Maach (Chhattisgarhi folk-theatre)

Understand

Where Maach (Chhattisgarhi folk-theatre) comes from

The Maach (or Maach nritya) is the folk-theatre of Chhattisgarh, performed at village fairs and at the Sohrai festival. The Maach is documented as one of the distinctive folk-arts of Chhattisgarh, with the songs drawn from the regional ballads and religious legends (the Maach of Nagpur has its roots in the 16th-century Maratha court, and a related tradition exists across Chhattisgarh). The Maach form is a danced drama — a song-and-action theatrical form with a narrator, characters (typically played by men), musicians and dancers. Performances are at the village and state level, with current revival under the Chhattisgarh government's folk-arts programmes.

How it's practiced

The Maach is performed in open village ground or in a community hall, by a small troupe of actors (2-5 men) who play multiple roles and narrate the story. The songs are in the Chhattisgarhi dialect, sung to the accompaniment of the dhol, the shehnai and the harmonioum. The choreography is simple — actors move in coordinated steps and in processional formation around the central sung stories. Costume is the regional festival dress of the village — the colourful Chhattisgarhi dhoti-kurta with the regional head-cloth. Maach performances are typically held at the Sohrai festival and at the evening of the larger village fairs (melas).