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Description

Domni is a unique folk theatre form of Malda region in West Bengal. It presents social satire through which common people voice their grievances and aspirations. The drama portrays the joys and sorrows of the poor and common people. The lead characters include husbands, wives, mothers, greedy moneylenders, peasants and political leaders, among others. Domni is said to have evolved from a region called Diyara in northwestern Malda and was practised by migrants from Jharkhand. This folk art form is presented in three acts. The first act is Bandana which starts with a tribute to gods and goddesses. The Mool Gayen (lead character or protagonist) and Chhokras (supporting characters) offer devotional prayers. Chhokras are men who dress up as and play the female characters. The dance performances of Chhokras are called Nachari or Lahari. The main body of the performance comes after this. Traditionally, the performance lasted up to 4 hours but now, keeping the audiences in mind, the duration has come down to around 90 minutes. The performance is accompanied by musical instruments like harmonium, trumpet, keyboard and percussions like dhol, khol, tabla and cymbals. The performing groups use scripts for the shows. In this project 142 Domni artists from Malda have participated.

Repertoire

Traditional Discription:

The traditional themes are mainly mythology-based tales. The dialogues are in Khottai language — a mix of Bengali, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Urdu. The instruments used include Dhol, Khol, Kartal. The artists wear costumes like Gamcha, T-shirt, Dhuti. The costumes and instruments are sourced locally.

Contemporary Discription:

Domni is a now social campaign tool on several issues. Campaigns on issues like child education, Swachcha Bharat (Clean India mission), Kanyashree Prakalpa (girl child’s development), drug abuse, child health and sanitation are on. Modern instruments like trumpet and keyboard have been introduced. The Khottai language (25%) has largely been replaced by Bengali in Domni performances. Duration of the plays has been shortened and highly customised according to the tastes and choices of the audience

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Village Festival

Malda Folk Festival succeeded in bringing people together and celebrated the cultural heritage of Malda district. From October 14-16, 2022 the venue was adorned with multiple folk performances like Gombhira, Domni (two folk drama forms of Malda). The visitors also explored multiple basketry products and purchased directly from the creators. Here is the glimpse of the festival.

International Visit

No Domni artists have been visited abroad as of now.

Activity

Basic Workshop This age old traditional theatre form due to its lack of contemporary themes, have been restricted only to local regions. The songs, expression, music are still lacking to reach out to contemporary audiences. Many lack sense of song and music synchronization. The men who dance in the attire of women are called ‘Chokra’ and they are slowly loosing relevance and acceptance. A workshop was conducted on June 20-31,2022 with 121 artists to contemporaries Domni and enhance theatrical skills of the practicing artists.