of just one ‘pala’.
Stories from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are popularly chosen for depiction. Rajak says that nowadays artistes choose contemporary topics such as dowry deaths and drug abuse.
“In the old days, Chau used to be based on ‘mookabhinaya’, that is dance without music. The musical element was introduced later.”
The percussion instruments are dhol and dhamsa, and the shehnai is also used. Nowadays, electronic keyboards have become popular, he says. The music has no written form and is passed on orally.
“There is no pre-set pattern to the dance. They perform according to the music. In that sense, a good Chau dancer must be able to invent and innovate on the stage,” Rajak clarifies. Chau used to be taught at homes — it being a traditional art form, which is still popular in rural Bengal. A three-year degree course on Chau has been started at Sidho Kanho Birsha University.
Spirit of goodwill
“In villages, dancers practise all night, especially just before the festive occasions. During April-May, ‘Chaak Festival’ is conducted when dances go on all night. Two teams perform in competition. One team first performs a story and then the next one replies with another story. The whole village turns up to watch and cheer the dancers,” Rajak says.
In spite of it being a competition, the spirit is one of good will and the organisers reward both the teams. The elaborate costumes and headgear add to the air of mysticism and romance. Animal characters too have an important role to play.
Rajak looks forward to a time when more youngsters take up the art form and nurture it. However, Chau, which rose from the fields and forests of eastern India, is gaining popularity, thanks to the efforts of organisations such as SPIC MACAY, he says.
