Varsha PandeyNacha Party and Related Institutions of Chhattisgarh
The nacha or nacha party is often a combination of folk music, folk dance, and gambling.
This is one of the main sources of attraction for people during the Madai event.
Very often the success of the event is based on the performance quality of the nacha party.
Madai, a cultural festival in Chhattisgarh.
So, begins after the harvest season from the end of November and until the end of March.
Held in the form of a fair (mela).
Madai began with various ceremonial rituals as offerings to ancestral gods.
The first day usually ends with a catchy performance of the nacha party.
So the villagers spend a day with their friends and family and enjoy the festival with their loved ones.
Nacha is the most popular folk drama, which is ubiquitous in rural areas.
It started in Kaal which was called Nacha.
Chhattisgarh’s first dance party Rabeli
There was a dance party.
Nacha’s paternal grandfather is Dau Dular Singh Mandraji.
Folk Institute and founder related to Nacha’s
list of major public institutions
Raveli Dance party-Nacha Party and Related Institutions of Chhattisgarh
founded by- Dular Singh Mandraji
Chandaini Gonda Dance Party
founded by- Ramchandra Deshmukh
Chhattisgarh Dehati Kala Manch
founded by- Ramchandra Deshmukh
New Theater / Hindustan Theater
founded by- Habib Tanveer
Sonha Bihan-Nacha Party and Related Institutions of Chhattisgarh
founded by- Dau Mahasingh Chandrakar
Chinhari Nacha Party
founded by- mamta chandrakar
Matewa Nacha Party
founded by- Naikdas and Jhumukdas
More about Nacha Party and Related Institutions of Chhattisgarh
Chandaini Gonda Nacha Party and Lorik Chanda Party both separate Nacha Party
The first dance party in Chhattisgarh is Raveli Nacha Party, whose founder is Dau
Dular Singh Mandraji .
The men who play the role of women in Nacha are called ‘Nachaya’.
In some places, women of the Dewar caste also participate in the dance.
Padma Shri Vibhushit Govindram Nirmalkar is a renowned artist.
Chhattisgarhi play Raja Phokalwa’s writing-directing work by Rakesh Tiwari
Ravan Yadav did background music in Chhattisgarh’s famous Natya Chandaini Gonda.
Nacha platform that provides livelihood
nacha should not only be seen as a source of entertainment limited to Madais.
rather, it is a platform that provides livelihood to many while establishing a practice rooted in the cultural, social, and political life of the area.
One may find a variety of nacha parties across Chhattisgarh—they may vary from village-level groups to bigger dance troupes that are often invited to bigger towns and cities.
However, it is not necessary that all the performers belong to the same village.
Oftentimes, the group is an ensemble of performers from different villages across a certain region, thereby bringing a palpable variety to the performances.
As villages prepare to host the Madai, troupes and dance groups for an evening of musical performance for the guests and the members of the village.
Before the night of the performance, nacha parties often come together to rehearse in a designated area in the village often known as the rangmanch.
Gammad
The play that gets performed in the nacha is called gammad.
A gammad is played for around one and a half to two hours and the performances are scripted on the basis of certain true stories often laced with social messages, such as dowry, domestic violence, corruption, and child abuse.
The nacha (as the performance is indigenous) starts with a song and a dance performance by the nacha members.
Earlier, the songs were written and composed by the members themselves but today they also perform on popular Chhattisgarhi movie songs to cater to the taste of a larger group of audience.
The tradition of folk culture is now being diluted by the incorporation of new fantasies and desires created by the commercial world.
Earlier, the gammad used to have short stories or comical acts based on humorous incidents from everyday life; but now the scripts have been molded to incorporate stories that condemn evil social practices.
However, in spite of the serious nature of the message, the acts are performed with an element of humor to hold the interest of the audience and to maximize the entertainment quotient for the spectators.
Great source of entertainment
A single performance by a nacha party can last for about six to eight hours.
People attending Madais often look forward to this whole night of performance with utmost enthusiasm and enjoy the theatrics infused with folk dance and songs.
The success of a nacha, as Gautam Suryavanshi of Dhamtari shares, depends on the energy of the team.
Spectators find commendable the level of energy a party invests in performing the act, and the way instrumentalists cope with performances.
Nobody sleeps the entire night of the Madai.
The energy level never declines and the most interesting part of the nacha is the impromptu synchronization of the acts with the instrumentalists.
Though they practice prior to the performance, the live act requires synchronization between the music and the performers’ dialogues; their facial expressions must match the tunes of the different instruments.
Mostly, the instruments that are part of the nacha are the banjo, harmonium, jhanjhar, tabla, ghunghroo, and dholak.
Conclusion-Nacha Party and Related Institutions of Chhattisgarh
Nacha is an integral part of the Madais in Chhattisgarh.
During Madai, people spend their days at the fair and hope to spend their evenings at a good nacha performance.
During the times when televisions were still not part of daily life, people wait for Madais to watch actors performing.
Yet, Madai remains incomplete without the pomp and the show that a nacha party brings to it.
Both during and after Madais are over, the nacha party remains a source of livelihood for many.
And a reason for entertainment for all.
