Chau dance is a vibrant, colourful and vigorous form of dance drama emerging from martial practice. Chau dance was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. The stories enacted by Chau dancers were mainly sourced from the epics of Ramayan and Mahabharata. The dancers wear ornate and elaborate masks made of clay and paper mache. Around 308 craftspersons in 115 families at Charida village in Purulia is engaged in making Chau masks which are also collected as home decor items. Rhythmic drum beatings, powerful acrobatic movements and somersaults are characteristics of the Purulia Chau dance. Chau performance in the villages of Purulia start at late night and goes on for hours, however, teams are nowadays staging shows of shorter duration for the urban audience. Physical twists and turns and acrobatics are essential part of Chau that attracts audience. The traditional musical instruments include Dhol, Dhamsa, Charchari, Tikra and Nagra, Mahuri, Sanai and flute. The plays are performed in open areas. Chau dance portrays triumph of good over evil. The stories are based on the mythological tales that propagates moral and ethical values. At present, there are around 450 Chau groups in Purulia where 13,000 artists are practising this folk dance. Among them, total 1973 artists from Purulia are covered under the Rural Craft and Cultural Hub initiative supported by Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T), Government of West Bengal, in collaboration with UNESCO to develop vibrant creative sectors by safeguarding and professionalizing the traditional skills into viable enterprises and ensuring socio-economic inclusion of the poor.
Colourful and ornate masks beautifully express the characters and add grace to this traditional dance. The masks are made of clay and paper mache. Craftspersons living at Charida village in Purulia make these masks.
Traditional musical instruments include Dhol, Dhamsa, Charchari, Tikra and Nagra, Mahuri, Sanai and flute.
Purulia Chau is popular in the western plateau regions of West Bengal. Chau artists are scattered across 14 administrative blocks of Purulia district. Among them Balarampur, Arsha, Jhalda-II, Bundw....
Purulia Chau is popular in the western plateau regions of West Bengal. Chau artists are scattered across 14 administrative blocks of Purulia district. Among them Balarampur, Arsha, Jhalda-II, Bundwan, Purulia-II, Baghmundi, Barabazar, Jhalda-II blocks have higher density of the artists. Presently there are more than 450 groups in Purulia. Apart from rural areas, they get opportunity to perform in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other cities in India. Young people are learning Chau since they are encouraged by the financial benefit and recognition of the Chau artists. Enterprising young artists now also have the confidence to form a group, train their members and perform as they see skilled Chau artists like Jagannath Chowdhury, Sambhu Karmakar and Biren Kalindi are getting international acclaim. Young girls have also come forward to learn this dance form which are performed by male. Recently, two groups have been formed - Mitali Chau Maldih (Girls) and Konapara Harijan Mahila Chau Nritya Dal - which have female team members.
The market for Chau — which was mostly confined to Purulia and adjoining districts of West Bengal and Jharkhand — has now extended all across West Bengal and other parts of the country. More than 30 artists have had multiple exposures on international platforms and have travelled to the UK, the US, Germany, France, Japan and Singapore, among other destinations. With the introduction of Lok Prasar Prakalpa (LPP), many teams are now getting the opportunity to take part in social campaigns. Other than the traditional themes, the team leads have created and designed new plays also. Now most of the leading teams have a script-writer who researches and writes new plays. On many occasions, they are being invited to perform at the opening ceremonies of festivals and exhibitions. Almost 200 artists have performed with West Bengal including Kolkata and around 30 artists have performed in other cities like New Delhi, Goa etc. Around 15 Chau artists have visited international festivals in Seattle International Dance Festival in USA, International Folklore Festival in France and International Folklore Festival BALTICA 2017 in Lithuania.
A Folk Art Centre for Chau has been constructed at Bamnia in Jhalda-II block and at Chelyama in Raghunathpur block, which are now seats of excellence and skill transmission. The rural artists organize a Chau-Jhumur festival in Bamnia for 6 years now. An open stage is designed for the performance around which the audience gathered to see the shows. More than 30 Chau groups usually perform in the festival. Apart from local audience many people from Kolkata and other nearby cities attend the festival. Event organizers from Jharkhand attended all the days of the festival and selected teams for future performances.
Jagannath Chowdhury is a leading Chau dancer from Maldih village of Balarampur block in Purulia district and leads a frontline Chau dance troupe called Mitali Chau Maldih. He started learning Chau at the age of seven under Nepal Mahato, an expert Chau artist. Jagannath has travelled across India and abroad, including the U.K., France, Norway, Japan and Bangladesh.
Baghambar Singh is a leading, veteran Chau dancer from Radhagobindapur village of Baghmundi block in Purulia district. He leads a Chau dance troupe named Nataraj Gobindapur Chau Nritya Party and also teaches Chau dance. He started learning Chau at the age of 10 under expert Chau artist Bhuti Singh Munda. Baghambar has performed at several cities across India.
Anil Mahato is a highly revered, veteran Chau artist from Dubrajpur village of Purulia district. Over 78 years old now, he was initiated into Chau dance under the guidance of late Chau maestro Sadananda Mahato. Anil also leads a Chau dance troupe named Naba Juba Sangha. He has performed in several cities across India.
Kartik Singh Mura is an eminent and senior Chau artist from Purulia district and leads a Chau dance troupe named Adibasi Chau Nritya Dal. He started learning the art from his father, legendary Chau artist and Padma Shri award winner Gambhir Singh Mura. Kartik has performed across India and abroad, including in France, Japan, Israel and Thailand.
Binadhar Kumar from Bamnia in Purulia started learning Chau dance from his father and Guru, Ramnath Kumar, at the age of 14. Binadhar also leads a Chau dance troupe named Radhanath Chau Nritya Bikash Kendra. He has performed across India and teaches Chau dance. He was recognised for his contribution to Chau dance by the Government of India’s Sangeet Natak Academy.
Biren Kalindi is a leading Chau dance artiste from Purulia. He leads a troupe named Biren Kalindi Chau Nach Gosthi that was formed in the year 2006. There are 20 members in the troupe. The troupe specializes in enacting plays from mythological stories like Ramayan, Mahabharat and the Puranas. However, it also presents acts based on issues of social concern. The troupe has performed across West Bengal and in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Odisha. It has also performed overseas, in France, Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania and China.
Mousumi is a leading woman Chau dancer, an art form native to Purulia in the state of West Bengal in India. By being the first woman to learn and perform Chau, a male bastion for ages, she is an inspiration for other girls learning the art. Born in Maldi village of Balarampur in Purulia, Mousumi started dancing Chau at the age of 10, learning the art from her father, Jagannath Choudhury, an accomplished Chau exponent. Mousumi is pursuing her Master in Arts post-graduation degree in Bengali from Sidhu Kanu University in Purulia. She works as a part time teacher at a local school and teaches Chau dance in her university. She has performed in Kolkata, Purulia and Jhargram and is scheduled to perform in Norway in September 2018.
Sunil Mahato from Purulia is a veteran Chau expert and author and researcher on several folk art forms with many authentic publications to his credit. He has written scripts for Chau plays and translated Rabindranath Tagore’s songs into the indigenous Kurmali language. He was awarded the Sudhi Pradhan Purashkar by the Government of West Bengal in 2015.
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This research project, Heritage Sensitive Intellectual Property and Marketing strategies: India (HIPAMS - INDIA), is funded by the British Academy's Sustainable Development Programme, supported under the UK Government's Global Challenges Research Fund 2018-2021.
