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It’s that point of the yr when on a full-moon evening, the world’s largest inhabited river island Majuli wears its distinctive masks. The masks that embodies the wealthy tradition and the identification of the island, which floats proudly because the granary of Vaishnavite tradition of Assam within the mighty Brahmaputra.
Majuli presumably is the one place in Assam the place the Raas Leela of Lord Krishna is well known by way of the performs enacted by the devotees. Throughout these Raas pageant days, Majuli turns into a veritable place for pilgrimage. For the believers, the island turns into the abode of the Lord and different divine figures usually represented by the masks and its males.
The pandemic restrictions of 2020 restricted the extravaganza of Raas and the masks as properly. Nevertheless, Pradip Goswami of the mask-making centre of Samuguri Satra this yr has created a 12-feet tall masks (bormukha) of Kumbhakarna (the brother of Ravana), which the grasp craftsman expects to draw folks visiting the island through the Raas pageant.
“The Kumbhakarna bormukha took me round three months to create. It’s 12-feet tall and is donned to incarnate the character of the demon king through the Bhaonas (folks performs). Our whole household at Samuguri Satra is concerned in mask-making and it’s this artwork that makes the monastery distinctive. Folks from England, Germany and america come right here to study the artwork, as we make the masks from bamboo, hessian material, cow-dung and dirt paste. It’s feather-light and has an extended shelf life. Our masks glorify a number of prestigious worldwide museums, together with the London museum that shows the well-known ten-headed Ravana masks or the Dasa Mura,” says Pradip Goswami.
The Natun Samaguri Satra or centre, has practised the custom of mask-making because the mid-Seventeenth century. It makes headgear for the Raas Leela pageant and for Bhaona, a mode of vibrant road theatre from Assam.
Historically made, the masks completely fits the tag of being utterly eco-friendly and biodegradable. The intricate means of mask-making begins through the use of bamboo sticks to organize the framework of the face. Then the sticky potters’ clay smeared on cotton material strips are pasted on the body. A mixture of clay and cow-dung is used to etch out the contours of the precise character. Thereafter, a material is wrapped to finish the form. The ultimate step is colouring and sprucing. Both pure colors from flowers, leaves and tree bark are used or these obtainable out there.
“Although within the Raas pageant the bormukhas usually are not used as right here we use masks that depict the manifestation of Kansa (evil uncle of Krishna), the bormukhas are one of the vital fascinating masks that Samaguri Satra has been making for over a century. There are three sizes of masks. Mukha bhaona, which covers the face, lotokoi that extends to the chest, and cho, which often consists of two components: a head and a physique. As soon as the masks is full, a kordhoni or bamboo file is used to smoothen the floor, and at last, vegetable dyes are brushed on. Eyebrows are raised, nostrils flared, and eyes tackle a sinister, bloodshot hue because the masks assume the characters they may painting,” says Pradip Goswami.
As change is the one everlasting, Majuli masks too have modified themselves with the altering instances. These embrace the talking and movable masks and a few with roving eyes. The jaw and eye motion give a contact of realism to the masks, thereby participating viewers. A few of the masks with these attributes embrace Putana, Bali and Sugreeva. Primarily based on their make and use, there are three forms of masks. The Mukh mukha (face masks) is used on the face together with acceptable costume to match the specs of the character as in Bali, Sugreev, Garuda and Jatayu. Lotokori mukha (center masks) has a face half and a physique half. Part of the actor’s physique is roofed whereas he can use his palms and ft simply. Examples are Marich, Subaru and Taraka. And the final kind is the Bar mukha or Cho mukha. This masks can also be referred to as a giant masks because it covers the human physique. Cho refers to hiding the pure physique of an actor utterly, from his head to ft, as within the Ravana and Narasingha.
The three-day 2021 Majuli Raas Competition can be noticed within the island district from November 18 till November 20, inaugurated by the chief minister of the state Himanta Biswa Sarma. Soaked within the resplendence of Bhakti ras in these three days, Majuli will remodel itself right into a world stage of track, dance and dialogue in a performing artwork kind depicting the story of the lifetime of Lord Krishna.
Raas is a celebration of 500 years of cultural and creative contributions of the assorted sattras (the seat of Vaishnavite preaching launched by medieval saint Srimanta Shankardev for an all-inclusive type of faith) in Majuli.
The jatra is an annual pageant that includes track, dance and dialogue in a performing artwork kind depicting the story of the lifetime of Lord Krishna. It begins with the start of Krishna, his rising up, his tending to the cows at Gokul alongside along with his fellow cowherds, his childhood, and his vanquishing of demons like Bakasur, Putana, Kaliya, and Kansa. All the efficiency occurs and not using a break and is a steady course of involving greater than 60 actors taking part in numerous roles.
That is the place the masks come into play. Srimanta Shankardev, aside from being a preacher, was a dramatist, thinker, social reformer, artiste, painter, linguist and actor. He used dance-dramas to share the tales of Krishna along with his followers who didn’t perceive texts written in Indian languages, impressively utilizing masks to make widespread folks relate to the character simply.
He wrote a dramatic composition referred to as ‘Ankiya Nat’, which known as Bhaona in Assamese. He took tales from Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana and wrote six ‘Ankiya Nat’ in Brajawali language (a combined language of Assamese and Maithili). These are ‘Rama Vijaya’, ‘Parijata Haran’, ‘Kaliya Damana’, ‘Rukmini Haran’, ‘Keli Gopala’ and ‘Patni Prasada’. In these dramas, some characters had overwhelming personalities, which couldn’t be portrayed by a human face. Due to this fact, Sankardeva launched the idea of masks and depicted them in Bhaona. A few of the particular characters for whom masks are used embrace Maricha, Subahu, Taraka, Kalia Nag, and many others. Masks assist to boost the efficiency and dramatic impact of those characters, which might not be potential by facial expressions alone, specialists say.
The primary Raas Leela was carried out at Dakhinpat Satra in 1840 and it’s continued with full ritual methods. These represent Assamese classical music and dance. Raas Leela was made right into a stage efficiency by Pitambardeva Goswami of Garamur Satra within the yr 1934. In 1950, he permitted the women of the Satra to take roles within the Raas Leela and dance.
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