A Dalit folk artist desperate to escape the fate he has been trapped into since birth due to his caste position turns to education, only to be dragged back into the trap. This documentary film chronicles his continuing struggle
A photo story that takes us through the vibrant streets of a village in in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district, where the famous Purisai Festival is held once every two years
Asit Pramanik is no ordinary weaver – he is also a keen theatre practitioner. His labour at the loom and his love for the stage, exemplify the struggles of a worker’s existence. A story for May 1, 2025, International Labour Day
In the face of public apathy, absence of sustained state support, and changing ideas of entertainment, young and old Therukoothu artistes in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram struggle to keep their passion alive
Iswaraya is a thirunangai or trans woman from Vellore district in search of a life of dignity and respect. Here is the story of her continuing struggle to start and run a successful drama troupe in Tamil Nadu
Rajitha Pulavar started the first all-women tholpavakoothu puppetry troupe in Shornaur, Kerala
Watch the Subunsri and Bagurumba dances from Assam's Bodo community, with musicians on the siphung (long flute), kham (drum), and serja (violin) in attendance
A Therukkoothu performer speaks about the challenges faced by transgender artistes as they pursue their passion for this ancient theatre form in Tamil Nadu
To cater to the modern audience, tholpavakoothu puppetry has evolved a lot in the last two decades. A video documentary showcasing the transition of this art form through the years
This vigorous folk dance is performed by young people in coastal Karnataka. Organised and funded locally, they are integral to festivities held around Dussehra and Janmashtami
Performing artists like Manganiyars, Bahurupi and Terah Tali must wait for shows and events to earn through the year. A new scheme in Rajasthan guarantees 100 days of employment with the aim to rescue them from economic insecurity
A religious folk performance practised in the satras of Majuli, Assam
This post-harvest dance is performed only by men and is full of colour and the sound of multiple musical instruments
Tholpavakoothu puppet-making is a rare skill that calls for working with buffalo and goat skin to create divine figures. This art is now also being done by women in the Malabar region
Ramesh Dutta is a painter, a sculptor, a mask-maker and player of many instruments. His talents are on display in the many theatre activities held on this island in the Brahmaputra river in Assam
Tapan Murmu is a young Santhal Adivasi farmer in Birbhum who also performs with puppets during the harvest festival – an art he worries has few takers among his generation
A film about shadow puppet theatre in the villages of the Malabar region of Kerala
This annual festival in Assam is a much-anticipated event with performances held across many venues. Migration and fading interest from the younger generation is making it difficult to find performers
The kathputli artists of Delhi not only make puppets but also perform with them. The community has been struggling to regain momentum after they were moved out of their homes to a transit camp in 2017
Bonbibi pala gaan is among the many musical dramas performed by locals in the Sundarbans. Falling incomes have pushed many to migrate, leading to a dearth of artists to enact this folk theatre
Farmers and labourers from Rajat Jubilee village in West Bengal come together to perform the Manasa pala gaan, a traditional musical play dedicated to the snake goddess – and keep rural theatre alive
Nat dancers move between their village in Chhattisgarh and the protest site at Delhi’s Singhu border, supporting the fight for farmers’ rights even as they themselves struggle to make a living
Harassed, shunned by family, losing livelihoods – trans folk in Tamil Nadu are seeing the worst of times
While the pandemic has devastated many folk artists across Tamil Nadu, trans women performers have been among the worst hit – with barely any work or income, and no access to aid or state benefits
In this video story, Premram Bhat and others speak of how their puppet shows, once popular in royal courts and at village events, are no longer in demand, and how the lockdowns have further hit their incomes
Kombu artistes in Tamil Nadu are struggling without any income from temple festivals and public events during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But their worries are more about the declining art
Tamil Nadu's Karagattam performers, who depend on the art form for a living, are struggling without work and income – and they're anxious that the pandemic will end their dream of educating their children
At celebrations and commemorations during the winter months, young men and women from Chhattisgarh's Gond community travel together to perform the Hulki Mandri and Kolang dances, and sing Rela songs
Lakshman Katappa and his family, who belong to the Dhegu Megu SC community of Kodambal village in Karnataka and worship Goddess Mariyamma, dance and whip themselves to earn a living
In this centuries-old ritual event in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, impersonators tell stories of forgotten heroes from Dalitcommunities, solve disputes, and provide catharsis
Nirmala Devi, her daughter Tara, and their all-women group are accomplished dancers, known for their signature Terah Taali sequence. Every evening, they ascend the stage in Udaipur's Bagore ki Haveli
In Senabana village of West Bengal's Purulia district, 65-year-old Charubala Kalindi, who has danced as a nachni for decades, still whips up a high-energy performance along with her rasik and their troupe
During the Dussehra month, the ragtag Ramkatha Singing Party dashes off from stage to stage, before returning to their day jobs, even as the retelling of the epic is engulfed by contemporary politics
For the female dancers in Mangala Bansode’s tamasha troupe in rural Maharashtra, work brings a steady income, but also entails sexual harassment, gruelling schedules, no privacy, and even childbirth on the move
In Dashavatar performances – a centuries-old theatre form of south Maharashtra and north Goa – plays of several hours, with only male actors, most of them farmers and labourers, keep audiences riveted till dawn
Raju Chowdhury of West Bengal's Bishaypur village is a storyteller, a feverish singer, an impersonator. His income is modest, the work is hard. This film features his stunning dance as the imaginary Tara sundori
Puppeteers in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh are struggling to keep their art form alive – with its rich tradition and history – despite no help from the state and the takeover of ‘entertainment’ by television
PARI volunteer Sanket Jain aims to traverse 300 villages across India and, among other stories, produce this feature: a photograph of a rural scene or event and a sketch of that photograph. This is the fifth in the series on PARI.
Changes in technology, in audience tastes, shrinking performance spaces – have all impacted the tamasha. Troupe owners have mixed feelings – is the tamasha in danger or will Mangala Bansode's art form survive?
The tamasha remains popular in rural Maharashtra, where many see it as a more stable form of livelihood than agricultural labour, though profits are lean and the schedule is gruelling. One of the biggest troupes is run by Mangala Bansode, who received a National Award in the Creative Arts category yesterday, October 9
Young women on the outskirts of Bengaluru excel at a Kannada drum-and-dance form long thought to be a skill for burly men. In the video here, watch the group perform with extraordinary energy and rhythm
Bahurupi artists in West Bengal easily metamorphose into different characters during a performance, but are finding it hard to change their work roles with changing times
Poikkal Kuthirai dancers of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, struggle to make a living from their ancient folk art form
Across the villages of Alirajpur, many of them now denuded and barren and with few livelihood options, the Bhils struggle to retain their farming and cultural practices
Choliya troupes in Uttarakhand integrate Scottish bagpipes into rural Indian music
This traditional drum of Manipur's Meitei community is central to their culture, and to spectacular music and dance
Student artists in a unique school of education and theatre art in Tamil Nadu
Delhi’s old colony of puppeteers is in a state of flux, with threats to the land, housing and social structures
Watch Kali Veerapadran – perhaps the only male dancer who has mastered the classical dance form Bharatanatyam, as well as three ancient Tamil folk dance forms – in a riveting performance
'I want to set up a dance school, I want to earn money, I want to look after my mother, I want to dance'
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PARI - People's Archive of Rural India
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