Vibrant twelve hour street play raises money for the welfare of cows

By Hannah Stevens @Hannahshewans

AN EPIC 12 hour street play shows men taking on every role - even the female ones - to raise money for the welfare of cows

Scroll down for the full story

Comments

Photographer Siddharth Kaneria travelled to the village of Mitana to capture a vibrant street performance

Photographer Siddharth Kaneria travelled to the Indian village of Mitana to document the cultural experience.

The performance entitled Ramapir No Varghodo celebrated the wedding procession of King Ramdev, a 14th century ruler who was said to have miraculous powers and devoted his life to uplifting the downtrodden and poor people of society.

In traditional street plays men take on all the roles - including the female ones

Siddharth said: “Ramdev, who ruled Pokhran in India, believed in the equality of all human beings and his worship crosses the Hindu-Muslim divide as well as the distinctions of caste.”

In the Gujarat and Rajasthan states, villages have been putting on on street plays to collect money for the welfare of cows since the 19th century.

In some villages, women are banned from performing in public so the men must take on every role

Traditional street plays raise money for the welfare of cows

None of the profits from the play are kept for personal gain or as earnings for the performers.

This street play was performed by the Khodiyar Ramamandar Group at the biggest crossroad in the Mitana village.

This epic play went on all night and lasted for twelve hours

Street plays are hugely popular in villages in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and many travelled from outside the village to see the performance.

Siddharth said: “The street plays are really popular with locals because they are a main source of entertainment for them because there is no cinema and people are quite isolated from the cities.”

Performers kept the audience entertained by distributing chocolates during the play

Kaneria, whose grandfather once acted in similar plays, believes the plays are of huge cultural importance for audiences.

He said: “Street plays are a big mode of education for the people. The core purpose of the plays are to educate people about their history and culture.

Photographer Siddharth Kaneria's grandfather was once a performer in similar street plays

The play celebrated 14th century King Ramdev who devoted his life to uplifting the poor and the downtrodden

“This play about the story of the King Ramdev brought people together beyond their boundaries of religion, caste and societal hierarchy.”

Only men perform in the colourful displays because women are not permitted to perform publicly.

The photographer added: “Women don’t have the liberty to perform in plays. In villages women are not allowed to perform in public, even alongside other men.

This performance, entitled Ramapir No Varghodo, celebrated his wedding procession

“This has led to the ritual of men performing as female characters.”

Despite the limitations placed on the women, Siddharth only saw excitement and joy during the 12 hour performance.

He said: “It was a very vibrant, joyous and exciting atmosphere. All the people were very much involved in the story and to maintain their involvement the performers would distribute things like chocolate during the play.

“The audience was very lively and attentive and they would react as per the mood of the story, some even came on stage to donate money or clothes in between scenes.”