Nachnis and rasiks: an ethnographic study of an artistic community of Purulia district, west Bengal, India

Social aspects of the nachni dance today

With the abolition of the zamindari system and the eclipse of the princely states, the nachni tradition declined. Now a wealthy landowner or connoisseur of the music and dance are the main patrons of the nachnis. The loss of constant local patronage caused a decline in the number of nachnis; however, as per data provided by Sunil Mahato in 2015, there are around 105 ladies supposed to be nachnis in both West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Anthropological studies and films about the nachnis from the 1970's (“The Nachni” by Ladly Mukhopadhyaya, for instance) show a certain evolution of the institution of nachni-rasik relations and performance during the 20 century. All our interviews show that despite the profound changes in the attitude to dance in India in general and that many nachnis today have received Indian National awards, their social status in villages is still very low. It appears that quite a few young girls continue to be involved in nachni profession. Sometimes a nachni marries her rasik and has a proper family - this seems to be a recent development. There is also a tendency towards forming stable familylike connections between a nachni and a rasik today.

Although there is certain activity (conferences, seminars) aimed at consolidating all nachnis and promoting their rights to highlight the social problems of nachnis, this initiative is still not successful due to strong professional rivalry and a lack of community feeling. Yet, some statements made in the press may cause certain anger, such as the one of a known filmmaker and journalist Ladli Mukhopadhyay. The statement was probably exaggerated or misunderstood by some nachnis as critical, but Saraswati Devi even wanted to demand compensation for abuse (Sunil_Mahato_08 PF 02.03.2013). “Nachni Unnayan Samiti”, an organization aimed to unite danseuses (in 2013 there were 52 members, although, according to Sunil Mahato, in the beginning they were 72), was established in 2005 under the auspices of Mabhum Lok Sanskriti, and as a part of Durbar Mohila Samiti (Sunil_Matato_11 PF 03.03.2013).

One should take into consideration the highly marginal aspects of both the status and actual professional activity of this community. The dramatic aspect of this social role of nachni has been shown in a successful brand-new Bengali theatrical production, 2013, “Naachni” by Parthpratim Deb. This strongly corresponds with the interest to a figure of Lawani danseuse of Maharashtra in the contemporary Marathi theatre - from both artistic and social / gender perspectives, connecting dance with the context of rural India at large.

The nachni, when performing on stage, used to enjoy rousing reception, fame, and applause; but in terms of social status, their acceptability was marginal. Even if a nachni lived with her rasik as a wife and they had children, she was never given the status of a legal wife; her last days could become pitiful if her grown-up children did not take care of her. In death, the custom was to carry the dead body of a nachni outside the village to throw it away as a corpse of an animal, and carnivores tore and devoured it. So, the stigma attached to a nachni prohibited her from being approached by a common man who enjoyed her performance to take her away for a formal nuptial relationship.

Instead, a nachni modeled her relationship as the eternal bond between Radha and Krishna. Therefore, the nachni would stay in the house of her rasik and contribute to the family coffers. This form of nachni-rasik relationship existed until the recent past when a new campaign to improve the life of a nachni was started by a state organization.

The campaign was spearheaded by DMSC, a non-governmental organization initially aimed at empowering marginalized women engaged in prostitution. The organization attempted to bring a change in the abominable existence of the nachni and bolster her social security. Moreover, they insisted that no woman should be forced to become a nachni. Partly due to their sustained campaign and people's consciousness, a whiff of change began to percolate into the tradition of nachni dance. On the one hand, the nachni dance was projected as a characteristic folk performance of the region; on the other hand, a serious question was raised about the subhuman disposal and marginal status of the nachni women. The quality of artistic performances of some of the nachnis won them National Award. People of the region and state became more and more aware of them through the popular media representations of the nachnis in film, theatre, and literature. Again, several popular forms of entertainment flooded the region apart from nachnis. The nachnis, too, became aware of their condition. Thus, we see the new form of relationships: nachni performers who are legally married to their rasiks. The couple both own the troupe, which rasik manages. The nachnis are also getting government support and participating in governmental programs. This causes changes to the topics and presentation of the songs. After the decline from court patronization, when nachni performance became popular entertainment, the songs were considered vulgar and full of sexual innuendoes, as stated by the village gentry. Now the songs have become refined to suit the tastes of people of various social groups.

State intervention and work of volunteer organizations had an impact on wiping out some of the most inhuman treatment even after death. At the same time, we notice a shift from a `dancer-connoisseur-trainer-lover-consort' model to a `performer-manager' complex suited to the market. Here, the nachni as a formally married wife of the rasik ensures social security on the one hand, and on the other, responds to the growing market, which logo-centrically values the brand called nachni. In this way, the nachni is turning into a choreographed folk performance in its present form and gaining a status of a profession like any other similar profession.

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