Jaipur is home to several different folk arts and performance-based arts as well. Several of these originated in rural areas of Rajasthan and have evolved into sophisticated art forms in Jaipur through a sustained period of patronage. The status of Jaipur as a tourist destination has also made it home to several rural folk artists who perform for the ever-growing tourist demographic. These include forms such as Kaalbelia and Ghoomar which originated in the heart of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan. Among these, the Jaipur tamasha is the most eyecatching and famous folk performance.
The Tamasha form with its music comprising classical, semi-classical and folk melody, replete with acting and dancing is being performed for the last 250 years in the open theatre called ‘Akhara’ at Brahampuri in Jaipur with a unique style of presentation. It is performed mainly on the day’s surrounding the festival Holi, on the days of Holi on the following Amavasya and Ramnavmi.
Tamasha originated as a poetic dialogue form in the 18th century at the peripheries of Agra. Sawai Jaswant Singh brought a few artists to Jaipur and settled them in Brahmpuri. Here, under the proximity of the chief of the Bhatt family, Shri Banshidhar Bhatt, Tamasha style developed a specific form. The narratives in tamasha delve into the ideals of love and religious co-existence (secularism) with a happy ending for all those involved. The creative texts used in tamasha are chiefly Tamasha Gopichand, Jogi Jogan, Roopchand Gandhi, Ranjah heer, Jutthan Miyan, Chaila Panihari, etc. They are mainly set to the following raagas; Bhupali, Aasawari, Jonpuri, Malkuns, Darbari, Bihag, Sindh Kafi, Bhairvi, Kalingda, Kedar etc.
However, even with the core elements virtually unchanged for the last 250 years, there are nevertheless many contemporary influences in the storytelling, in the form of references to modern technology and socio-political events.
The costumes that are worn play a vital role in the performance: the tamasha crest together with the kalangi (plume), the gotedar bhagwavastra (a laced saffron garment), the singi (a fish-shaped garment) and the seli (a neck ornament) help enhance the performance. Also, a common feature of every Tamasha is, that the actors sometimes wear “imagined costumes” which they describe to the audience during the play.
Solidarity and peaceful co-existence are often inherent in these sagas. For example in ‘Ranjha Heer’, the protagonist Ranjha – although being a Hindu – goes to the Rajasthani city of Ajmer to visit the Sufi (mystical Islamic) shrine of saint Muinuddin Chishti where he receives the blessing of the ‘Khwaja’ to find his true love Heer, who appeared in one of his dreams before. And just to reassure you: of course, he succeeds in finding her and they live happily ever after.