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Jatra (Bengali: যাত্রা, origin: ''Yatra'' meaning procession or journey in Sanskrit)〔 is a popular folk-theatre form of Bengali theatre, spread throughout most of Bengali speaking areas of the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Tripura〔〔〔〔(Jatra ) ''Britannica.com''.〕 As of 2005, there were some 55 troupes based in Calcutta's old jatra district, Chitpur Road, and all together, jatra is a $21m-a-year industry, performed on nearly 4,000 stages in West Bengal alone,〔(Jatra 2 ) ''BBC News'', 2005.〕 where in 2001, over 300 companies employed over 20,000 people, more than the local film industry and urban theatre.〔 The word `jatra' means journey or going. The origin of jatra intrinsically a musical theatre form, is traditionally credited to the rise Sri Chaitanya's Bhakti movement, wherein Chaitanya himself played Rukmini in the performance of ''Rukmini Haran'' ("The abduction of the Charming Rukmini") from Krishna's life story, a first definite presentation of this theatrical spectacle. The performance, which lasted through the night in 1507 AD.,〔 has been described in ''Chaitanya Bhagavata'', Chaitanya's hagiography by a disciple Vrindavana Dasa Thakura.〔(JATRA - Folk Theater Of India By Balwant Gargi )〕 Though there are evidences of existence of a form of singing called the 'Carya', which was popular between the 9th and the 12th centuries in Bengal, which existed in Orissa simultaneously as the popular 'Carya Padas' form.〔(Jatra ) ''National Portal of India''.〕 Jatra performances resemble, the Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh, the Tamasha of Maharashtra and Bhavai of Gujarat. Though its birthplace lies in the religious landscape, replete with various Bhakti movements of Hinduism, by the end of the 19th century it was replaced by morally didactic content, and eventually became secular, when it gained entry into urban proscenium theatres during Bengal Renaissance. The survival of the form over such a vast period of rapidly changing social milieu, while catering to a heterogeneous audience, has been credited to its innate malleability and ways of adapting to changing social dynamics, and thus staying not just relevant and alive, but also thriving, unlike urban theatre which at some point gets plagued by its own puritanical intellectualism, disconnects with the current, and thus remains perpetually in dearth of mass audience.〔(Jatra ) ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music'', by Alison Arnold. Published by Taylor & Francis, 2000. ISBN 0-8240-4946-2. ''Page 488''.〕 ==Jatra performances== Jatras are usually epic four-hour-long plays, preceded by a musical concert often lasting an hour, used to attract audiences. The dramatic performance itself is liberally interspersed dramatic monologues, songs and duet dance routines on the folk tunes, which often serve as scene transitions and sometimes mark the end of an act. Jatra plays are usually performed on stages that are open on all sides in open-air arenas. The stage often had minimal or no furniture or props, it was rather seen as a neutral space, free to be given a meaning befitting the scene, this technique continued even when jatra started getting performed in proscenium theatres. Sets, props and lighting came in much later, when its started interacting with Western theatre in the late 19th century, as urban educated youth started joining the jatra tradition.〔 The cast is predominantly male, whose members also play the female parts, though since the 19th century, female actors started joining the cast. Actors often joined the troupes at an young age, and worked their way up the hierarchy of roles, and strive for virtuoso acting and are judged on their vocal prowess, as this determines their ability to capture a large audience with thundering dialogue deliveries and improvised dialogues. The modern version of jatra, features loud music, harsh lighting and dramatic props played on giant outdoor stages, and actors are hired for a season under written contracts. Sometimes ramps are built around the stage and used for dramatic effects as in Kabuki plays. Jatras are often very melodramatic with highly stylised delivery and exaggerated gestures and orations. Music being the key element of the jatra, much attention is placed on its selection, popular tunes are created and incorporated. Musicians sit on two sides of the stage, carrying Dholak, pakhawaj, harmonium, tabla, flute, cymbals, trumpets, behala (violin) and clarinet, all used to heighten the overall dramatic effect of performances that are already frenzied, plus most of the singing is done by the actors themselves. Many of the songs were based on classical Ragas.〔(Dance Drama - Yatra ) ''Arts of India: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music, Dance and Handicraft'', by Krishna Chaitanya. Published by Abhinav Publications, 1987. ISBN 81-7017-209-8. ''pp. 79''.〕 A generic character, unique to jatra and part of most jatra performances even today, is the allegorical figure called ''Bibek'' or Vivek (Conscience); it performs the function of a moral guardian, commenting on actions of actors and their consequences, sometimes it elaborates on the feelings of different characters, and often steps into a scene unannounced and presents an alternate or philosophical point of view, and all done through singing, something which is done by the chorus in a Greek tragedy. Like Conscience, a character called niyati (Fate) often played by a woman, while commenting on the scene, foretells or warns the actors of impending dangers. Another distinct feature of jatra is that the plays begin with the climax, a device used to captivate the attention of the audience.〔〔(India - Jatra ) ''The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Asia/Pacific'', by Don Rubin. Published by Taylor & Francis, 2001. ISBN 0-415-26087-6. ''Page 133-134''.〕〔(Jatra, Bangladesh, India ) ''Acting: An Encyclopedia of Traditional Culture'', by Beth Osnes, Sam Gill. Published by ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 0-87436-795-6. ''Page 164''.〕 The Jatra season begins in the autumn, around September, around Durga Puja the beginning of harvest season, when the travelling troupe head out to interior rural regions, and ends before the Monsoon sets in, and the beginning of the planting season, around June. Performances of Jatras are commonplace after festivities and religious functions, ceremonies in traditional households, and fairs, throughout the region, where these troupes get invited in advance.〔(Theatre Forms of India - Jatra ) ''Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, Govt. of India''.(CCRT).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jatra (theatre)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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