Tamasha, as the form stands today, is a secular, variety entertainment package, mostly catering to the village people of Maharashtra. Its antecedents have been traced back to the practices of ‘khadi gammat’ (literally meaning ‘entertainment given by standing performers’) by Mangs and Mahars. It draws from several folk and popular traditions like Jagaran – Gondhal. The Powadas of Shahirs, Dashavtara, the Gavalana of the Marathi saints poets and other elements from Kathak, and has borrowed stage techniques from the Parsi theatre.

While the style of Tamasha varies from region to region in Maharashtra, by and large a Tamasha performance comprises of two broad sections – the Poorvaranga and the Vaga Natya. As in many other traditional theatre forms, the performance is announced by the percussion beats of the Halgiwala and Dholkiwala. Followed by the other instrumentalist, the Tuntunewala (something like Ektatra) and manjirewala (who plays the cymbals). The Poorvaranga proper begins with the Gana – an invocation to Ganesha, sung by all the male members of the Tamasha troupe. This is followed by the Gavalan, a boisterous spin- off on the Krishnalila where two villagers take on the role of Krishna and his accomplice Pendia, and they stop the gavalans (gopis or milkmaids) on the way to the market. This segment, in which the gavlans seek the protection of mousi (the character of a senior aunt, played by a male actor who retains his masculine appearance but dons a suggestive uparna), is filled with wit, innuendos, teasing and farcical elements, as well as dance.

Next is the Rangbaaji (performing lavani songs) which ingeniously serves to entertain the audience while actors change into their costumes for the Vag Natya. The Batawani is a comic interlude, in which the Sardar (Shahir) and the Songadya (vidushak or jester) vie with each other in telling exaggerated and bombastic tales in a point-and-counterpoint fashion. Then begins the Vag Natya, which is a play proper. Its theme may be drawn from mythology, history, or may be based on social issues, etc. Like the Poorvaranga, the Vag Natya too gives more importance to witty dialogues than to a dramatic action. Vag Natya is infused with lavani songs and dances. The Tamasha performance concludes with the Bhairavi based on raga bhairavi, normally invoking the saint-poets of the Warkari Sampradaay, and the whole show ends in a spirit of bhakti.

From village spaces to the Peshwai courts, from army barrack lines to the proscenium stages of Mumbai and Pune, from gigantic tents set up in grounds outside villages to the popular Marathi cinemas of the 1950s and 1960s, Tamasha had its heyday.  What survives today is a commercial form of mobile theatre which tours different regions of Maharashtra during the Tamasha season which conventionally begins on Dussehra (in October) and lasts till May. Statistically, although the figures indicate a decline in the form with several registered groups closing down every season, yet it is also true that the younger generation is still attracted to the form and are struggling to keep it alive, finding new ways of making it relevant for audiences today.

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