Photographer Soumya Sankar Bose remembers how Jatra, a style of folk theater, was popular during his childhood in West Bengal. But 10 years after moving…
Photographer Soumya Sankar Bose remembers how Jatra, a style of folk theater, was popular during his childhood in West Bengal. But 10 years after moving out, Bose returned home to find that Jatra was no longer celebrated nearly as much. The genre’s brightest stars, once major celebrities, were fading from view. Even his own uncle, a famous Jatra performer, had to take a job at a train station to make ends meet.
Jatra originated in Bangladesh and the eastern Indian states of Odisha and Bihar. It’s a living and vibrant form of theater, usually performed on open-air stages, inspired by Hindu mythology, popular legends and contemporary events.
Some historians believe Jatra can be traced as far back as the 16th century, according to Bose, when it emerged as a new way for performers to explore the spiritual bond between a devotee and his personal god. Later, during British colonial rule, it was used to give voice to political messages.
Today, Jatra is increasingly a relic of the past, as troupes struggle to hold on to audiences more captivated by film and television than by folk theater.
Moved by his uncle’s experience, Bose, 28, decided to pick up his camera and go on a multiyear journey to document an art tradition that is slowly vanishing.
NPR’s Amr Alfiky spoke with Bose about his journey across India and Bangladesh documenting the dying art of Jatra. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Can you tell me about your background?
I was born and raised in the small Indian town of Midnapore. My father used to work for the Indian Railways and my mother was a housewife. In India, it’s hard to do art when you’re from a lower middle class family. In Midnapore, we didn’t have any opportunity to learn photography, so like many other young Indians, I also took a course in engineering.
