A SEARCH FOR A BANGLADESHI IDENTITY

For a country as small in size as Bangladesh it has an amazing variety of performing arts,
both folk and urban. There are too the arts of various ethnic groups like that of the
Manipuris, the Santhals, the Garos, the akhains of the Burmese tradition and that of the
!umma people of the hill tracts in "hittagong bordering the #rakan Mountains. This
diversity is not valued enough. Fortunately, the influence of the visual media is only
recently making inroads into rural areas and most of these traditions continue to live on in
some form or other. By and large, ho$ever, it is the Bengali tradition that predominates
over the others. But ascertaining ho$ e%actly Bangladeshi identity differs from the
greater Bengali identity has been a struggle to resolve, especially in the sphere of the
performing arts.
&f the songs that they sing and the dances they dance creatively describe the people of a
nation, then it is definitely the lilting folk songs of rural Bangladesh, enthralling the
imagination of people living in all of '(,))) villages, $hich may be called the most
definitive genre of the performing arts of Bangladesh.
Folk mileu
Folk music ranges all the $ay from the $orking*man+s soulful songs like the bhatiali of
the fisherfolk and the bhawaiya, sung by bullock*cart drivers, to songs of the ever
popular indigenous narrative dramas like jatra and jari. Some$here $ithin this vast
repertoire of lyrical music are the spiritual songs, the radical songs of the bauls or
$andering minstrels, the kirtans of the vaishnava devotees, and the devotional songs of
-ason a.a, the poet /ing of Sylhet. 0e can say $ith certitude that it is the tradition of
musical debate kno$n as kobigaan, literally the song of the poets, $here theology and
religion are debated $ith much fervor, that have through the years ensured that the
common folk continue to 1uestion and 1uery age old interpretations of canonical te%ts.
# boyaat is an elucidation and 2one $ho elucidates+ is a boyaati. Bangladesh is the home
of 3),))) or more boyaatis, including about a couple of thousand $omen boyaatis, $ho
make a living off the staging of these kobigaans all over the country. These are non*
literate performers $hose $ealth is an oral tradition $hich teaches them the intricacies of
cannonical te%ts like the Quran, the Bible, the Gita and the Tripithaks. The kno$ledge
of the traditional boyaatis is easily ascertained from the ease $ith $hich they deliberate
on these te%ts through their songs. Traditionally performances are staged under
makeshift arrangements at street*corners, under the open skies in fields near mazaars,
tombs of saints, or near the local mos1ues and are mostly performed in the evenings,
continuing all night long.
Theatre in rural Bangladesh too takes place in similar venues and is narrative in form
denoting an act of presentation in $hich a single performer describes an event and4or
portrays various characters related to the event, all in third person. The performance may
be in prose or in lyric and the performer may be accompanied by instrumental and4or
vocal music rendered by a group of musicians and choral singers. The themes of the
narrative vary from the mythological to secular. # popular theatre related to muslim saints
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and legendary heroes is the jarigaan. &t commemorates the death of &mam -osain, son of
5rophet #li, at /arbala.
That Bengalis, in both the Bengals, rarely dance is another matter. This says, too, a lot
about them. 6es, there are a fe$ ritual dances here and there but nothing as gorgeous as
the bihu, chau or raslilas of neighbouring regions.
Urban culture
There is too, of course, the culture of the metropolis, mostly, a little at a distance from the
above described $orld of ra$, untrained and passionate music and theatre. This is the
$orld of the bhadralok, or genteel folk, $hom Macauly, the architect of British &ndia+s
colonial policy, had envisioned almost a couple of hundred years ago, as 2a class who
may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons
Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, words and intellect+.
Fortunately, the heart remained South #sian. 0hatever $as imbibed from the $est $as
later given a local flavor and the fortunately a total overhauling never took place. So,
today the metropolis is $here local culture meets the global $ithout trepidation and ne$
forms of performing arts continually take shape. The process continues, giving some,
taking others.
Teatre
Theatre in Bangladesh is one such process. 0ith its roots in the language movement, and
inspired by the ne$ $ave theatre of the &ndian 5eople+s Theatre #ssociation 7&5T#8,
theatre in Bangladesh has been a po$erful tool for cultural activism. &t never gave in to
the demands of commercialism.
&n the early 9)s, $ith :agorik :atya Sampraday+s staging of 2Baki &tihash+, a play by
Badol Sarkar of /olkata, theatre groups began regular staging of plays in e%change of
tickets. This $as definitely a proscenium art, taking refuge in 2dialogic theatre+ and very
different from the open air performances of the indigenous 2narrative theatre+. The form
and the te%t $ere borro$ed but the passion belonged to the land. Several groups $ere
formed. The leading ones $ere Theatre, ;haka Theatre, :atya "hakra and ;haka 5adatik
among others. Though, initially translations of Shakespear, &bsen and Brecht or even
plays by Tagore and plays by play$rights from 0est Bengal $ere resorted to, very soon
plays by Bangladeshi play$rights $ere being $ritten. They, ho$ever, continued to be in
the dialogic styles of the $est. Syed Shamsul -u1, #bdullah #l*Mamun, Mamunur
ashid emerged as leading play$rights.
The most interesting development, ho$ever, $as the adoption of the folk narrative forms
by the Bangladeshi play$rights. Beginning $ith Selim #l ;in+s 2"haka+ 73<<)8, directed
by Syed !amil #hmed and produced by ;haka Theatre, a $hole ne$ style of theatre
began to take shape proudly using collo1uial language and folk forms. This $as
furthered by the establishment of ;epartments of Theatre in the ma.or universities of
Bangladesh under the apt tutelage of theatre personalities like Salim #l ;in, Syed !amil
#hmed et al. Simultaneously, the theatre movement had been spreading into the districts.
&ts gaining popularity inspired an entire ne$ generation of young play$rights to stage
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theatre in this ne$ format. For Saymon >akaria+s 2:a$ noiramoni+ 7=))=8, directed by
:asiruddin 6usuf, the space $ithin the four $alls of the auditorium $as totally
transformed to give an ambiance of the outdoors. 2Bishad Shindhu+ of ;haka 5odatik is
another outstanding drama in this form. The formation of the 2Bangladesh Gram Theatre+
in 3<() $as another innovative move that tried to not .ust encourage folk theatrical
traditions, it also encouraged young theatre activists to e%periment $ith ne$ forms of
theatre using the lessons of both the 2dialogic+ and the 2narrative theatre+. Theatre+s
search for a Bangladeshi identity seemed to have ended.
5resently theatre in Bangladesh is a thriving movement $ith a number of other
movements branching from it into social theatrical forms such as eco*theatre and theatre*
for*development. "onstraints of financial sponsorship and the competition from cable
channels of Television continue to be ma.or obstacles, but the movement continues. #n
offshoot of this movement has been the induction of theatre activists into television and
film making. #n impediment in theatrical circles has been the dearth of female voices in
the policy making of theatre activism. &f not in theatre proper, $omen are, ho$ever,
finally taking initiatives to enter into decision making roles in T? productions and films.
!u"ic
The total isolation of @ast Bengal from greater &ndia after the partition in 3<A9 had an
adverse effect on the practice of the classical forms of music in this region. The loss of
great musicians like Bstad #lauddin /han and Bstad @nayet /han $as a loss that the
musical scene hasn+t yet been able to recover from. This $as of course replaced aptly by
great musicians like #bbasuddin and the poet !asimuddin $ho started e%perimenting $ith
the folk genre but in urban environs. The baul songs of Calon Shah and devotional songs
of -ason a.a $ere also given an urban form during this period. The other presence $as
that of Tagore and :azrul. The practice of their genres of music $as taken up $ith great
zeal and continues to dominate the musical arena. ;uring the language movement
"hayanaut, one of the leading schools of music, started to celebrate the Bengali ne$ year,
5ohela Boishakh, at da$n of the first day of the ne$ year in an open air arena, little
kno$ing that it $ould become an iconic celebration of all Bangladeshis. Today it is
Bangladesh+s ma.or festival. This has led to the adoption of the advent of various seasons
as days of celebration, specially spring.

The other initiative by "hayanaut $as the dissemination of the disciplined teaching of
abindra Sangeet by organizing competitions and $orkshops, for such teaching, all over
the country. Today Bangladesh can boast of having fe$ of the best e%ponents of
abindra Sangeet of both the Bengals. &t must, ho$ever, be ackno$ledged that the
&ndian "ouncil for "ultural elations has played a 1uiet but definite role in the
promulgation of both music and dance in Bangladesh by offering scholarships to young
aspirants of music from the 9)s on$ards.
Dance
0hat $as not has come to be, $hen it comes to dance in Bangladesh. Though an avant*
garde style, follo$ing the likes of the Bday Shankar dance movement, had been present
throughout the isolative years of the 5akistani regine, classical dance started to take root
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in Bangladesh only from the eighties on$ards after the return of several dancers $ho had
completed tutelage in &ndia under great Gurus like Bir.u Mahara. and Ceela Samson.
Fortunately too, in the eighties Shantibala Sinha, a disciple of Guru Bipin Singh, settled
in Bangladesh, due to marital ties, giving an impetus to the forgotten Manipuri style of
dance. #ll this $as a great boon for the Tagoreans. Tagore+s dance drama gained much
polish after the amalgamation of this disciplined style. &n fact, Tagore+s dance dramas
had al$ays been popular in Bangladesh but no$ they gained in style and continue to be
performed regularly.
Contem#orar$ !u"ic
For the last t$enty years there has been a popular rock scene in Bangladesh $ith the
numbers of concert goers steadily increasing. #n interesting development, though, in the
last couple of years has been the unprecedented popularity of a fusion of folk songs $ith
$estern instruments popularized by contemporary musical bands. &t seems music in
Bangladesh has done a full circle, .ust like theatre. Spiritual music is back but in a more
global guise. &t isn+t unusual to $itness an entire stadium $ith an audience of E,))) or
more young people rocking to the lyrics of Calon+s lyrics.
A continuin% #roce""
"ultures and identities are not fi%ed values but are more a process. The performing arts
being part of this process are constantly undergoing change. The seventies sa$ a struggle
for identity in BangladeshF the nineties $itnessed a revival of the indigenous genres of
artF but the turn of the century has sho$n us that the arts are part of a continuous
progression of inevitable change, $hich $hile valuing tradition moves on$ards to$ards
ne$er pastures of creativity.
Indigenous Culture of Bangladesh
Within Folk Performances Bangladesh has Ritualistic and Entertainment Theatre. These are
performed all over Bangladesh
Within the Ritualistic Forms of Theatre in Bangladesh we have
- performances of Ramayana !ushan "aan of !urigram# and the $aha%harata
- performances from the $anasha $angala folk diety# variously known as Poddar &achon !ushtia'
Pa%na#' Behular &achardi Tangail' "hatial# (ho% )atra' Royani etc.
- )ari relating the !ar%ala episode within *slamic traditions. This includes the +athikhela martial
game,dance with sticks# performed during $oharram.
- Pir Panchali- performances a%out various Pirs and their prowess. This includes performances of
the myth of Bon Bi%i from Barishal.
.ongs of various life-cycle rituals like %irth' reaching of pu%erty' marriage are also very common.
/s entertainment the following theatre is prevalent-
- )atra
- &osimon
- .hong
Bangladesh also has a tradition of music and de%ate on religious and spiritual su%0ects. These may
%e classified as-
- .ongs of the Boyatis who present de%ates on religious matters through songs. There are 12'222 or
more %oyatis in Bangladesh' of whom 3222 are women.
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- .ongs of the 4%auls5 who are a mendicant sect with very egalitarian %eliefs. They spread their
message through music.
Besides this there are various ethnic communities within Bangladesh. For e6ample-
- /divasi traditions .anthal' "aro etc#
- Traditions of the )umma tri%es of the 7hittagong 8ill tracts
- Traditions of the $anipuris of .ylhet
- Traditions of the Rakhains and Rohingas in regions %ordering $yanmar
- Traditions of the nomadic 4%ede5 community

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