A Brief History of Bengali Drama: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

The folk theatres had important part to play in forming consciousness of the

people against suppression, oppression and differentiations of the society. Apart

from giving delight and entertainment to the people, the folk theatres became the

platform for catering popular and non-formal education as well. Folk theatres

were very much related with society and culture, since it emphasized upon an

education for protesting against the wrong, folk theatres initiated a new backdrop

in socio-cultural milieu. The folk theatres usually took recourse to humour and

sarcasm for expression. Though not subtle, it is very mush appropriate for the

mass enjoyment and satisfaction. There are a few major instances of impact of folk

theatres in rural Bengal.

In Dhamgan of Jalpaiguri district a folk play called ‘Vesteri’ was staged to

make the people aware of the suppression of landlords or local zamindars. The

government used to convert the extra pieces of land of the peasants in khas lands

or crown lands. This system of land is known as ‘vest’. But the landlords deferred

the governmental laws and took the possession of the lands illegally in the names

of false persons. The peasants, thus, became poor and landless. They showed their

agitations by means of folk theatres where they said that the fight should go on

against the zamindars. We can derive a conclusion that the folk theatres reflected

the prevalence of class divisions in the society. 27

The folk theatres also depicted the tale of harassment of women by the money

lenders. The plays said about the differences between the strong and weak and

also the troubles of the weak faced in the hands of the strong counter parts. In such

play a village women became a symbol of truth and victory against the greedy and

perverse money lenders. Moreover, the dowry system was another very important

theme of folk theatre. The system of paying dowry in time of marriage is a curse

and also a scar of the society. The ‘Bolan Song’ of Rong Panchali bore the hue and

cry of a father. If the dowry was not paid in accordance to the demand, the daughter

faced immense problem in her in-laws home. So, the folk theatres showed the

tears of girl who experienced such torture due to societal and matrimonial system.

In Malda district folk theatres were organized to deal with discontent and

dissatisfaction of the people due to communalism, partition, refugee problem,

poverty and also because of differentiations in politico-social and economic

spheres. Folk theaters also pointed out the importance of education and changes

and mentality of young generations due to commercialization and development of

market economy. 28

A revolutionary projection of folk theatres in Murshidabad and adjoining districts

27 Mazumdar, Manas. Banglar Lokonatya Pratibad-Prabonata (inBengali).Calcutta. 1999.

p.265

28 Ibid. pp.266-267

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