Revising Jatra in Bengal as a Tool for Representation, Restoration, and Revolution
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Osnes, Beth
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of Colorado at Boulder
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2020
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
215
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
University of Colorado at Boulder
Text preceding or following the note
2020
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Invoking the Conscience: Revising Jatra in Bengal as a tool for Representation, Restoration, and Revolution, draws from the evolution of the Bengali performance form Jatra from a religious celebration to a secular and provocative form of theatre both socially and politically charged to support grassroots engagement. In the nineteenth century, Jatra contributed to India's emerging independence movement, and the form became a significant voice for social concerns in the twentieth century. This dissertation examines one of the most distinctive features of Jatra, the anthropomorphizing of the "conscience," commonly known as the bibek. This is a character type that can interrupt the action to grant expression to various characters' perspectives through song and provide larger ethical commentary on the action of the drama as it corresponds to relevant local issues. By employing the postcolonial notion of hybridity, I investigate what the presence or the absence of this character type allows us to understand about contemporary Jatra from within its colonial roots.