Gambhira is a ritual mask dance which originated in undivided Malda, North Bengal of undivided India at least about 1500 years ago. We find the mention of Gambhira in the writings of the Chinese traveller Huen Tsang (630AD) and in the paintings & sketches of the PALA period. This dance is enacted by people of Proto-Australoid origin mainly Koch - Mondal, Rajbanshi, Paliya - a large Dravidian tribe of North Eastern & Eastern Bengal, among whom there are grounds for suspecting some admixture of Mongolian blood. Tribals & Non-Caste Hindus were mainly the organisers of this festival though these day we find Hindus of higher caste joining in but they are very few.
Though today we see the deity of Lord Shiva at the centre of this ritual it had started off with the worship of the Zero or the cipher which is actually the Sun god.Thus it is rooted in fertility cult.
The religious rites & services are done during the day. In the night song and mask dance take place (solo & group).Subjects are mainly mythological in character but contemporary sociopolitical twists has also been incorporated. Characteristic of these dances are ritualistic, imitative, magic, and of Theomorphic Divinity and above all is a dramatic art of Religio-magical, Animistic and Shamanistic in nature .
Gambhira masks are basically a 'Proper Mask' & not a 'Mask Ette'or a 'Maskoid'. It has certain kinship with Tibetan Mask. They both depict animal figures specially supernatural & mythological in character. Both are connected to TANTRIK practices and absolutely religious in nature.
These masks are made of NEEM wood (Scientific Name: Azadirachta indica A.Juss. Family: Meliaceae) which is considered to be very auspicious by the Indians and has many medicinal properties.These masks are preserved in personal temples and are handed down over the generations. All other things like the Masks Props, Dresses, Make up, and ornaments are handmade using local resources.
Before the ritual dance is performed these masks are idolized and prayers are offered by the chaste Brahmin Pundits. An invocation ceremony takes place where Prana the vital life force or energy is ushered into these masks. After the ceremony the masks are placed back to their respective temples. All year round they are revered and venerated. It is said that spirits take possession of the dancers during the festival period .
Though it started of as a Tribal Hindu festival with the spreading of Buddhism
(Lord Buddha’s birthplace is only 500KM away which in pan Indian standards is quite near.) Tantrik features of Buddhism crept in. Many centuries later when the Muslims came to this part of India they joined in. As Islam incorporated the Vedic ideas of the SELF and the secrets of YOGA from the Hindus a Muslim sect evolved called the Sufis. Thus the Muslims joined Gambhira and started calling Lord Shiva as Nana which literally means Grandpa in Urdu. Many of the dances bear stark resemblances to Muslim Lifestyles. Even lately when the Europeans descended on this land the Gambhira artists picked up their ways and presented them in hilarious ways. Though Christianity never directly entered this folk arena, lots of Christian influences can be found as many Tribals converted to Christianity as a result of Missionary activities during the colonial rule but carried on participating in this festival.
The folk content of the folk drama part in the past were based on individual and local problems. After the world wars socio-political perspectives crept in. This was mainly the contribution of the above mentioned muslim scholars. This helped Gambhira song and drama to gain an universal character of Pan-Indian folk culture. Gambhira folk Drama speaks of social consciousness and mass education and it is here that it resembles Street Drama.
Gambhira always ends with an universally acceptable solution & the dialogues are not pre-meditatively written and depends more on improvisation and extempore. According to the direction of the Adhikary (director) the actors loosely decide on the subject matter inside the arena itself and enacts impromptu out of their unfailing wit & presence of mind. This surely brings out their individual skill and talent. Though the actors enjoy celebrity status it is mainly the lyricist who compiles the original songs. Gambhira songs are satirical in nature but there are humour in many places. Pun, jest, mockery, gesticulation and dialogues are used in a package which is prickly and hits one like a whip.
Among the characters we find Lord Shiva who is pot bellied and has a trident, he symbolizes the Sarkar (government) and there is a person generally very thin wearing tattered clothes who is the poor common man . The drama mainly unfolds where the common man allege and accuse Lord Shiva (or Nana as he is fondly called mainly by the Muslims and the name of this film is ‘Nana Hey’ which literally means ‘hey grandpa.’) for the poor state of political economic social and other state of affairs in the area and the country. A dialogue between Shiva and this commoner is comical but cocooned in hard thorny realities of life. An element of generation gap seems to show between the two where the commoner blames Lord Shiva for not doing enough for them. But there is no element of disrespect as in India elders are traditionally held in high esteem.
This is the objective of the drama where the authority is beseeched by the poor downtrodden masses to help them out of their troubles and problems in their lives which the Sarkar had always vowed. This folk art is an absolute delight to the senses with its colorful dresses, exceptional masks, soulful & sometimes satirical songs and spiritually & intellectually stimulating along with its satirical & comical dialogues and enactment.
This documentary film is made (28min single episode) in native Bengali language which was aired by Doordarshan the National Network of India and was shot in 1997-98. This art form is on the verge of becoming extinct.
Watch this film in youtube.com:
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Books for reference:-Encyclopaedea of World Art.Vol-ix pg 519-21 /Vol-xiv pg-67
Prodyut Ghosh-Gambhira:traditional Mask Dance of Bengal.Sageet Natak,Vol.53-54
Wentz-Tibetan yoga (Oxford
Tantra Yoga Pg-2.W.H.Dall-On Masks,Liberts Pg-93.Collier’s Encyclopaedea-Vol 20 Pg-560.Kern-Manual of Buddhism, Pg-133.
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