| The Pandava dance theatre illuminates social
issues and informs local culture more perhaps than any other text. The folk version of the
epic Mahabharata is constantly cited to explain almost everything from the nature of
polyandry to the well being of the community through song and dance sequence and spreads
the message of peace and harmony by possession, which emphasize the presence of divinity,
that is constantly present and solemnise the whole sequence of the performance. The textural or classicist structure of the Mahabharata epic
composed by Ved Vyasa is a unified thematic representation. However, there are variation
found all over India, especially in the oral representation of the Garhwal Himalayas
manifested in the form of the Pandava Dance performance, an enactment of the ethical
history transmitted through the performative art. All the Mahabharata characters,
particularly the five Pandava brothers, their mother Kunti and Draupadi their consort are
recognised by these dance forms which are performed by the folk artists who personify
these characters and are also possessed by them.
Although there are certain variations in these dances in
different regions of Garhwal which may be the reflection of continuously changing living
traditions. The classicist or textual version of the epic Mahabharata is the structure
consisting of innumerable episodes, reflecting the perception of various communities. The
epic has usually four aspects: oral, performative, written and pictorial traditions. These
aspects however do not have equitable presence and there is a great amount of variance in
this respect. The Mahabharata tradition is present in folk form in the Garhwal Himalayas
and it’s dominating aspects are oral and performative, preserved in the religious
folk songs knowing as ‘Jagars’ which are sung throughout the night by
‘Jagari Purohit’ accompanied by the drummers, locally known as ‘Das’
or ‘Ouji’ and the dances by the ‘Paswa’ or medium personifying the
characters and the characteristic dance of the individual Pandavas and their consort
Draupadi.
The two aspects are most vibrant and overshadow the other
two aspects, but all the same they co-exist and interact amongst themselves by making the
distinction between folk and classical irrelevant which is the true embodiment of nature
and the role of art in the lifestyles of the people, preserved in the living continuance
of the Mahabharata, present in the form of the Pandava dance and theatre of the Garhwal
Himalayas.
Richa Negi |
