Punjab’s Wandering Minstrels

The family comprises around 50 musicians who carry their dramatic performances to jagratas,weddings,village melas and births apart from proscenium spaces. A typical naqqal performance begins with two actors who,through a series of jokes and improvisations,make satirical comments on politics and society. Chand performs the female roles with elan and confesses that the dances and the jokes frequently get raunchy,and the dialogues are replete with double entendres as the narratives shape into a physical performance. “We develop our characters,moves and dialogues according to the audience. The idea is to create an energy that’s joyous,” says Chand with a laugh,as he instructs his sons,Gurmeet and Surjeet Mastana,both in their early twenties,to get their act together for a new theatrical sequence.

It was late thespian BV Karanth who worked towards bringing the naqqals onto the urban theatre platform. Other theatre directors have since adopted them for shows,among them Chandigarh-based Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry who has been working with the naqqal parivar for more than 25 years. “They have a wide musical repertoire and the variety of sounds that they produce with an array of folk instruments are not confined to any region. Add to this their ability to keep pace with a performance,and it is clear why they always feature in my shows,” says Chowdhry.

Modern theatre has given the naqqals a new identity,taking them on performances to Southeast Asia,Japan,China,Germany,Australia,England,Dubai,London and Uzbekistan. Bahadur Chand is full of memories of Karanth and the family’s association with theatre. “Karanth would say that each saaz has an identity and every instrument a rhythm,don’t lose either. We’ve found a new identity and respect in theatre,having travelled the world over as musicians,and are open to new music with new instruments,” says Chand before he demonstrates a recent skill — using a prayer bowl to create a sound for a sensuous scene between the main actors.

The shift from the naqqal performance to the theatre stage has not been effortless,admits Nadar Ram Mastana. “Theatre is much tougher and we have striven to maintain a balance,keeping alive our family tradition and creating a new form of theatre music that’s both real and spontaneous. This is our life,our stage,” he says. As the family grows,so does their art. “Our children study,but they know that finally they have to come here,sing,dance,make music. What are we if not children of the stage,” he concludes.