Drama on the highway

Aditi Sharma and photo editor Suresh KK follow Tamasha's Shah Rukh Khan to Lohner, a small village near Nasik, for live folk action generously spiked with Bollywood zing

A few years ago, at a state organised Tamasha Festival held at the CIDCO Grounds in Vashi, the organisers ended up making a colossal mistake. They placed chairs for the audience to sit on. The Tamasha audience isn't comfortable with furniture. It's a labour class that's used to either sitting on the ground or standing for hours in fields and factories.






How a 1,000 strong crowd managed to gather in a village that does not find
a mention on a milestone is difficult to figure. The audience is usually all-male,
most of them high on beer and local liquor. An iron barricade keeps the crowd
several feet away from the stage and performers.


Raghuvir Khedekar is known as the Shah Rukh Khan of Tamasha.He wields
immense power over the audience, and is owner of Raghuvir Khedekar Sah
Kantabai Satarkar Tamasha Mandal.


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This rubber band flexible performer dances to Ring Ring Ringa from
Slumdog Millionaire


To become part of a Tamasha group, you have to learn to multitask.
From last moment replacements on stage to repairing an octopad, group
members take on any task without protest.


Vinod Yadav and Kantabai Satarkar chat in their sleeper bus that converts
into a dormitory every night for the Khedekar family. Satarkar is the true
matriarch. She set up the Tamasha Mandal single-handedly after her husband's
death, while raising four children. Yadav, a resident of Ghatkopar, is Raghuvir
Khedekar's adopted son. On priority, the family gets meatier parts when
performances are fixed.


The folk art is obviously influenced by Bollywood. Purists often accuse
Tamashgirs of having turned the show into an orchestra that plays only
Bollywood numbers. Khedekar admits to the deterioration but says the
audience, especially in Khandesh, prefers song and dance over traditional
performances.

Within minutes a chair-hurling fight broke loose between those seated on the ground and those parked on chairs who were blocking the view. A show that was about to be cancelled thanks to an aggressive crowd and overwhelmed organisers, was saved by a man they call the Shah Rukh Khan of Tamasha.

Raghuvir Khedekar, owner of the troupe and its star performer appealed for peace. The crowd turned passive, almost drugged, and like zombies they stacked up all the chairs neatly to quietly sit on the ground. Situation under control in five minutes.

Following 'Shah Rukh' Khedekar
Impressed, we decided to follow Khedekar on one of his performing journeys through the villages of Maharashtra to get a taste of the real stuff. For 210 days of the year, Raghuvir Khedekar Sah Kantabai Satarkar Tamasha Mandal stays on the road.

November rain had played spoilsport with their earlier shows, so when last week's performance started with Gan, an item that appeases Lord Ganesh, everyone sent out a small request to keep showers at bay. Gan was followed by Gavlan ('milkmaid' in Marathi), a sequence between a young Lord Krishna and the milkmaids.

Traditionally, the beginning of a Tamasha performance is always marked by the Gan-Gavlan. The performance had begun on a good note. Ten minutes passed. Night bugs, attracted to the halogen lights, continued their fight for the best spot. The crowd was still streaming in (paying Rs 30 for entry) and we were settled in to watch a traditional Tamasha performance in a special cordoned off corner that kept drunk men at bay.

Then, the first Lavani set began. Six girls in jarring pink and blue sequined navvaris stormed the stage. Close on its heels came a flurry of Bollywood numbers (Slumdog Millionaire's Ring Ring Ringa included). The bling-shock took time to wear off. When it did, we headed to the backstage tent to confront Khedekar on the drastic wardrobe and programme change.

Damage control
The actor-owner had been informed minutes before that the show had to be cut short by an hour because a local officer had dragged the deadline from 1 am to midnight. Nearby, an actor dressed as Shivaji Maharaj was overseeing the repairs of an octopad that had suddenly given way.

Khedekar walked over to find out what the problem was. The show had to be cut short without making a paying audience feel they'd been cheated of an extra hour of entertainment. However, the tantrum-throwing octopad had to be back on stage this instant. Our complaint of Bollywoodisation would have to wait.

Ignored, we returned to our seats in time to watch Shivaji Maharaj bow emphatically before Goddess Bhavani. The crowd that had been cheering garishly dressed women was over-awed by the grandeur of the Maratha king. Then followed a traditional Lavani along with sequences of Vinod (folk versions of a stand-up comedy act).

And then, Khedekar took the stage, starting with an impromptu speech. "There's a journalist from Mumbai among us tonight," he said into the mike. "She asked me if Tamasha has turned into a Bollywood orchestra show. It's sad, but it's true. Madam, wherever you are sitting, I want to say, this is Khandesh. Here, the audience loves film songs. But over the years, we've trained them to like traditional Tamasha too."

The thousand strong audience hooted back in the affirmative. If this was a dig at the audience, they didn't get it. As for us, we had our answer.

Where you can catch a performance From December 1 to 3, all major Tamasha mandals from across the state will gather at Alandi, a town located on the banks of Indrayani River in Pune District, to perform back-to-back shows. Think of it as a Tamasha Multiplex of sorts.

Travelling theatrewalas
The Raghuvir Khedekar Sah Kantabai Satarkar Tamasha Mandal travels with a stage, instruments, cast and crewu00a0-- a 160-member group. They pitch tents at a new destination every day. Their audience, comprising mostly of farmers who troops in from nearly 10 kms away.
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For Tamasha, the 10 pm noise pollution deadline is extended to midnight or 1 am depending on the discretion of local authorities.

210 The number of days of the year Tamasha artistes stay out of their homes, travelling from village to village, to entertain.

Did you know Local government officials often approach Tamasha artistes to spread awareness about social and health-related issues that ail their village.