Four years ago dancer Subhashree Mukherjee decided to take on the onus of reviving an ancient martial dance form—Chhau—native to Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. It was easier said than done. Lack of government support, music styles that were on the verge of extinction and ageing performers were only some of the challenges she faced. But Subhashree was undaunted. Being the first woman Chhau dancer from the state, she was used to getting the better of challenges. Even as she brought about revolutionary changes like introducing women to the traditionally male-dominated dance form, the pandemic put a spanner in her revival plans. With all arts and cultural places shut, it was now a fight for survival.
After months of arranging for food and grocery for the affected artists, following up with government offices to clear pending payments and making sure the dues were transferred to the artists’ bank accounts, now Subhashree is again rearing to resume her original task of reviving the martial arts form. She had collaborated with the Mayurbhanj administration to begin Project Chhauni and now was the time to get it going again.
Subhashree plans to resume training workshops for artists of Mayurbhanj Chhau Performing Unit (MCPU) in July. Two new productions are in the pipeline—one based on the Mahabharata and another on tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
The MCPU is also in talks with Malaysia-based Odissi exponent Ramli Ibrahim and dancer Santosh Nair for a collaboration. “We will have minimal shows this year. So, we plan to focus more on research-based studies of Mayurbhanj Chhau. Hopefully, we may be able to come up with online training portals and blogs on this heritage art form,” she says.
Through Project Chhauni, about 11,733 Chhau artists affiliated to 212 organisations have been identified, resulting in the formation of the MCPU and Mayurbhanj Chhau Academy. Although the journey to revival is a long one, so far Subhashree has managed to give the war dance a definite form, a dedicated performing unit and a contemporary repertoire keeping all its traditional elements intact. “When we started, the dance form was on the verge of dying. There was no structured curriculum to follow and practice. The troupes were operating in an unorganised way. There was no money or infrastructure,” says Subhashree, who has also conserved 83 forms of Chhau music that were on the brink of extinction. “We brought together Chhau traditional musicians to record the music and created a digital library that can be used as a reference material by junior artists,” she says.
Currently, Department of Odia Literature Language and Culture of the Odisha Government provides MCPU a yearly grant. The organisation is pushing for a government-recognised ‘Mayurbhanj Chhau Research Centre’ at Baripada. “This art form has a huge potential for cultural exchange. If necessary steps are taken then it will engage more audience than any other dance form of Odisha and create ample opportunities of income for its artists,” Subhashree stresses.
In a nutshell
Chhau is an Indian tribal martial dance form popular in Saraikela (Bihar), Purulia (West Bengal) and Mayurbhanj (Odisha).
Based on the place of origin and development the three dance styles are called Saraikela Chhau, Mayurbhanj Chhau and Purulia Chhau.
While Saraikela and Purulia styles use masks, Mayurbhanj Chhau doesn’t. It has a distinctive appeal with wide range of movements and dynamic choreography. Technically, it is richer than the other two styles.
The primary aim of this dance form is to develop physical strength, excitement and courage in the dancing warriors.
Chhau’s evolution
Scholars believe that the word Chhau comes from ‘Chhauni’ that means cantonment. The dance form may have been connected to Paika soldiers of Odisha who might have staged it to celebrate victory or entertain their clan. However, there is no historical record on the origin of Chhau.
The basic style of Chhau revolves around six types of ‘Tobka’ or ‘Chaali’, which means stylised walks that are inspired from nature such as peacock’s walk, tiger’s walk, etc; 36 types of ‘Ufli’ describing human activities and 216 types of ‘Upa-Ufli’. The martial dance form that gave Mayurbhanj its identity, prospered during the reign of King Krushnachandra Bhanjadeo. But it was only performed during the ‘Chaitra Parva’ (Spring festival) in March/April and at some events of the state’s cultural calendar in the last one decade.