|
The simple tribal people of Bihar
express their creative joy through the Chhau dance, Originally a war
dance to perfect fighting techniques, it has over the years evolved
into a narrative ballet.
Hillocks
like lone pebbles on an endless stretch of undulating land, skirted
and bordered picturesquely by the distant forest range and the
serried row of hills. The soil, red-black. The people, mostly
tribals-black complexioned, their eyes clear and bright-the children
of the soil. The thinly sanduned river Kharkai provides the major
life force for the inhabitants of this day stretch of land. And
ancient Jagannath Temple on the river bank, the sudden flicker of
mica, the bare bodied children playing hide and seek, the faint
rumble of distant drums, called ‘Dhamsa’ by the tribals. Al
these become indispensable part of the place- a little peaceful
hamlet called Seraikella. Seraikella was formerly a princely state
which is now a subdivision in the District of Singhbhum, situated
north of Orissa in South Bihar, only thirty miles from the steel town
of Jamshedpur or Tata Nagar.
The
spring season which according to the Indian Calendar, marks the end
of a year and opens up a new one, is celebrated at Seraikella as the
old ‘Chaitra Parab’. Certain rituals are followed such as
carrying a pitcher of water around the village to invoke the god, who
is supposed to ensure prosperity and a good yield of crops. These
rituals lead to the excitement of the people that reaches a crescendo
as the auspicious moment of the special Chhau performance arrives.
Visitors to this place during the spring festival will also get
infected by the heightened exaltation and ecstasy. As the whole
village dances through the night, one definitely gets lured to
mingle with the lively, rustic people.
The
state Singhbhum, in which Seraikella always played a vital role, is
the land of the singh Kings. A long line of Singh Kings have
contributed to its history. It was Darpanaryan Singh who founded this
state in 1205. Since then there was no interference in the supreme
sovereignity of these rulers. The ‘Seven Hundred Hills’ of
Saranda and Bangriposi and the impossible virgin forests ensured a
certain amount of security and cultural autonomy of this land,
rendering it inaccessible to the invaders. For centuries it remained
culturally invincible. Still clashes and little skirmishes among the
local warriors sometimes posed a threat, and the possibility of a
foreign invasion could not be absolutely blown away. A few garhs
and kellas (fortresses) were constructed to shelter and train
a special troop of fighters. To attain perfection in different
fighting tactics and strategies and at the same time to acquire sound
control over one’s physique, a dance was invented-an intentional
modified from of the tribal dance. This dance was named pharikhanda
or the war-dance with shields and swords.
Later,
during the British rule, the shields and swords lost their charm,
overpowered by more sophisticated firearms and the object of the
dance lost its objective and became a skeleton of its original from.
Later this form was given a touch a classical delicacy and a refined
tenderness. The dance became open to creativity, innovation,
imagination and impulses. It attained a classical sophistication,
even maintaining and nourishing the tradition-borne folk elements
inherent in this form. This combination of classicism and folk
elements imparted a unique feature to this dance form and made it
widely acceptable to all people-a supple medium in which is reflected
all that is best in nature. This newly evolved dance was a kind of
narrative ballet, illustrative not only of the elemental nature, but
of the subtle nuances, gestures and movements of the physical
world-both animate and in-animate. This dance came to be known as
the ‘Chhau’ dance.
There
is some controversy over the origin of the word ‘Chhau’.
According to some experts the word ‘Chhau’ is derived from
‘Chho’ which means a mask or a shadow, while according to
others the word is derived from ‘Chhauni’ which means the
barrack of soldiers. All these meanings, however, are related to the
nature and the origin of the dance. Seraikella is the place where
this dance from was born and on the eve of the spring festival, every
year, people celebrate this occasion with the colourful show of
‘Chhau’. The gates of the old Maharaja’s Places are
kept open for the dancers. The courtyard is specially prepared. The
members of the royal household, through the ages, have not only been
the patrons, but also have been taking an active part in the ‘Chhau’
performance.
Small
boys at the tender age of vie are chosen and taken under the tutelage
of their elders and taught the stories of the legends, along with the
imitating gestures to narrate them. The preparation of dancer passes
through three stages. The first one is called chali or the
movement that mimes a particular gait of an animal. At this stage a
disciple has to be trained in a very strict grammar of measured
footwork and posturing, and various twists and movements of the upper
limbs. Al these moves are certain stylized gestures that imitate
the footsteps of militant fighters or animals in action. The next
phase is called upalaya or upheli which is the soul of
the dance. The earlier movements are refined through upalaya and the
subtleties and variations of the movements mould this dance into a
classical medium of aesthetic fineness. The dance, which was
originally a masculine war-dance, now acquires softness and a
tenderness through upalaya which teaches the use of speed with a
controlled movement and mingle it with a rhythmical spasm which is
necessary to portray a domestic scene. An abstract expression is put
into a form by the rhythm of the limbs and the acting of the whole
body. The housewives’ daily chores, the fashionable youth of
the suburb, the surreptitious movements of an animal-all these
rather ordinary sequences are rendered poetic by the nimble twists of
the body and delicately measured, intricate footsteps that are born
of a creative harmony and an artistic fusion between imitation and
imagination.
After
challis and upalayas a dancer goes through rigorous training of the
complicated khel or exercises of sword-play with opponents.
These khels demand a great amount of agility. A guru, chanting a few
mnemonic syllables guides the movements of the dancer who also
memorizes them to count his own footsteps. The strenuous exercises
have a set structure which is strictly adhered to. As it is
difficult to dance long sequences wearing a mask, the items of the
‘Chhau’ dance last from five to ten minutes each. As the
face is covered, there is no scope for facial expressions, only
abrupt movements of the head and neck convey the moods. The static
expression of the mask is animated by the limbs of the performer.
Perhaps it is a major function of the mask, which represents a
mythological character, to lay emphasis on the performance as a group
activity, steering our eyes away from the individual dancer. Without
the mask, the very dance-from would have been changed, and with it a
heritage with its rather collective character.
In
Seraikella, the craft of moulding masks, an art- from by itself, has
been handed down from father to son through countless generations.
After the famous mask-maker, Prasanna Kuma Mahapatra, his son,
Sushanta continues to maintain a high standard of artistic perfection
in the making of masks. At first the expression of a character is
visualized and then given a shape on the mask, moulded from the dark
clay found on the banks of the Kharkai river. The clay is first
dissolved in water, then made into a thick paste. The clay-model,
fixed on a wooden structure is dried for two or three days. A gauze
is wrapped over it followed by two three layers of paper and a
coating of clay. The nose and eyes are carved out by a sharp-edged
knife and the clay scooped out from the hollow of the dried up clay
model. The mask is brushed and painted. This method is otherwise
known as papier-mache. These masks are painted mainly with flat
transparent shades and the lines are bold and clear. Avoiding the
realistic identification the masks take up a symbolical character.
The three-pronged mark and the third eye on Shiva’a forehead
represent vigorous energy and imagination and a small pout of the
lips expresses affection and tenderness. The mask of ratri
(night) has drooping eyes conveying the mood of a mysterious world
lying hidden and fragile in the darkness of the night. The mask of
the deer, made for Banabiddha has eyes knit in anguish.
The stylized gestures of the eyebrows, eyes and mouth are
painstakingly painted to bring out the distinctive character.
The
dancing is accompanied by an orchestra that comprises the local
variations of drums shenai, signa, mandira, flute, and these days
violin, sitar and harmonium also. As the music starts, dots of torch
lights are seen marching in an endless procession towards the ‘Chhau’
mandap (the venue of the performance). People gather from as far as
ten to fiteen kilometers away.
At
present there are two major venues for the ‘Chhau’-Rajbari
(the king’s place) and the stage constructed by the Bihar
Government. The latter is generally crowded with VIPs and officials
but the former has a typically local, regional flavour. It is said
that the princes played a vital role in the evolution of the ‘Chhau’.
The palace for these few days is open to everybody to celebrate the
spring festival.
The
nights of the Chhau dance hold everybody spellbound and as the dance
comes to an end spectators realize with surprise that dawn is
breaking. Items of major interest are aarti (offering a
prayer), mayur (the peacock), nabik (the
boatman), ratri (the night), Radha Krishna etc. In
aarti a priest offcers a lamp and prayer to the god. The mayur which
is choreographic fantasy displays the rapturous pleasure of the bird
at the approach of the monsoon. The nabik dance is unique in its own
way, playing on various symbolic levels of meanings-the boatman
accompanied by his wife, playing his oars, a caught in a ragin storm
and he finally triumphs the evil force in the shape of the storm,
bearing his wife and boat safely to the shore. The storm here stands
for the ordeal that life presents and that man goes through it
towards victory. Ratri has a mysterious, wistful and ephemeral
quality about it. Night descends on the earth spreading a pall of
awe inspiring darkness but as the moon and the stars appear, night
starts frolicking with them. Then the night casts a spell of
caressing oblivion and lulls the weary world to a tranquil sleep.
And a new life, a regeneration is hinted at the end. In sabar the
trials, the defeat and the final victory of a hunter in a forest are
portrayed with an unmatched ingenuity. Radha-Krishna celebrates the
eternal love of the divine lovers. Through these dances the
performers communicate with the spectators. This rapport between the
artiste and the audience is of great importance in the performance of
Seraikella Chhau.
The
Chhau dance erases the class and caste divisions of society. The
dancers come from the upper castes, as well as from the tribal
communities. Their intermingling and total team work is necessary
for the performance. The themes and gestures combine myths with
regional folklore which add richness and colour to the central from
of the dance. These regional features-the people, their costumes,
the changing of seasons-all go into moulding this traditional art
from which attracts people from all over the world.
| 
