Explained: Is Launda Naach, Bihar¡¯s Popular Folk Dance Form Dying A Slow Death?

Folk dancing holds a special place in Indian culture, but unfortunately, there aren't enough people left to preserve the many traditional dance traditions that are slowly dying out. There are various factors responsible for this, but the lack of an appreciating audience is just one of the many factors.

One such dying art form is Launda Naach.

Launda naach: Definition and origin

Launda Naach, a prominent folk art from Bihar and Bhojpuri-speaking eastern Uttar Pradesh, is a well-known folk art that includes music, dance, humour, satire, joke, banter, and drama where males imitate women in shows that go on all night.

Naach, which dates back to the 11th century and is still alive today in the dusty land of the Bhojpuri belt, is essentially a narrative art that has been passed down orally from generation. It begins every year around the Chhath Puja. Each performance is centered on a different socioeconomic reality found in rural areas, such as caste, gender, migration, or the hardship of the peasants.

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Popular musical theatre productions from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh include Naach. It shares similarities with a number of Indian folk theatres, including Nautanki, Naacha, Swaang, Jaatra, and Tamasha.

Similar to this, Naach also depicts womanhood through the male artists, known as laundas, who impersonate women. While other genres have permitted women to play female roles throughout time, Naach has exclusively ever employed launda (male) performers.

Literally translated as "launda," a young male teenager. In reality, however, it is a disparaging phrase that implies a man who is effeminate, vulgar, immature, and from a so-called lower caste or class.

Moreover, the word precariously straddles the line between morality and what society considers acceptable. Naach has become stigmatized by the addition of the word launda. Furthermore, it flattens out other dominating motifs that are a significant component of the Naach performance tradition when it is substituted with the word Bidesiya, which literally means "migrant."

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A form of resistance

All dances in the world of folk art represent a sort of resistance. The same is true for launda naach, a feudal-era art form that was developed and mastered by Dalits and other oppressed caste artists. In that sense, it is feasible to argue that the change in its fortunes was a result of mainstream society's attempt to discredit it in order to deny it social acceptance.

Music and dance as forms of entertainment were unavailable to the poor and marginalised due to the restriction of classical dance forms to the domain of kings and courts, and then to zamind?ars and their tawaifs (courtesans). They inevitably created their own form, which was a replication of what the rural, backward caste society thought roughly approximated the form of their masters but was filled with their own expectations and exposure.

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women were placed under purdah in this society, as is customary, their roles were taken up by men, for the pleasure of other men¡ªthe audience. The primary difference between launda naach and the entertainment of the feudal lords is that launda naach was available to the oppressed and low-caste people.

Every dance represents some kind of resistance in the world of folk art. Launda Naach is an example of a feudal society's product that has developed and honed.

Ramchandra Manjhi: its most prominent exponent

Padma Shree Ramachandra Manjhi, who revered art and dominated the stage till his final days, serves as the protagonist of this tale. He spent decades practicing a lost art form and made allies with every obstacle in his path.

Manjhi began performing when he was just 10 years old.

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At the time, Manjhi's parents didn't complain that their son was a cross-dresser since the business was booming and had just begun to flourish in the Bihar hinterlands. In fact, the benefits of performing on stage¡ªmoney, and fame¡ªmade it honourable.

Unfortunately, the world would not view Naach in this way. Caste restrictions became apparent and forced the art form out of its well-respected status. Ramchandra continued, nevertheless, as this was not only a source of income for him but also a vehicle for social change.

Many people have been motivated by his folk dancing performances on stage throughout his eighty-year career. His traditional dance encouraged female characters and circumstances. Launda Naach discussed the suffering experienced by women. For his devotion, dedication, and performances in upholding the heritage of Grameen Natak for more than eight decades, this legend was given a Padma Shree Award in the year 2021.

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