Folklore 34 Folklore 34 Folklore 34 Folklore 34 Folklore 34 39 LOSS OF A SYNCRETIC THEATRICAL FORM Javaid Iqbal Bhat Abstract: The folk theatre called Bhand Pather is probably the oldest theatre in the subcontinent if not in the world. Though the history of its evolution has not been comprehensively documented yet one can find references to it in some of the extant manuscripts. In this paper, the author attempts a complex explo- ration of this endangered form as a key component of tradition and its interface with modernity not merely through direct confrontation with the products like television, but also in the ideological domain. Bhand Pather lends itself for a study of the shifting landscape of the inter- communal relationships. It is one of the unique sites on which the nuances and complexities of Kashmiriyat can be easily worked out. It has been nourished both by Hindu Shaivism and Sufi mysticism. The presence of secular characters is an eminent feature of this form. The most significant feature of this art rich with the antique flavor is the way it presents us a non-idealized version of Kashmiriyat. Key words: Kashmir, Bhand Pather, folk theatre, history of folk theatre Nothing defines the limits and promises of Kashmiriyat better than the Bhand Pather. Bhand Pather is an amalgam, an agglomeration or a repository of diverse rhythms. These rhythms stemming from multiple sources, some far- off and some very close. In his most recent novel Shalimar the Clown, Rushdie towards the end of this rather painful narrative bemoaning the loss of a cherished paradise on earth, depicts a very poignant scene. A Bhand Pather performance is underway in the Srinagar auditorium. Outside the auditorium, people are frenetically shouting slogans heralding the birth of a new valley or as Rushdie would have it “dawn of an age of fury” (Rushdie 2005: 45). Inside, excepting a Sikh, no one is watching the ‘jashn’ of the once celebrated Bhands. Not many years before, Pachigam, the fictional village – a metaphor for Kashmiriyat – played host to the best troupe of traveling players or Bhands. With the near total extinction of Pachigam under the impact of a complex set of forces, the popular art of Bhands also meets its sad end. Shalimar, the tightrope walker and son of the village sarpanch, with hair as a ‘mountain stream’ (Rushdie 2005: 11) ends up decapitating his childhood sweetheart, Boonyi. Soon after this he himself is also mortally wounded by another character with an arrow while he is in Los Angeles baying for the blood of ex-ambassador Max Ophuls. http://haldjas.folklore.ee/folklore/vol34/bhat.pdf doi:10.7592/FEJF2006.34.bhat