Tamasha artists in Maharashtra cast off Covid-19 losses – but the clock is ticking

“This year, things are good. We are booked to perform for almost all days in Chaitra and Vaishakh. Only 10 free days are left. The mood is upbeat in villages where residents want entertainment and are ready to pay for it,” says Punekar. She speaks about new songs on flowers and the rain and a new play on the Indian Army to be performed for villages.

Narayangaon is an annual ritual, a meeting ground for tamasha groups and buyers for the shows.

The mood of achhe din (good days) has permeated in Narayangaon, the largest such fair in the state, where tamasha groups from Sangli, Satara, Sangamner and other parts of Maharashtra congregate, pitch their tents and welcome village leaders who have come to book shows. The fair is an annual ritual, a meeting ground for tamasha groups and buyers (usually a village sarpanch or mukhiya), for the shows.

The colourful tents at Narayangaon are dominated by boards announcing the groups that are named after the founder, such as Jagankumar Balvedkar and Housarani Punekar, Sandhya Mane Solapurkar, and Dutta Mahadik Punekar. The 30 troupes that have come for the fair this year report excellent sales, with some being paid Rs 3 lakh for an evening’s program. The team managers, who represent the troupes and meet with buyers, say that the combined earnings of the 30 groups is around Rs 12 crore. Yet, like the tamasha that they put up, the troupe managers add that the celebration is a passing consolation.

The long shadow of Covid-19

“I still remember that lockdown was announced in March 2020. We thought that Covid-19 was something that was happening in foreign countries and this aasamani sankat (natural calamity) would never fall on India. The period between Gudi Padwa and Vaishaki Purnima, which falls on May 12 this year, is very important for us. In 2020, Gudi Padwa fell on March 25. We thought that the lockdown would be over by then and Gudi Padwa would be profitable for us. But we were wrong. It took one-and-a-half years for the world to return to normalcy. In these years, the situation got from bad to worse,” says S K Patil, manager of the group Chhaya Khilare Baramatikar and Dipak Kumar Baramatikar.

“By the end of 2021, as life began to return to normal, everybody wanted to save and meet loans, so we did not generate much revenue,” says S K Patil.

Tamasha, a folk art form that is integrated into the culture of rural Maharashtra, is performed for seven months, beginning in October. The earnings support the artists for the rest of the year. An average tamasha group has 40 artists, besides as many members of staff, such as cooks, technicians, and drivers of vehicles.

Troupes, normally, take loans from private sahukars (money lenders) around May and repay them the next April. The loans sustain payments to artists, purchases of material for shows, and the hiring of vehicles, among others. Demonetisation dealt the first deep blow to the art form. “When the Covid-19 lockdown was announced, our financial pipelines were completely choked. By the end of 2021, as life began to return to normal, everybody wanted to save and meet loans, so we did not generate much revenue. In 2024, the Lok Sabha elections were announced around the time we were to perform. There was confusion about timings and rules, so a lot of programs were cancelled. This is the first normal year after India went into lockdown. Unfortunately, despite the fast booking this year, we are still repaying the loans of Covid-19,” says Patil. Another group says their loan amount had spiraled to Rs 50 lakh, which it is struggling to pay.

Troupes, normally, take loans from private sahukars (money lenders) around May and repay them the next April.

“Covid-19 set us back by 10 years,” says L G Sheikh of Shivkanya Bade Nagarkar. The troupe, which has been booked by villages in 26 districts of Maharashtra, started in 1962, when the artists would travel by bullock carts and perform by the light of flaming torches. There used to be a full tamasha program, beginning with Gan Gavlan in ode to Ganesha and Krishna Leela to Vag Natya, which featured plays that, often, contained social messages about alcoholism and female foeticide.

Twists in the tale

Today’s tamasha performances are heavy on popular Hindi and Marathi music and dances. “Now, the focus is on the orchestra. Where is the audience for the natak? Nobody waits for the natak that starts late at night,” says Sheikh. Outside the tent, the last few village groups are making the rounds of tents.

Balasaheb Borade, sarpanch of Walati village, 15 km from Narayangaon, wants a tamasha troupe for April 22 but everybody is booked. He shifts the date to April 23 and finds a few troupes with open calendars on that day. “Tamasha is a very old art form. My earlier generation used to bring tamasha to the village for the yatra of the Gram Devta. The generation before that did the same. That will not change. We had a meeting on Gudi Padwa, and it was finalised that we would bring a tamasha group. If I do not find anybody free, I will have to consult with the village and finalise another form of entertainment,” he says.

Balasaheb Borade, sarpanch of Walati village, 15 km from Narayangaon, wants a tamasha troupe for April 22 but everybody is booked.

But he adds that it would soon become infeasible for villages to spend a couple of lakhs on tamasha. “The earlier generation did not have access to entertainment, such as films. Today, the mobile phone and TV have brought a range of options to homes. Now, the show starts at 10 pm and the public will see the dances. The moment the natak starts, the people go home. Yet, we have to pay Rs 2-2.5 lakh for a tamasha troupe. It might make more sense to get an orchestra,” he says.

Shrinking season and audiences

Shyam Mahajan, team manager of Bhika Bhima, a famous tamasha troupe that has been booked for 30 days, says that many groups are no longer performing for seven months. “They have reduced the period to 45-50 days of Chaitra and Vaishaki,” he adds. Earlier 3,000 people used to come to see the shows and, now, there are 300 people at some shows. He says that artists’ salaries have risen to Rs 2,000-2,500 per performance, and the lights cost upward of Rs 5,000. At the same time, banks do not support tamasha financially through loans.

An average tamasha group has 40 artists, besides as many members of staff, such as cooks, technicians, and drivers of vehicles.

The established groups, such as Chhaya Khilare Baramatikar and Dipak Kumar Baramatikar, and Kalu Balu, are putting up a fight through consistent performances. “The Baramatikar siblings represent the third generation. Even when they cry, it is in tune. The audience loves them so much that we get repeat bookings at the villages where we have performed once,” says Patil.

Yet, Mahajan stresses that state patronage is the need of the hour. “An MNREGA-style scheme, where tamasha artists get 100 days’ performance at state events, among others, would give us the needed oxygen,” he says. “Else, in five to six years, tamasha is something you will read about in history books, and this year’s earnings at Narayangaon will be a pleasant paragraph,” he adds.