Jatrapala, the foremost but a diminishing art of bengali culture

Abstract

Jatrapala was one of the most top-notch amusement of Bengali culture once but with the passage of time, it has lost its charm. It is not possible to say the exact time of starting Jatrapala in Bengal. But it is sure that Jatra is the first and major joviality of Bengali culture. From various sources, it is sure that Jatrapala started from the time of Bhakti movement in Indian sub-continent. From the beginning of 1500 AD, this movement started to spread and groups of devotees traveled from village to village by singing and dancing together, organized drama festivals in various temples and spread their devotion among the common people and circumspectly, Jatra started from these. This gathering of dance, song and drama gradually takes the form of Jatra. Initially only men participated in Jatra. At that time men played the roles of women. With time, there’s participation of women in Jatra. However, women's path was not very glossy in Jatra. In this present article, an effort has been taken to show the chronicles of Jatrapala, female impersonators, women appearance, changes in Jatra over the time, the present and the future of this art.