Tamasha
Tamasha, Maharashtrian folk art
Tamasha (Marathi: तमाशा) is a traditional Marathi folk art form. often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India.[1] It has also been the subject of several Marathi films. Some Hindi movies have also included Tamasha-themed songs in the past.
The word has spread to Hindi, Urdu and Marathi, but is of Persian origin and means "fun" or "play". Colloquially the word has come to represent commotion, or any activity or display with bustle and excitement,[2] sometimes ironically in the sense of "a tempest in a teacup".
Traditional Tamasha is influenced by many Indian art forms and draws from such diverse traditions as kaveli, ghazals, Kathak dance, dashavatara, lalit and kirtan. There are two types of Tamasha: dholki bhaari and the older form, sangeet baari which contains more dance and music than drama. In Maharashtra, the Kolhati and Mahar groups are traditionally associated with the performance of Tamasha.[3]
Tamasha in other languages
In Maharashtra, there are two types of Tamasha, first is DHOLAKI FADCHA Tamasha and the other is SANGEET BAARICHA Tamasha. Dholaki Fadcha tamasha is complete art, which includes song, dance, and theater. Now in Maharashtra there are only 18 to 20 full time tamasha parties. Each tamasha manadal performs approximately 210 days in all over Maharashtra and also some border villeges of Karnataka and Gujarat. Raghuvir Khedkar with Kantabai Satarkar Loknatya Tamasha Mandal is Maharashtra's most popular tamasha mandal.
- In the Telugu and Kannada language "tamasha" means funny.[4]
- In the Kiswahili language "tamasha" means show or festival.
See also
To learn more about the real life story of a tamasha artist, please read the book KANTABAI SATARKAR, which is the biography of a well-known senior tamasha artist Kantabai Satarkar, written by Santosh Khedlekar.
Notes
- ^ The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre by James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ("Tamasha"; pp 108-9)
- ^ No Aging in India: Alzheimer's, The Bad Family, and Other Modern Things by Lawrence Cohen ("The Zagreb Tamasha"; pp 15-18)
- ^ The Cambridge guide to Asian theatre by James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ("Tamasha"; pp 108-9)
- ^ Women writing in India: 600 B.C. to the present. The twentieth century by Susie J. Tharu and Ke Lalita
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