Observing International Museum Day, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya organised a traditional mask dance of Thane (Maharashtra) and Purulia (West Bengal) at Charaevati open air stage on Monday.
The first performance of the evening was that of epic Ghatasur-Tadasur. The 35 minutes performance displayed the story of war between demons (Ghatasur-Tadasur) and Goddess Durga in Chhau dance. Chhau dance is a genre of Indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the Indian States of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Chhau dance is mainly performed during regional festivals, especially during the spring festival of Chaitra Parva which lasts for thirteen days and in which the entire community participates. A variety of drums accompany the music ensemble including the dhol , dhumsa (a large kettle drum) and kharka or chad-chadi.
The second performance of the evening was Bohada mask dance where Sondhya and Bhasya demons were killed by Goddess Jagdamba in the performance. Bohada dance is performed on the nights of Holi and Diwali festivals. In this dance Dhol, Sambhal, fluet and Pawri are played. Everyone wears masks of mythological characters and performs accordingly. This dance is an expression of happiness performed on auspicious and religious ceremonies, it is a way to please God. To educate the younger generation this dance is performed by wearing masks of mythological characters and they also represent their stories. The history of Koknas is not in written form, it has been transferred generation to generations in the form of fables. Bohada dance is the general expression of the whole population of this tribal region.
The last performance of the evening was of Chhau dance where they played the story of Mahishasura Mardini. Mahishasura Mardini is a story taken from ‘Shiv Puran’ where Mahishasura abused his powers and also tried to capture heaven, hell and the mortal world. Then goddess Durga was worshiped by all deities. listening to the prayers goddess Durga appears and kills Mahishasur. This epic is a display of victory of truth over evil.