Mobile theatre of Assam and its impact on socio-cultural life

Sanjib Kumar Sarma

(sanjibsarmabajali@gmail.com)

Mobile theatre groups comprise a combination of actors, singers, dancers, directors, action artists, makeup artists, workers, and producers. These theatre troops travel across the state, performing their plays and what makes them unique is that they carry all the necessary equipment with them, ranging from stage material to props. Mobile theatre is one of the most widespread forms of entertainment in Assam. Almost 150-160 mobile theatre groups have come into being in Assam since the first one was started in the 1920s. Around 60 theatre groups perform their plays all over the state at present. These numbers keep changing as many groups close down and new ones start. What these approximate figures clearly show is the widespread popularity of mobile theatre in Assam. This popularity is also very visible, as there are posters, hoardings, and signboards of various theatre groups all across the state. My research looks at the reasons that have kept the mobile theatre of Assam thriving in today's world. It is the biggest revenue-earning industry as well as the most popular form of entertainment in Assam. This is in contrast to the decline of theatre in the rest of India. Most producers of mobile theatre groups argue that it is the people that have made mobile theatre what it is today. The plays are of mixed genres - commercial, historical, religious, social, and as such appeals to every category of the audience. My research on the mobile theatre of Assam suggests that it occupies features of both a counter-public and is part of the larger Assamese public culture. It is often seen as an assertion of Assamese identity in the face of increasing globalization. Yet, at the same time, it has adapted itself to the commercial demands of the time by using the latest technologies and content. It can be read as a counter-public, articulating in some sense a non-elite culture, where members of subordinated social groups are dominant. Mobile theatre has great reach and popularity in rural and suburban areas. It has thrived on the feeling of 'community' and 'collective' that is still present in villages and towns of Assam. For instance, when theatre troops travel from one part of the state to the other, many artists and technicians are housed by the natives of that place in their homes. There is little separation between the performers and the audience. Yet it is not quite a counter-public as they do not necessarily invent and circulate counter-discourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities and interests.

Mobile theatre of Assam has a long bright heritage. Before the starting of the proscenium theatre in Assam, it was the Bengali Yatra Party that satisfied the people's zest for drama in rural Assam. Seeds of later days mobile theatre lay hidden in this yatra started particularly at the initiative of migrant Bengalis. The very word Yatra carries the meaning of travel and mobile. The scholars of the mobile theatre of Assam have been maintaining the identity of a separate type of Yatra in Assam since the very beginning. Tirtharam Bayan of Barpeta started the first Yatra party of Assam at the initiative of Govindaram Choudhury. After the formation of the Siva Kalika Opera Party by Brajanath Sarma in 1921, this artistic pursuit got a commercial goal. The style of performance also changed along with this. Later he established Assam Kohinoor Opera Party. Co-acting was also started at this party. In 1959 Sadananda Lahkar of Pathsala formed Nataraj Opera. In the growth of the mobile theatre of Assam, he and Pathsala contributed a lot. Pathsala is called Hollywood of Assam. In 1963 Nataraj Opera was re-established as Nataraj Theatre by Achyut Lahkar. Since then mobile theatre has kept its winning trend uninterrupted. The term mobile theatre was not used previously. It is known that renowned Assamese social worker Radha Govinda Barua first used this term in the remark book of Suradevi theatre to refer to this particular type of theatre after seeing the performance in Latasil field in Guwahati. It was in 1969. Since then it has been named Mobile Theatre. Since 1963 almost two hundred mobile theatre groups have been entertaining the Assamese audience. Today there are 32 groups of mobile theatres in Assam. It is noteworthy that there is no other theatre party in the world like Assamese Mobile Theatre. It has given Assamese culture a unique.

The Mobile theatre of Assam has been considered the most powerful full-fledged mode of mass media. In this film-crazy, technique-driven world of entertainment, theatre often gets a raw deal. But even amidst the marginalized status of theatres, the mobile theatre of Assam has managed to break free from the constraints that usually confine Indian Theatre. The mobile theatre in Assam has achieved the status of a well-managed company where we find a long list of skilled professionals ranging from actors, producers, directors, dancers, stunt men, prop men, musicians, instrumentalists, and makeup artists, drivers to tailors or cooks to name a few. They have their makeshift tents, and own vehicles and keep staging dramas from one place to another almost for eight months a year. Before the final staging, the artists go through rigorous rehearsals of three to four dramas that are going to be performed for the next eight months without any hiatus.

The Mobile theatre of Assam has acquired the status of a well-managed industry as it offers the scope of direct and indirect employment avenues for almost one lakh people of the state. Each of the mobile theatre groups has eighty to a hundred members of different fields. For these people, this is their sole source of livelihood. Thus, the industry has been playing a strong and responsible economic role for almost sixty years. It is undoubtedly a matter of utmost importance that this industry has been contributing so much to strengthening the economy of a developing state like Assam.

Drama and dramatic performances are the souls of Mobile theatre. So it is a matter of urgency to check their contributions to the treasure of Assamese drama. Being one of the most popular forms of mass media, mobile theatre chiefly aims at the entertainment of the audience. But, even keeping the entertainment principle in focus, they have contributed a large number of Assamese plays which are very rich in their literary, artistic and performative values. Such dramas are not only entertaining pieces of a temporary gimmick but prolific deliberations on different aspects of society, politics, economy, culture or human psychology. Among such classics, mention must be made of plays like Jerengar Sati, Ajak Jonakir Jilmil, Soraguri Chapori, Boliya Hati,Tejal Ghora, Baghjal, Asimat Jar Heral Sima, Karbala Mukhymantri, Surangar Seshat, Prajnma etc. The stage of the mobile theatre has become the most successful platform for dramatic experimentation both in terms of technical fusion and intercultural adaptations. The audience of Assam has enjoyed the staging of technically enriched plays like Titanic, Dinosaur, Mahabharat, Jurassic Park, Iliad, Odyssey, Hijack, Cleopatra, and Kargil, Lady Diana etc. The Assamese adaptations of Shakespearean plays, Greek Tragedies, Works of Kalidasa, and novels of authors like HG Wells, and Thomas Hardy were also historical initiatives taken up by this industry. Renowned dramatists like Phani Sharma, Brajen Baruah, Dr Bhabendranath Saikia, Mahendra Barthakur, Hemanta Dutta, and Sewabrat Baruah used to write plays for the mobile theatres. In short, mobile theatre revolutionized the concept of dramatic performance through its progressive and innovative contributions in all possible fields like production, acting, time management, commercial success, technical experimentations etc. The audience is the prime target of the mobile theatre. Everything related to their production – selection of the stories or themes for their annual productions, the final play, selection of the actors to play the roles – is done keeping in mind the taste and the expectations of the audience. Other than oratory and certain forms of music, drama is the only art that is designed to appeal to a crowd instead of to an individual. The mightiest masters of the drama recognized the popular character of its appeal and wrote for the multitude. The crowd, therefore, has exercised a potent influence upon the dramatist in every era of the theatre. The mobile theatre is primarily a commercial cultural enterprise and therefore they have always been trying to cater to the hunger for the entertainment of its consumers. For a certain period, the mobile theatre was the solely available medium of entertainment for the rural folk of Assam. Therefore, the theatre companies, while scripting or staging their dramas, always took care of both entertainments as well as education. This education was not about formal or curriculum-based education, rather it refers to messages on different sociopolitical, and socio-cultural issues that were disseminated under the guise of dramatic enactment.

While talking about the uniqueness of Assam, Dr Bhupen Hazarika once said that mobile theatre is the identity of the state of Assam. But, in recent years, the industry is found to be suffering from so many issues that its survival is also under question. In such a situation, the concerned intellectuals of Assam should go for constructive feedback and recommendation so that the industry can be brought back to the real track. In this process, the government should play an active role and should support to empower the industry both financially and culturally.