Dipshikha Singh

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Riya Behl

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The young man climbed onto the makeshift stage where women were dancing and grabbed 19-year-old Muskan&#39;s hand. “Abhiye goli maar denge to turat
nachne lagogi [If
I shoot you now, then you will start dancing],” he said.

As he threatened Muskan, the rest of the audience cheered him on. The young artist had only refused to dance to a lewd Bhojpuri song, uneasy with the jeering crowd of more than a thousand men here in Bihar’s East
Champaran district. 


A member
of the Runali Orchestra Group, Muskan was one of the seven dancers who were
performing at a dance and music show, locally called “orchestra”. This event had
been organised as part of the Durga Puja festivities in Chiraia block. 

“Such
threats are common for us dancers,” says Muskan, who has been working in
orchestra events for close to three years now. 


But
threats move quickly into unwanted sexual advances. “Kamar par hath rakhna ya blouse me hath ghusane ki koshis karna yahan
mardo ki rozmarra ki harkate hain [Men put their hand on our waist or try
to force their hands into our blouses. Such acts are an everyday affair here],”
says Radha, a dancer.

Orchestra
events are usually held during festivals, private parties or weddings across
Bihar. Dancers are paid on a per performance basis anywhere between Rs. 1,500-2,000.
Even the most seasoned artists do not earn more than Rs. 5,000 for a
performance. To increase the number of events they get commissioned, dancers
are often in contact with more than one organiser of orchestra events. 

“Close
to 200 girls from different parts of India and Nepal come to dance in orchestra
events in Sonepur mela,” Muskan
explains. She was introduced to an organiser of orchestra events at the Sonepur mela (fair) organised every year in
Bihar’s Saran district and has since been working as a dancer. Gradually, she
learnt the skills on the job. 


Girls
between 15-35 years of age are often hired as dancers for these events. “Some
of the girls are still in contact with their families. They visit their homes
once or twice in a year,” Muskan adds. “Their families know about the work they
do,” she says and explains the lack of familial censure saying, “they need the
money and this job sustains them.” 

Despite
the harassment she faces, dancing in orchestra events helps Muskan make a
living – and so, she perseveres. Muskan was married to a 29-year-old man in
Kolkata when she was only 13 years old. After three years of abusive marriage,
she fled her in-laws’ home. 
 
“He [her husband] didn’t like that I had given birth to a daughter and he
wanted to sell our baby,” Muskan says, recounting how she boarded a train to
Bihar with her daughter who was only one year old. She found work at the
Sonepur mela.

There
is rampant discrimination against orchestra dancers which seeps into the most
basic of their needs, Muskan points out. “It’s difficult for us to even find
accommodation.” Muskan and her daughter live in a rented house in Digha, in the
outskirts of Patna. She shares the two-bedroom pucca house with six other girls
who also work as dancers. “I like staying here with the girls. This place is
cheap and we share the rent and other expenses,” Muskan says. 

Despite
the harassment and discrimination Muskan faces, she prefers it to living with her
abusive husband. “Yahan [at
orchestra events] to sirf chhu ke chhor
dete hai, kam se kam pahle ki trah roz raat ko rape to nahi hota [Here,
they just touch you and leave. At least that’s better than getting raped every
night].” 

Having
suffered harassment in orchestra events herself, Muskan does not want her
daughter to grow up to be a dancer. She wants her to study and lead, as she
says, a “decent life”. Muskan had completed primary education, but was then
married off. 

“But
many of us here do not have any ID [identity documents],” Muskan says, which
makes enrollment to schools difficult. “I do not know how I will send her to
school without these documents,” she adds, “We need help but do not know where
to seek it.”

Priya,
who is staying with Muskan while she visits Patna for an orchestra event, works
as a duet dancer (two people dancing together) in an orchestra group. She
started working as a dancer with her husband when she was only 16.

“I
cannot keep doing this,” says Priya, 20 years old now. She hopes to open a
general goods shop with her husband. “I am planning to have a baby soon. We do
not want our child to have anything to do with the orchestra sector,” she adds. Manisha, another dancer, started performing in orchestra events after she completed Class 10. Her father has passed away and her mother’s salary as a maid could not sustain the family. She says, “This is temporary; I will not work in these events for long. After sometime when I have enough money, I will go back and get married to a good man.” 

Offices
of organisers of orchestra events line many streets in Janta bazaar – a local market near
Chhapra town in Saran district of Bihar. Vicky, one of the organisers of
orchestra events says, “Janta bazaar to
pura wholesale bazaar jaisa hai orchestra dancers ka [Janta bazaar is like a wholesale market of
orchestra dancers].”

Aware
of the harassment dancers face, Vicky says, “Dancers are often thought of as
‘bad women’ and are harassed. No one talks about the men who harass them,
though.” He is quick to add, “I am a married man and have a family.
I treat the dancers like my family.” Often, he says, they have to hire
security for large-scale orchestra events. 

“Harassment
is much more prevalent in PPs,” Vicky says. PPs, he explains, are private
parties which are usually held by high-profile people. Raju who is also an organiser
says, “Often the dancers get harassed in front of the police itself.” 

All names in this story have been
changed.

Dancing to abusive tunes in Bihar

فحش گانوں پر ناچنے کی مجبوری

பிகார்: இம்சை இசைக்கு ஆடும் பெண்கள்

ਬਿਹਾਰ: ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲ ਗਾਣਿਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਨੱਚੋ ਜਾਂ ਫਿਰ ਗੋਲ਼ੀ ਖਾਓ

ଅଶ୍ଳୀଳ ଗୀତ ତାଳରେ ନାଚିବାର ବାଧ୍ୟବାଧକତା

ബിഹാറിൽ അശ്ലീല ഈണങ്ങൾക്ക് ചുവടുവെക്കുമ്പോൾ

ಬಿಹಾರ: ಬದುಕಿನ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ಹಾಡುಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ನಲುಗುವ ಯುವತಿಯರು

सरेआम छेड़छाड़ के बीच अश्लील गानों पर नाचने की मजबूरी

બિહારમાં અશ્લીલ ધૂન પર નૃત્ય

पेट सेती भद्दा गाना के धुन मं नाचे बर मजबूर

নাচের ছন্দে অপমানের ক্লেদ মিশছে বিহারে

জীৱনৰ নিষ্ঠুৰ ছন্দত নাচি থকা মুস্কানহঁত

रोटी खातिर अश्लील गीत पर नाचे के मजबूरी

Patna

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Dancing to abusive tunes in Bihar

Young dancers who perform in orchestra events across Bihar recount the harassment they often face from male members of the audience. But, it's a livelihood they cannot afford to give up

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