On a regular day, Araf Ali works as a butcher at Akuabazaar in Kalihati upazila of Tangail but when the last day of Srabon (monsoon in the Bangla calendar) comes, the artist inside this 30-something hard-headed man shines through.
His face, withered from years spent working as a butcher, finds a new softness after he wears layers of make-up, albeit amateurish in nature. Clad in women’s clothes, he becomes a "shokhi" (companion) of Behula - the newly wed wife of Lakhindar.
Behula too, is portrayed by another man named Israfil. To the villagers of Akuabazaar, Israfil is a known as "badaimma" (a man who doesn’t work). Nonetheless, on the day of the reenactment, this man of mild manner and short stature becomes the centre of attraction among villagers.
Behula’s husband Lakhindar got bitten by a poisonous snake because of Chand Soudagor (Lakhindar’s fathers) refusal to worship serpent goddess Manasha. She tries to win Lord Shiva's approval through dance. Pleased with her dance, Shiva negotiates with Manasha to give back Lakhindar his life.
Under a gloomy "srabon" sky, placing Lakhindar’s snake bitten body infront of her, Behula starts the dance along with her shokhis (all portrayed by men). Their desynchronised moves were accompanied with a loud orchestra consisting of a harmonium, keyboard, drum and dhols which somehow superseded the beautiful lyrics: "Amare pagol korlo chan…" (His love leaves me moonstruck).
The villagers, who gather in numbers, don’t care. To them, the Behular Lachari performance taking place was not just a burlesque dance; rather it's a century old tradition that is prevalent in rural parts of Tangail and Ghatail.
To them, it’s an ode to the serpent goddess Manasha.
A tradition for all
Incidentally, the ode to Manasha was given by all, irrespective of cast and religion. Almost all the casting members of the dancing troop are Muslim.
Monir, their leader, a portly fellow in his early 30’s who plays the role of Lakhindar is a proprietor of a steel cabinet workshop in the village market. “I am also an ‘Ojha’ (a healer). It’s my family profession,” Monir said, adding that not everyone can become an Ojha as the power has to come through inheritance.
Monir claims to have healed hundreds of snake-bitten people in his lifetime. “This annual ritual is not just a dance to us. Rather, it’s a way of showing respect to the snake goddess. “
In this region, Monir’s troop is not the lone group which annually performs Behular Lachari. Rather, there are at least twelve troops like this that performs the ritual in different villages on the last day of Srabon.
A part of this ritual is to float on a boat with the troop and stop at seven ghat’s (anchorage points). This is done as a reenactment of Behula’s epic journey where she floats in a raft with her husband’s dead body and stops at ghats named Chander Ghat, Shiver Ghat, Pakhir Ghat, Kaker Ghat, Bagher Ghat, Shial Ghat and Lebu Dhopanir Ghat to offer puja to Manasha.
At each ghat, Behula stops and offers puja to Manasha. This reenactment of Behula’s epic journey along with the ritual dance is portrayed in a rainy season festival known as "Shaoner Dala."
An attempt to promote it to the world
Shadhona Cultural Circle and cultural tourism company Jatrik work in a combined manner to promote this festival to the world as they believe this rich cultural ritual of rural Bangladesh has the capacity to garner the attention of people from all over the world.
Sadaf Saj Siddiqi, owner of Jatrik said that Behular Lachari is a wonderful depiction of the prevalence of female power and pluralism in a seemingly male dominated and superstitious rural parts of Bangladesh.
She said that his particular festival represents the wonderfully colourful and tolerant sides of this country. “You have to understand that this is being practiced there even before the advent of Islam or Hinduism. We want to promote this rich culture to the world,” she said.
This year, Sadhona and Jatrik organised this trip on the last day of Srabon. Rashed Khan Menon, Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Liakot Ali Laki, director general of Shilpakala Academy along with other high officials from the government joined the entourage.
After seeing the ritual and performance for the first time, Menon said that he would make sure that this festival would be included in the annual cultural calendar of Bangladesh. “This is something we can represent to the world as a part of our rich cultural heritage,” said the Minister.
End
-Renowned scholar and writer Kaiser Haq who also went to the festival with us said that the ritual which was observed was a version of the original Behula-Lakhindar’s story. Kaiser in his book The Triumph of the Snake Goddess tried to depict the comprehensive retelling of this epic tale of Behula-Lakhindar in modern English. He offered a composite prose translation of Manasa’s story, based on five extant versions.
-The Manasamangal texts, redacted between 13th and 15th century, is about the victory of the primordial Female Deity, later assimilated into the Brahmanical pantheon. In it, Chand Saudagor refuses to worship Manasa, who pledges to cut off his progeny. After killing off six sons, she decides to kill the seventh on his wedding night by sending a serpent into his armored bridal room. When Behula, the bride, wakes to find her husband dead, she refuses to accept Manasa’s admonishment, and takes the corpse on an epic journey on a tiny raft to get her husband back.