1.

INTRODUCTION
Jatra is a dramatic form. The meaning of jatra is to tavel from one place to
another. The word jatra has originated from Sanskrit ‘ Ja’ dhaatu(root).
Since the earlier days, the word Jatra has been associated with different
types of ceremonial movements like, ‘Samadal jatra’, (Mass Rally) ‘Bor
jatra’(Groom’s travel to the bride’s place) etc. The question here, however
is since when did the word jatra become associated with drama.

In Sanskrit literature, the word jatra was not used. However, later during the
Vashnavite renaissance under Sankaradeva, the mention of the word jatra
is found. In his first play, apart from using the word ‘naat’, he also used the
word ‘jatra’. In fact names of several of plays ended with the word jatra. In
the traditional drama of Goalpara district Assam, the use of word ‘jatra has
been observed. Like- Goali Jatra, Manai Jatra etc.

Jatra as a dramatic form has its roots in Bangle but the Vaishnavite
renaissance that flourished under the Vaishnavite Saint Sankaradeva for
spreading religion has a massive impact on the gradual development of
Assamese jatra and we cannot shrug off this impact. Sankaradeva’s
contributions cannot be discarded. Presently, Jatra is stages in Odisha,
Tripura, West Bangle and Assam. Jatra in West Bengal was officially born
in 1753. But it was initiated through the Bhakti movement of the 15 th
century. During the Bhakti movement in West Bangle, the devout Bengali
people danced to the songs and tunes that were religiously and spiritually
high. Almost the entire section of the society took part in these songs and
dances.

In the initial days, the stories that the Jatra parties staged were mostly
based on the life of Lord Krishna and the time he had spent in Matura. May
be this is the reason why jatra is also known as Krishna Jatra (Bengal
Orissa). However, with the change of time, the thought process of the
society has also changed drastically and this change has also impacted the
story line of Jatra plays.

Jatra is a form of Drama. Drama is a sort of performing art and hence it is

also called visual literature. Drama is correlated to imitation. People enjoy

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imitating others. Every person has that inner will to do and work well for the
society and when they see someone doing the same; they too come
forward, imitating the other. A person likes to imitate a second person’s
style of talking, style of walking and several other things that seem
appealing and attractive.

Jatra plays at Borihat (Kamrup)

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 2. HISTORY OF JATRA IN ASSAM
The history of drama in Assam is a little difficult to tell, but it is a fact that it
was Sankaradeva who for the first time staged drama in Assam. Even
though there are some programmers loosely based on dramatics, but those
were not exactly drama and the aesthetics of drama could not be attributed
to these. Programmes with a things dramatics like Oja-Pali, Dhulia etc. are
already various stories, incidents and tales of those days.

In Assam, Vaishnavite Guru Srimanta Sankardeva, Amalgamating a

number of art forms churned out a unique form of dramatics art stages
drama for the first time in the State. ‘Sihnajatra’ is first Assamese play. As
mentioned at Charit Puthi, on return from his first pilgrim, keeping the
requests of his pupils and disciples, Sankaradeva even acted in
‘Sihnajatra’.

Assam has been richly beneifited by the carious creations of Sankaradeva.

While the world credits Shakespeare for the modern drama form, it was
actually Sankaradeva who was born hundred years before Shakespeare
(Shakespeare 1564 AD , Sankaradeva 1449 AD) who conceptualized this
but because of Assam’s geographical location and characteristics reticence
of community failed to get exposure and due recognition. Hence it can said
that Sankaradeva, Through his Vaishavite renaissance, gave birth to a
culture heritage. Gradually this gave birth to Jatra and Assamese plays.

The history of Jatra in Assam is not very old. The evidence of its first
inception can be found in Barpeta district. Titiram Bayan introduced first
Jatra in between 1862 to 1865. Later , in between 1868 to 1870 Jaydev
sarma introduced the commercial Jatra 1868 to 1870 Jaydev Sarma
introduced the Commercial Jatra in Murkuchi of Brpeta district. Again,
Santoram Choudhary Started a Jatra Party Named as ‘Pathsala Theatre
Party’ in the year 1910. After that renowned drama personality Brahanath
Sarmah introduced a Jatra Parti named ‘Shila Kalika Operea Party’ in the
year 1921.

After the rise of British Rule in India, people from different places of the
country came to Assam for various purposes like jobs and business and

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they began to live here and gradually became a part of the Assamese
culture and tradition. Bengali people set their base at places like Golokgonj,
Bongaigaon, Sorbhog, Nalbari, Rangiya, Tangla, Tinsukia etc. It is
worthwhile to mention here that the jatra troupes from Kolkata (then
Calcutta), invited by the Bengali communities here in Assam during various
festivals and programmers came to Assam to entertain with their
performance. They took refuge at the Bengali-dominated areas and carried
on with their performances. The then Assamese society never had the
experience of watching full-length dramas as they were mostly exposed to
watch Ojapali, Bhaona etc. These full-length plays attracted them
immensely and they also thoroughly enjoyed these plays. Of the troupes
that came from Calcutta, the popular ones were Natta Company, Bholanath
Opera, and Cell Bala Opera etc. These jatra troupes created sensation in
the then areas of Kamrup district like Nalbari, Rangiya, Tangla etc

It was during 1860-1865, when under the leadership of Barpeta's Tithiram

Bayan, for the first time a jatra tropue by the name of `Jatra Dal' was
formed. This troupe can be said to have pioneered the jatra movement
here in Assam. After that from 1864 to 1870, Barpeta district's Murkuchi
village's Jaydev Sarma opened a jatra troupe, which performed
commercially . This troupe, which was heavily inspired by the Bengal's jatra
troupes, performed Bengali plays for entertaining the audience. Thus, since
about 1870 the jatra movement in Assam gained wings. In 1910, Pathsala's
Santuram Choudhury started a jatra troupe called Pathsala Theatre Party.

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 3. HISTORY OF JATRA IN SOUTH KAMRUP
The Jatra of South Kamrup has also a history of its own. According to ‘The
Report on the Province of Assam’ by Andrew John Moffatt Mills, the
geographical area of south Kamrup is North-Brahmaputra River, East- The
River Kullung, which divides it from Nowgong and Hyneah Mehal, South-
The Cossiah Hills, West Habraghat, belonging to goalpara.

But, a recent demarcation of South Kamrup published in the annual

magazine of Palasbari Sahitya Sabha seems more relevant and
acceptable. In the 1996-97 issue of `Dakshin Kol', the annual magazine of
`Palasbari Sahitya Sabha', professor Ishahaq Ali wrote an article on the
topic in which he included a detailed map to support his point. According to
the map, the real boundaries of South Kamrup are-
North- The Brahmaputra River
South- Meghalaya
East- Nagaon district
West- Goalpara district.
Dr. Narakanta Adhikari, Head of the Department (History) of Dakshin
Kamrup Girls' College, Mirza has done extensive researches on the area
and come out with the following demarcation of South Kamrup-

North- The Brahmaputra

East- Jalukbari
South- Meghalaya
West- Dhupdhara (Goalpara district)
According to this demarcation, South Kamrup covers areas starting
from Dharapur to Nagarbera on the south bank of the Brahmaputra and
from Chandubi to Palshbari, Boko to Rani.

The study area of this research is South Kamrup. The selected area
range starts from Dharapur to Nagarbera, Boko and from Chandubi to
Palasbari. The South Kamrup area is divided into four Legislative
Assembly constituencies namely Palashbari constituency, Chaygaon
constituency, Boko constituency and West Guwahati constituency (a part).

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Entire South Kamrup has played a pivotal role in the development of
Assamese literature and culture and has been on the center stage of
Assam since time immemorial. From festivities to industry, commerce,
business, art, literature, culture- South Kamrup has been a home for all.
South Kamrup's Palashbari, situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra,
once was an important business port of Assam. Timber of Palashbari and
Mirza and sand of river Kulsi is famous across Assam. Moreover, there is
no second opinion to the fact that South Kamrup's history and culture has
propelled Assam to different heights. Years before gaining independence,
many people came to Palashbari for business purpose. Even the British
were amused to witness the establishment of ports and town committees
in Palshbari and that too much before India gained independence.

Formed in 1903, `Palashbari Jatra Party' was the first jatra troupe of
South Kamrup and they for the first time staged jatra shows Palashbari-
which was the beginning of staging of jatra in South Kamrup. The troupe
was managed by Dhaniram Das alias Dhani Manager. South Kamrup and
Calcutta (Kolkata) shared a cordial relationship then. Various business-
persons from Calcutta visited Palashbari for doing business.In addition,
because of this the jatra troupes of Palshbari were formed on the lines of
the jatra troupes from Calcutta. (Kolkata)

Initially, `Palashbari Jatra Party' staged plays in Bengali and on its first
year, it staged a play called ‘Wed Uddhar'. It may be noted here that after
the formation of Palashbari Jatra Party, the gayans and bayans taking a
leaf out of the Vaishnavite culture played the khol-taal and plunged entire
South Kamrup in a religious fervor. But, after witnessing the first show of
jatra, gradually in South Kamrup the dramatic movement caught wings.
Such was the impact of jatra that the public began to think of opening jatra
parties of own. And after a lot research and hard work, Sadilapur Bandhav
Sanmilani Naat Parishad'- a jatra troupe was formed at Sadilapur near
Palashbari.

The history of South kamrup starts in the 1854. The term South Kamrup for
the first time to refer to south side of Kamrup district, The pages of history
of Assam as well as the greater Kamrup will give us a vague idea of South

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Kamrup. The available historical information says that Sheikh Ibrahim
Kadodi of Delhi divided the then Kamrup area into ‘Four Charkars’ or four
Governments. He name the South Kamrup area as ‘Charkar Dakshin Kool’.

The South Kamrup area is under Guwahati Subdivision. Guwahati’s ancient

name is Pragjyotispur, which was the capital city of Kamrup. History and
geographical situation of the area both clearly suggest that the south
Kamrup area is an inseparable part of Guwahati. The area is home to the
Hindus, The Muslims and people with various religious beliefs. On the
basis of caste and communities, in habitants of the area can be divided as
the Garos, the rabhas, the kalitas, the Koch- Rajbangshis, the Bodos, the
misings, the Deuris, the Hiras and the Kaibartas etc.

There are more than thirty five(35) units of Jatras(Jatra-Parties) are there
in entire South- kamrup . They are putting their effort to demonstrate the
so- called traditional style with new look where new thoughts as well as
innovations of science are put together. Mirza, Rampur, Palasbari, Boko,
Chaygaon, Kukurmara, Barihat, Batorhat, Garal, Rampur, Uparhali,
Bijoynagar where new approach for demonstration the traditional style with
different ideas has been in process.

Jatra Parties have occupied a distinguished place in the diverse field of

Assamese culture. Today, mobile theatre groups are considered as an
inseparable part of the cultural aspect of Assam. It is a noteworthy fact that
many researchers around the world have come to Assam to conduct
research about the mobile theatre. As per record, the first Jatra Party was
formed around 1860-65 AD. Tithiram Bayan of Barpeta was the founder of
the party which he names as 'Jatra Dal'. So, Jatra performance carries a
157 year long history, Jatra dramas have come a long way since then,
‘Palasbari Jatra Dal’ was the first Jatra of South Kamrup. As the name
suggests, the Party was born in Palasbari and Dhaniram Das was the
founder of it. Since its advent in 1903, the cultural environment of the South
Kamrup area started to change. With a century old long history, Jatra
Parties of South Kamrup have occupied a special place in the culture of the
area. From the first Jatra Party to the present day, more than one thousand
Jatra Parties were formed in almost every village and locality of the area.

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But most of them faded away with passing time. Some among them ran
strong for as long as 30 years and some enjoyed a very short span of life.
But it is a matter of concern that there is no proper account of the Jatra
tradition of South Kamrup.

The 117-year-old tradition of Jatra Parties has served as a medium of

entertainment as well as awareness generating tool about many social,
political and economic issues to the people of Boko, Chhaygaon, Rampur,
Satpakhili, Mirza, Palasbari, Bangora, Rani, Borihat, Tiniali, Uparhali,
Jharobari etc. Jatra Parties play the vital role of mobilizing people, creating
patriotism and offering moral wisdom in the time of need. Jatra dramas of
the South Bank played the role of an informal school to teach people about
the importance of education and many other social matters which in turn
helped in the upliftment process of the people.

Jatra plays at Borihat (Kamrup)

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4. TECHINIQUES OF JATRA PARTY

A. STAGE: During its initial days, Assamese Jatra plays were either
staged in a Naamghar or in some open field by making a temporary
raised platform made out of clay. The platform was built in such a
way that people could sit around it and enjoy the play. To protect the
platform from dew and make it look pretty as well, a temporary shade
type roof was build using banana leaves. But now a days instead of
banana leaves, tarpaulins are used extensively. The boundary of
stage is made up with banana trees and bamboos. An area of three
feet from the stage is especially barricaded and things required by the
artistes are kept. With the change in time, the stages used by the
jatra troupes has undergone many changes. The clay-made stage
has now been replaced with wooden made stages. The use of black
cloth, use of iron frame of the stage to save time.

B. LIGHT: Light and stage are inseparable parts of plays of jatra as it is

impossible to think of a play without light. In the present scenario with
the proper and intelligent use of light, the jatra troupes have been
able to depict several impossible looking and imaginative scenes in
the plays. Apart from immensely entertaining the audience, through
the proper use of light almost real-life portrayal of certain scenes has
also been made possible. However, in earlier days, there was no
system of using light in plays and hence the plays were staged only
during the daytime when there was ample amount of sunlight.

C. MUSIC: Music plays an important role in carrying a jatra play forward

and without music, a jatra play stand incomplete. Music has been a
strong force for the mass popularity of jatra. Briefly, music is the soul
of jatra. It is clear that music is an amalgamation of song, instrument
and dance. Music has been playing an important role in jatra since

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 the day it come to existence. Music helps in the better and proper
reflections of the emotions of the actors enacting various jatra
troupes were not formally educated. It was their zeal and
perseverance that drove them in creating some the enthralling music
for jatra parties and these musician gradually become assets of the
jatra troupes.

D. MAKEUP: The makeup used in jatra was quite amusing as prior to

1933 female did not act in jatra in the plays staged by groups from
South Kamrup. Since the female characters were portrayed by the
males only, hence a lot of effort and detailing was given to the
makeup of female characters. Earlier the actors themselves donned
the hat of a makeup artist, but nowadays every jatra troupe has a
makeup artist of their own.

Jatra plays at Borihat (Kamrup)

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 5. PLAYS OF JATRA

The generic flow of jatra can be said to have been derived from Bengali
jatra. Moreover, it can be said that as the youth of the era went to Kolkata
in pursuit of higher education hence the Bengali jatra did leave an impact
on their minds, which was also reflected in their plays. Initially the plays
were staged in Bengali language and even though for the Assamese
audience it was difficult to understand the language, yet it turned out to be
a new medium of entertainment for them. Later, these plays were
translated into Assamese. But gradually, among the youth from Assam, a
number of Assamese playwrights emerged who not only wrote plays in
Assamese, but also wrote about the society, culture, and issues pertinent
to Assam and its people.
The three common elements of a jatra play can be classified as-
(i) Spiritual or religious.
(ii) Pre-historical and historical.
(iii) Social
(iv) Modern

The religious dramas were written in such a way that those became
presentation worthy for the audience. The knowledge imparted by the
stories of the dramas developed the intelligence and the thought processes
of the audience. The historical events were written in such a manner so
that the audiences could see themselves in the various acts of the plays.
Jatra is very much dearer to the rural populace. The reason behind this is
because in the rural areas festivals and public gatherings are held in large
numbers and during these festival and here the jatra troupes are invited to
stage their plays. The jatra troupes get the opportunity to pass on
information and generate awareness - the role that the present media
plays.

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 6. ROLE OF JATRA IN MODERN SOCIETY
With passing time, Jatra tradition of South Kamrup started to focus on
some other important issues along with entertainment. Jatra parties tried
not to confine themselves only as entertainers for entertainment's sake;
they wanted to do something for social welfare also. Through acting, the
Jatra parties wanted to uplift the condition of the downtrodden section of
society. The Bangla Jatras also were thinking the same thing. Entire India
is full of examples of social divisions based on religion. The country was
divided based on religion too. Religion sometimes damages the social
environment. Politics runs in the name of religion. Political parties calculate
vote banks based on religion. Such actions pollute both politics and social
principles. However, Jatra dramas started to act for social welfare in such
situations. We may look on what Jatra dramas did to realize their mission in
this field. By now, we have understood that in the beginning Jatra parties
used to stage historical dramas. We all are aware of the fact that historical
dramas are full of characters like Kings, Queens, subjects, Generals and
Badshahs etc. Historical dramas enjoyed popularity in South Kamrup for
almost 20 years from the advent of Jatra tradition. At times, a Muslim actor
played the role of a king or a Hindu actor played the role of a Badshah.
Actors had to do lots of homework and keen observation to give a realistic
touch to his character. Actors were so serious that they used to follow
many rules and religious discipline related to the characters they were
supposed to play. When the actor successfully executed his role on the
stage, the audience forgot his real name. They always remembered the
name of the character he played on the stage. The audience became
attached to the particular religion that their favourite actors played. In such
a situation, nasty politics based on religion could not affect the audience .

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 7. CONCLUSION
The history of Jatra in Assam including South Kamrup is very interesting
one. It owes very much to the jatra of Bengal in respect of style, form and
even storyline. In early period jatra parties of Bengal and Orissa stage
plays based on the multifaceted stories about Lord Krishna and hence
Jatra at that period was also known as Krishna Jatra. But such name was
hardly heard in the jatra arena of Assam. From the time of inception till
today the particular form of acting has been known as jatra only.

Jatra parties deeply influenced the life-philosophy of people ofAssam

including South Kamrup. It was learnt through spot studies that the
tradition of Jatra parties started to flourish in South Kamrup from the year
1903. A full century and more years have rolled by since then. The
political, social, economic and cultural environments have undergone
many changes too. Today, people are more dependent on science and
technology. Even though, Jatra has not lost its relevance in present day
context. Jatra parties have been propagating knowledge and social
messages through entertainment. It has been a long journey for Jatra
since 1903 to 2024 AD.

Jatra Plays in Borihat(Kamrup)

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8. REFERENCE

a. Adhikary, Dr.G & Singha Sanghamitra(Ed), (2014) History

and Nature with special reference to South Kamrup, Mirza ,
D.K Girls’ College.
b. Adhikary, Dr. Nara Kanta (Ed), (2016) Please of Neo-
Vaisnavite Movment of Assam in Bhakti Movement of India:
A Historycal Compassion, National Seminar Organizing
Committee, Mirza: D.K Girls College.
c. Das, Dr. Sailen (Ed), (2021) Jatra of Assam, Maliyata Offset
Press.
d. Gait, Edward,(1992), A history of Assam, Guwahati: Lawyers
Book Stall

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