BHAONA: ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS AND RULES OF STAGES

Arup Saikia

(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)

Performing art is not an unseen or abstract matter. It’s quite tangible and has different tastes from person to person. As a touchable object, any structure has to be constructed to display it. Therefore, the stages are invented. This is the origin of stages in cultural history.

Before the performance of the first Assamese drama, Chihna Yatra, Sankardeva planned to visit Namghar. That is the Namghar where “Chihna Yatra” was played, built temporarily by bamboo and thatch. Bhaona was born into religion. So, some rules are maintained as per religious norms.

According to western society, there are four kinds of stages: proscenium, traverse, arena, and thrust. There is another popular Japanese stage, Kabuki.

Traverse, like Namghar, was the only stage that the people of Assam were acquainted with formally until the emergence of the new era. But even before the advent of the British, unknowingly, the stage (Namghar) of Bhaona had changed. During the reign of Ahom monarch Rajeshwar Singha (1751–1769), Bhaona was organised and presented in honour of the kings of Manipur and Cachar. Nearly hundreds of actors participated simultaneously. It is not possible for hundreds of actors to perform in a Namghar at a time. So, definitely, makeshift arrangements of stages were made. This also indicates that the Bhaona is one step away from the traditional stage of Namghar.

Regulations of Bhaona outside Naghar: Originally, Bhaona was a Lord Krishna-centric play, a product of the Bhakti movement. So some spiritual and religious rules are observed while performing. First of all, “Guru Asana or Singhaasana” have to be established on the eastern side. The actors have to enter from a western direction. But in Hazari or Baresahariya Bhaona, many Bhaonas are simultaneously performed under a single roof. Then here, how are the rules of east-west directions maintained?

BARESAHARIYA ARCHITECTURE—Baresahariya Bhaona is one of the greatest expressions of Sankari culture. It has been performing since the last reign of the Ahom Empire. It was started by Hukai Dekagiri, the great-grandson of Saint Sankardeva. Ahom monarch Kamaleswar Singha was at the helm of governance then, in 1797. Jamugurians have been continuing this legacy since that time and performing once every five or six years. This is one of the most glamorous Bhaona festivals in Assam. It started with five or six Bhaonas. But nowadays, twenty-one Bhaonas are performed in a single night simultaneously. Non-Assamese speakers and tribal people also participate and occupy separate “Khola’’ or stages. 

One of the greatest sons of Jamugurihat, Sonitkonwar Lt. Gajen Baruah, is the modern architect of the present Baresahariya pandal. Since the 1970s onwards, the structure and look of Bhaona have changed. It is mainly made of thatch, bamboo, betelnut trees, etc. The contribution of many rural engineers is also immense. The pandal of the Bhaona is built as a lotus flower. The Sanctum Sanctorum, or Guru Asana, is situated at the centre of a lotus-type structure. People pray from all sides. The numerous petals can be assumed to represent various stages of performance. It is called ‘khola’ in Assamese. Entry gates, or “Batchoras,” are built in all directions. So the east-west direction can’t be maintained in a round structure. The area between “Batchora” and the main pandal of Namghar remains vacant, unlike single Namghar. Generally, “Bulani Chora” connects the main, permanently constructed Namghar with “Batchora.” Only one “Bulani Chora” is constructed from the Khola number one to receive the dignified guests. Moreover, the “Monikut cum Cho Ghar” here is constructed just after crossing the “Batchora,” unlike in the western or south-western end of a single or permanent Namghar. These modifications are done at the Bhaona venue for convenience of performance. (N.B. Details are written about the architecture of Namghar in my other article, “Xatra, Namghar and function.”)

Now, the popularity of Baresahariya Bhaona is immense, and it is the most crowd-pulling festival in Assam. The architecture of the pandal is now followed by many in Assam. 

  BHAONA IN STAGES: This is the latest version of Bhaona. The Bihu festival of Assam comes from paddy fields or under banyan trees to modern stages. The same transition happens in terms of Bhaona, too. Change is the role of nature. But the changes within Namghar from the “Chihna Yatra” to the post-Sankari period via Madhavdeva are quite traditional or on the same route or milieu. But from Namghar to various kinds of stages, there is a revolutionary or radical overhaul.

Multilingual Bhaona, led by the socio-cultural organisation “Prajanmya Unmesh,” has been performing on arena, thrust, or proscenium stages abroad. But the ‘Guru Asana’ is compulsory for Bhaona performances. The “Guru Asana” has to be placed, preferably on the right side of the stage. The geographical direction doesn’t matter here. The carrying of “Guru Asana” by air isn’t an easy task in foreign shows. So, symbolic “Guru Asana” or other equipment like “Agnigarh” and “Aariya” made of thick paper or light wood can be used. The Bhaona on arena stages is like the Baresahariya Bhaona. There, ‘Guru Asana’ can be beautifully placed in the middle.

GREEN ROOM: The entire Namghar itself is a stage. There is no seclusion or privacy for the actors while offstage. So there is a need for conveniently two green rooms on both ends of the Namghar. The beauty of spacious Namghar must be kept intact. So the proposed green room should be on both sides of Namghar.

Street Bhaona:  Bhaona is omnipresent in Assam now. It’s going parallel to “Bihu.” Cultural processions or shows before any big event are a very common matter nowadays. Live Bhaona is performed in a street or open vehicle to grace the occasion. Moreover, sometimes Bhaona-like small scenes are performed wearing traditional Bhaona dresses in urban public gatherings. This is mainly done during the day for socio-political awareness purposes. The dialogues are delivered purely in Bhaona style. Any elevated structure, stage, or traditional rites aren’t followed here. This signals how a Bhaona breaks religious boundaries. 

Finally, we hope Bhaona should go hand in hand with modern drama, preserving its uniqueness. 

(Author Arup Saikia is a noted cultural enthusiast, writer, and Bhaona artiste.)