Bhaand Pather

Folk Dance of Kashmir

Thomas Moore, a well known Irish poet, has sung in praise of the lovely valley of Kashmir in such wonderful lines.

Who has not heard of the vale of Kashmir With its roses the brightest the earth ever gave, Its temples and grottos and fountains as clear, As the love-lighter eyes that hang over the wave

Kashmir is certainly called Paradise on the Earth; to a poet her sights and sounds are a source of inspiration. Truly, exclaimed Mughal Emperor Jehangir, This is the paradise of which priests have prophesied and poets sung From the ancient period of time Kashmir has been regarded as the most beautiful place in the world, but irrespective of its beauty it is also well known for its diverse culture, dance, drama and music. It is because of this rich and varied cultural background, that the valley has nourished a number of luminaries in her lap, who paved for the development of fine arts and music in the whole sub-continent. The Folk dances of Kashmir are world renowned. The NILAMATA PURAAN , which is the oldest record and source of valleys cultural heritage and it provides the reader with ample evidences that the people of valley were always merry making and these things formed the very core of

their day to day life. The people of Kashmir are full of romantic spirit and have a deep liking of refreshing cultural activities. Right from the beginning of dropping the seed in the field up to the time of harvesting, people celebrate numerous festivals associated with the various phases of cultivation. The specialty of all these festivals was the display of performing arts like drama, dance and music. Irrespective of their poverty and hardships, people of the valley were always merry making. Their life was full of fun and frolic, but with the lapse of time, the well organized and well established tradition of dance, drama and music deteriorated gradually and was reduced to simple folk tradition. But still the folk tradition is like and enjoyed by the people of valley. The well known folk artists of the valley loved and liked by the people were Bhaands, Ladishah, Tomboris and The Damaliis. They were all professionals and had no training except their family tradition, in a way they were born artists, full of talent. They loved the art even more than their life. The art they performed was in their flesh and blood. There are various types of folk dances in Kashmir but the main and important one are the Bhaand Pathers, Rou, Ladishah, Hikkit etc. Among all the folk dances the Bhaands are the most common and popular entertainers of the people of the valley even at present. The popular folk tradition Bhaand Pather have derived its name from the Sanskrit word BHANA-PATRAA (bhana means Bhand & Patraa means Pather or Drama). Among afore mentioned traditions, the Bhaands were the most renowned entertainers of the people. The performance of the Bhaands is called a JASHIN. It is not a regular drama but a combination of various parts which were called as Pathers. Jashin or Bhaand Pather is the extempore oral drama without any formal script. The story of the Bhaand Pather is the reflection of the events of the society. The composition of Pather is dealing with the burning problems of the times, some natural calamity or some social evil. But it is not always dealing with the affairs of the society; it also consists of myths and stories. It is because of this fact that though the theme of the Pathers always remains unchanged, but the dialogues changes from place to place and performance also. History knows very little

about the origin of the Bhaand Pather. However we can observe some evidences from the great book of Kashmirs history THE RAAJ TARAGINI written by a world famous historian KALHANA PANDITH. Jashin or Pather ends with a comic event and this thing is clear enough that Bhaand Pathers have inherited something from old Sanskrit drama also. Every Pather or Jashin has a different theme and name and one Pather or Jashin is not connected with another Pather. For performing a Bhaand Pather or Jashin, no theatre or stage is required. It is generally performed in open air, under Chinar Tree (Maple Tree) or walnut tree or in some open space. People form a ring around the artists and the Jashin is started with the music of Surnai (shehnai), Dhol music and also ends with the same. To perform a Jashin, there is no binding of time and its length varies from several hours, with an interlude of dhol or table beating and shehnai playing. There is no specific time for a Pather or Jashin to perform. It can be performed in any time of the day whether morning or evening, but the most preffered time is the early evening. The well known Pathers presented by the Bhaands are the Greece Pather, Batae Pather, Gosani Pather, Watal Pather, Bakerwal Pather, Darza Pather and Raza Pather etc. Besides the above mentioned Pathers, there are also various number of Pathers, but these are the most common to all people of the valley. Sarcasm, wit, humourand slangs are the things which make the audience enjoy a certain Pather. The artists of the Bhaand Pather generally wear the Kashmiri traditional dress PHIRAN, with an AARAK CHEENI cap. In addition to this, there is a well trained dancer who is wearing a PAESHWAAZ and this artists main task is to sing and perform various types of dances along with. In a Pather, the presence of a MASKHAR (clown) is very essential. He is the person who makes the whole atmosphere electric with his utterance and funny actions. Facial expressions of the artists are a thing to observe by the audiences at the time of Jashin. There is no female character and this character is generally performed by a handsome and young artist. The various musical instruments used in the Bhaand Pathers are SURNAI, DHOL, TABLA & DAHARA. In a Jashin there are generally two artists with Surnai, one with Dhol, one with Tabla and the other with Dahara. In addition, there are three or more acting artists and one Maskhar.

Bhaands are found almost everywhere in Kashmir valley, but the famous in them are the Bhaands of WATHORE, BUMZOO, YECHGAAM, IMAM SAHAB, BEERU, PALHALAN, BALPORA, BUMAI, DRUGMULLA and AKINGAAM, who are following their old age tradition, through some of them are trying to give the folk art a modern touch. With the lapse of time, the Bhaand Pathers has deteriorated and are rarely found in valley nowadays. Bhaand Pather, which is the most popular and common folk dance medium of Kashmir, if given a proper direction, can be the corner stone for the bright future of theatre movement in the valley. But, alas none seems to care and in recent time this cultural heritage will be witnessed only in history.