Bhand Pather: kashmir’s folk theater’s transformative role in shaping the cultural, political, and social landscape

The paper explores the historical trajectory of Bhand Pather, from its origin as a vibrant folk theatre, deeply embedded in Kashmir’s cultural and social fabric to its contemporary posture. The key aspect of the paper is to examine how Bhand Pather’s theme had a paradigm shift from entertainment, spiritual celebration to candid exposure of the absurdities and incongruities of life either by the everyday act of telling a story or the staged reiteration of stories— often countering the complex web of our respective histories. The paper has also examined how the folk theatre has engaged participants and audiences in renewed understandings of the past; introducing alternative voices into public debate by questioning existing social evils and thereby forging community bonds. Further, aim of the study is to advance a critical approach for understanding theatre as important cultural terrain for retrieving marginalised voices. To this end absence of direct sources need not be read as silence rather the power of theatre can also be gleaned from the narratives in public realm as gesture that speaks of a legitimate history of voices that remained unnoticed. However, once a vibrant art with sharp satire, today it has lost its much of the audience and relevance in contemporary society. Further, the paper looks in to the crisis which Bhand Pather confronts and that threatens its very existence.