"jatra" - in Our Village -XVI

My early village life and joy of living would have been incomplete without 'jatra' that I so much enjoyed during 'Puja and Autumn break.The'Natto-Company' of BRIsal was a famous "Jatra-dal" of Bengal, of 1930s & 40s. They were professional troupes performing mostly, on stories from Ramayana'and Mahabharata' and was so popular that even Muslims of our and neughbouring villages would come to enjoy the play , more paricularly,the battle scenes.It used to start near mid- night and would end in the morning.Villagers would come with 'Mashals'(fire-flames) of drieed coconut leaves. My memory, particulary, surrounds a special incidence. That was playing of this jatra by our village -groups.The orginiser being the most well -off and spending most, kept the main role of Rama for himself and the role of Ravana was given to a man who was not only poor but a subject of the hero himself.
Three or four days before the Jatra, these two impotant persons had a big quarrel on the issue of a coconut -tree and the the wouuld -be Rama(Suren jethu) thrashed Nran kaku,(the would Ravan)heavily. Naran kaku bore the insult and thrashing silently and waited for the final day of Jatra. When the jatra was on full speed with heat of battle,the promter told Naran kaku to fall down , as was in the script. Buthe Ravana flatly refused and went on fighting. We were all excited and
over-joyed by this new twist and saw the prompter rush to him and urging him to fall.Even Suren Jethu in royal dress of Rama urged him to obey the script. But that was the last straw and Naran kaku disobeying the whole script gave his own version by saying; "Two days back you-(Shala),had beatten me enough and to day, taking the revenge,I shall write the Ramayana in a new way " and saying this he threw the bow and arrow down and grabbed the slim Suren jetthu(RAMA) and pulled him down. That was ,perhaps the best 'Osker' winning play'I first saw and can never fotget!