Nachni
A Play
CHARACTERS
Nayantara
Mahesh
Mukti
Sitaram
(Lights on, Nayantara is seen singing a Jhumur Song and dancing vigorously on the dais. She is dressed the typical dress of the Nachnis ; ghungur is heard)
Nayantara: Seya libo, Jacket Libo
Libo dami dami sharee
(Aar) Mukhe paan, chokhe chasma
Haate tiffin carry
Yes, seya libo…..
(I want to have a nightgown, need even a jacket.
Additionally, I want to have precious Sharee along with them.
And I will keep betel leaf in my mouth wearing a sunglass.
With a tiffin carrier in my hand)
Mahesh : (clapping his hands) Wow! Fascinating! What a beautiful performance!
Nayan : (Giggling) My goodness! I’m shocked ! A person from the town is appreciating my song!
Mahesh : Why not! I have just appreciated what is beautiful. Your dance along with your song is just wonderful.
Nayan : I knew that the Babus of the towns love to listen to the music of Hindi films, it’s hard to believe their appreciations for the songs of the ‘Nachni Shaliya’ or the singers like me.
Mahesh : Why? Can’t we like it? Aren’t those songs pleasing or good enough to hear?
Nayan : No, no, actually I’m not going to mean that. Definitely it’s good and that’s why earlier people from the towns used to use the songs, traditions and cultures of the indigenous people to flourish their business. Even few years back when there were the reigns and rules of the Kings and Zamindars, they themselves got fascinated to our songs and music and used to spend a lot of money to hire us to enjoy our musical notes and dance and we had to perform in front of them.
Mahesh : Anyway, who is that beautiful boy, Nayan?
Nayan : That very boy! He is mine, my own son. And can you see that person? He is my son’s father, Jhumuriya who is now going to drink country liquor. You know he can’t play a single note (until he fills his stomach with liquor) without consuming liquor.
Mahesh : Jhumuriya! Oh, what a beautiful name!
Nayan : Oh, no! That’s not his name. The persons, who compose the Jhumur songs,are called Jhumuriya. He is the first person who starts to sing the Jhumur song during the performance. Don’t you know the names of Ostad Dipa Tanti, Bhabapiti nanda Ojha, Salabat Mahato, Binanda Singh, Duryodhan Das who were the most famous Jhumuriyas.
Mahesh : (Hesitates) No, actually I’m not aware of these names. Anyway, do you know anymore (Jhumuriya) names?
Nayan : Yes, definitely I can remember all of their names. We might be illiterate fellow but we can recite the names of our Gurus and Gayens in a single breath. Now listen to this song (one can recite this triplet, if it’s not possible to sing)-
Kavi sakaler shreshtha Jaar naam Ramkishta
Aar shreshtha Duryadhan
Dhanya dhanya kori dina Ki dibo taar tulona
Ramagune Kobita chaitan
Bhebe dyakho bandhu bhai dhanya kavi Lagan saain
Dhanya dhanya Barjuram hon
Dhanya kavi Gourangia Narottam aar Udaya
Nritya geete mojalo Bhubhan
Naba rangine kobita Dwijatikha, Bhabaprita
Nabaronge koriya barnan
Dhanya kabi Hanri Ram Pitambar o Ghanyashyam
A jugete kabi Bahujan
Kavi Gurujan ebong Ai murah Sahadev
Hero kripa koro sarbajan
Hoye adham pamar Barnitechhe a jhumur
Jeno dosh karaha marjon
(He is the best poet His name is Ramkishta
And Dyurdhan is also the best
They got huge popularity Nothing can be compared with their creation
Ramagune and the poet Chaitan are also holy
Just think of a poet His name is Lagan Saain
We hail also the poet Barjuram
All hail to the poet Gourangia And the poets Narottam and Udaya
They have spellbound the entire universe with their songs and dance
A new format was introduced It was done by Dwijatikha and Bhabaprita
[They have amused us with their newly coloured songs
Praise worthy are the poets like Hanri Ram Pitambar and Ghanyashyam
Now we get a plenty of poets
The earlier poets are respectable And I am no quality to sing those songs
So, bless me you all
Though an illiterate I am singing their verse
Please forgive my entire faults.]
Mahesh : Fantastic! I feel amazed! Anyway, Nayan if you don’t mind let me ask you one question. Do you still love to carry on this singing and dancing tradition? Actually, what I mean is that do you love the way of your life?
Nayan : Sure! Is there any person who doesn’t love singing and dancing? But still………
Mahesh : What Nayan?
Nayan : Actually, there is a problem. People harbour a different opinion regarding us, they think that all the Nachnis are actually prostitutes.
Mahesh : Then why do you cling to this life still Nayan?
Nayan : What will we do babu other than this; in fact, we have nothing to do. (sighs) Gone are the days when my elders got fame as Jhumur singers with plenty of money and now we are compelled to carry on this profession only for the sake of our livelihood. We have nothing left.
Mahesh : Then what’s your thought about the future of your son? Will you drag him into this profession again? Will you train him with Jhumur songs?
Nayan : Obviously! A hundred times, a thousand times! But be sure, I will definitely make him educated. I will get him admitted to that missionary school and then he will become a world famous Jhumuriya.
Mahesh : Good enough. May God fulfil your dreams! By the way, you have told me that now a days public treat people like you with bad terms, what was the scenario when your elders used to perform this Jhumur at the courts of the kings and Zaminders? I think people didn’t humiliate them at that time.
Nayan : No, definitely not! Those were the golden days! (sighs) But from another level we are now in a better state. At least we can now die at peace.
Mahesh : What do you mean by that?
Nayan : Don’t you know the tradition? You are an educated town folk; you should have knowledge about the past tradition of our culture.
Mahesh : Believe me Nayan I’m totally unaware of that particular tradition what you are trying to mean. Actually, we people are completely ignorant about the rich cultural heritage of our country, we don’t even try to recapture and know them. They are dying silently, they are fading out from our memory and that is why I am here to learn from you the past aspects of the almost forgotten Jhumur art and culture.
Nayan : Can you see that Damodar river in front of you? When people from the upper castes die they get a fair cremation there, their bodies are burnt at the bank of that river. But, alas! We had no such fate to have a clean cremation before.
Mahesh : Nayan, please tell me clearly. I am eager to hear.
Nayan : Wait, let me tell you the story of Basinibala then. She was actually a Nachni like me. She had a fascinating beauty as well as a great soul. She always put a smile on her face. She was such a beautiful lady. But suddenly one day she died of some diseases though she was very young at that time (she laments). We couldn’t believe that. Could you imagine that ritual that when a Nachni died she was tied to the back of a cart with the help of a strong rope.
Mahesh : My goodness! The dead body was tied to the back of a cart with a rope!
Nayan : Yes, babu that used to happen! One side of the rope was tied to the leg of the corpse and the other side of the rope was fixed to the back of the cart; and the body was dragged through the road. Oh! What a terrible sight! (covers her face with hands)The body was then thrown outside of the village into some bushes. Could you imagine that the body of such a beautiful lady, which was the centre of attraction to the lascivious eyes of the audience, was torn apart and consumed by the beasts and the vultures.Just think of the fate of a charming body to which most of the men fell victim during theJhumur shows.
Mahesh : But why were they not given a proper cremation? Why were they treated like this?
Nayan : People from the upper castes say thatthis is the rule to be followed, this is the tradition.
Mahesh : So, what happened to Basinibala?
Nayan : After her death Basinibala’s Rasik brought a cart to take the body outside of the village following the tradition.
Mahesh : Rasik ? Who is he?
Nayan : Rasik is the person who plays the drum during the performance. Rasik is an inevitable part of the Jhumur show. Now a days even if the singers are not a part of the performance but the Rasiks are. Actually, there is a secret (winking), these Rasiks are the own people of the Nachnis. They usually keep an affair.
Mahesh : Do they marry ultimately?
Nayan : Ha ha ha…. How can it be? If they marry then the Nachni would become the wife of the Rasik. And who would allow his wife to continue this profession!
Mahesh : Don’t they marry then? Don’t they (the Rasiks) have wives?
Nayan : Yes, they do, some of the Rasiks marry but Sitaram, the Rasik of Basinibala, never married and never had wife. He was madly in love with Basinibala and spent the entire life with her as her Rasik.
Mahesh : Why don’t they get married then?
Nayan : How can they? Actually, Basini had her husband and when he died of Tuberculosis Sitaram offered her to marry but she didn’t agree because of her son. Together they again started to perform and got her son Mukti admitted to a nearby missionary school. Let me continue the story after that. So, when Sitaram was preparing to drag the dead body of Basinibala out of the village and brought a cart for that, suddenly young Mukti appeared and got terribly enraged seeing the entire arrangement. He was carrying a crowbar and a dhamna. Fiercely he told-
(FLASHBACK)
Mukti : I won’t let you drag my mother tying with this cart. I will take her on my shoulder.
Sitaram : Where do you want to take her? Don’t you know the tradition?
Mukti : Yes, I know. But I am not bound to follow that tradition and don’t want to follow that tradition. I will give her a proper burial.
Sitaram : No no, it’s not possible Mukti.
Mukti : Not possible? Why? What’s the problem in it?
Nayan : Your mother was a Nachni and a proper burial is not allowed to her. That is barred by law.
Mukti : Law! Who has created this foul law?
Sitaram : The Brahmins created this law. They claim that they got to know this from their God. So, this is actually our fate, we have to obey this.
Mukti : I would never follow this instruction of the God. In fact, I don’t consider their God as our God who has created such laws for my dead mother.
Sitaram : But we have to stay here Mukti and this society won’t approve your deeds. The upper caste people will throw us out of this society if we do not follow the norms created by them.
Mukti : They have no right to force us to leave this society. It’s their claim that we are not a part of their society, we are apart from them. Then how can they compel us to leave this society which is our own?
Nayan : Oye Mukti, don’t shout like this because you have read two pages or three. If the Thakurbaba gets to know this, he will immediately expel us from here.
Mukti : Why? Is the village their own property? Have they created all these stars, earth, sun, moon, sky themselves? Are these their sole belongings?
Sitaram : Don’t get angry Mukti. All the people from the upper castes are together to inflict pain on us. The head of the village is also with them. They will expel us from this village instantly after knowing this.
Mukti : Huh! They will expel us! It’s not such an easy task Khuro. We have the laws of this country with us.
Nayan : But those laws are not for us Mukti.
Sitaram : Yes Nayan, those laws are governed by the upper caste people. They have bought all these things by their power. Then they will burn our houses and the police will come to arrest and beat us. Then what will we do?
Mukti : Then I will leave this village. In fact, I am not bound and willing to stay here following their dictations. My father died when I was an infant. Then I had only my mother and now she is no more with me (sobs). I can go anywhere else as I wish, I have no one to restrict me now (his voice gets choked).
Sitaram : (with an almost choked voice) Then I am your no one Mukti! Didn’t I love you? Didn’t I cherish you with a fatherly touch since your infancy?
Mukti : Yes, obviously you did and I won’t forget that in my whole life. I did not get the love of my father but got you. But now I want to cremate my mother as per my wish, what’s their busines in that? Why do they poke into our activities always?
Nayan : But no one will accompany you in this task. You will get no one by your side.
Mukti : I do not need them even. I want to take the challenge alone. I will take my mother to the burial ground on my shoulder. I want to set an example.
Sitaram : But do you know that they won’t allow you to cremate your mother at their burial ground.
Mukti : Actually, I will take her to the jungle which we can call our own land. There I will bury her. At least I can protect her corpse from the teeth and nails of the beasts by giving her a proper burial.
Sitaram : Mukti, please wait for a minute. I’m coming to follow you. Let me fire the incense (goes into the hut).
Nayan : Give me that crowbar Mukti, I want to follow you.
Mukti : You! (astonished) Why do you want to go with us? Aren’t you afraid of them? They will throw you out of the village.
Nayan : So what? Let them do what they want, I’m not afraid. All of us have to die one day. I am also a Nachni and they will surely tie me at the back of the cart and drag me out of the village when I will die. Though we are Nachni but we are human being too. They do not consider us as a human being. You have done a great job Mukti. You have inspired all of us, we are not afraid now. Look, how many people are coming here to follow us. Look at them, all the Doms, Bauris, Muchis, Adivasis are coming and how courageously they are walking.
(Sitaram Enters)
Sitaram : Give me that Dhamna, Mukti.
Mukti : No, let me carry that and along with my mother I want to bury all other dead bodies scattered at that place.
Nayan : You are such a brave boy! You are a champion! Listen to what the Adivasis are telling now. They are encouraging you. They will arrange the post death ritual in memory of your mother. From now on we will cremate all the Nachnis when they will die.
Mukti & Sitaram : Yes, they are right. We won’t allow to continue this tradition of dragging the dead bodies of the Nachnis. We won’t follow the order of the upper castes.
(Freeze. Flashback. Again, Nayan and Mahesh are seen on the dais)
Nayan : So, from that day onwards we, the Nachnis, are not afraid to die. We can now die happily. Yeh Babu, what are you thinking? You seem to have lost in your thought.
Mahesh : Oh yes! No, actually I am thinking of those people who are trying to impose all these sordid, heinous rituals on the lower caste people and the Adivasis in the name of God. Are they civilised at all!
Nayan : No, definitely not. They are worst even in comparison to that of the beasts. Let us forget all those things and enjoy the Jhumur- (Smiles and starts singing)
Seya libo, Jacket Libo
Libo dami dami sharee
(Aar) Mukhe paan, chokhe chasma
Haate tiffin carry
Yes, seya libo…..
(Curtain drops)
GLOSSARY :
Nachni : A particular community of women, from the indigenous tribes, who used to dance with a particular type of song called ‘Jhumur’. Earlier, they were hired by the kings and zamindars to perform at their courts. Later the condition deteriorated and they were forced to take the profession of prostitutes for the sake of their livelihood. We can compare their performance with the Tamasha form of Maharashtra.
Jhumur : A particular type of song.
Ghungur: An ornament to wear as anklet. It also produces sweet sound when someone dances.
Babus : Gentlemen. -
Rasik : Nachnis are accompanied by the Rasiks. They use to play the drums during the Jhumur performance.
Thakurbaba : Village head priest
Khuro : Uncle
Dhamna : A sharp tool used by the indigenous people. It is used to dig soil or to cut branches of a tree.