• Jatra: The process of transformation of the traditional theatre genre of Bangladesh

УДК: 792.01(549.3)

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-1-27-49

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Abul Basher MD Ziaul Haque Bhuyan

Assistant Professor at the Department of Theatre and Performance
University of Dhaka
Dhaka, Bangladesh
E-mail: ziatheatre@gmail.com

Jatra: The process of transformation of the traditional theatre genre of Bangladesh

Abstract

The article focuses on the traditional religious and conflict-free genre of jatra and its transformation process under the influence of various factors into a secular theatrical form based on conflict. The absence of conflict in the traditional genre was for the particular philosophical and religious view of ancient India, the young state of Bangladesh inherited that culture. The jatra genre was constantly changing. The Gaudiya-Vaishnavism movement of Hinduism that emerged in the fourteenth century became a notable social phenomenon of the Middle Ages. It made jatra extremely popular, which allowed this genre to become one of the means of spiritual communication with God. In the fifteenth century, based on Jayadeva’s religious poem Gita Govinda emerged the genre of natgit, which in the sixteenth century transformed into Krishna jatra. In the eighteenth century, the final secularization of the genre took place, and a “new jatra” was formed, absolutely secular in its content. In the nineteenth century, as a result of competing with the European theatre, the conflict appeared in jatra as a clash of opposing views. In the twentieth century, jatra was considered by the nationalist movement of colonial India, especially in Bengal, as an instrument of social reform and political protest. The article analyzes the factors that influenced the assimilation and synthesis of social, religious, and political aspects of jatra throughout the entire period of the genre’s formation.

Keywords

Gitagovinda, plot, natgit, Chaitanya, Krishna jatra, Gaudiya-Vaishnavism, atman, Brahman, Swadeshi jatra.

For citation

Bhuyan A. B. MD Ziaul Haque. Jatra: The process of transformation of the traditional theatre genre of Bangladesh. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2022, no. 1, pp. 27–49.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-1-27-49

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Received: 22.09.2021

Revised: 19.01.2022

Accepted: 12.02.2022