Female Folk Theatre performers of Pakistan

Aamir Nawaz

Folk theatre is people’s theatre. A folk artist is one who comes from a rural background and he/she initially used to perform for rural people only. The themes are usually based on agriculture, land and peasants and most of the stories are linked to the region where the folk artists were based — either in Punjab, Sindh or any other provinces of Pakistan. There is always a moral message at the end of the  play. In the sub continental context, this tradition has been carried on by families for centuries and is more prevalent in the Merasi culture. Since the entire family is involved in the art, women are also part of it, hence we hear tragic tales of women folk theatre performers.

 

Through this write-up, I personally like to pay tribute and like to share the life and struggle of first established female folk theatre artist of Punjab called BALLI JATTI. Behind the curtain and far from the limelight was the story of theatre performer Bali Jatti, whose tale of horror and survival in the domestic domain which was the Hidden Culture of a Red Light District.

I admire her for her courage, what she faced — from constant abuse to nagging for money from her husband. On the other hand, she was always busy trying hard to keep folk theatre alive. For that, she should have been taken into account for a Pride of Performance award from Government of Pakistan.

 

In a country where people forget that performing arts is just not entertainment but a profession as well. Sadly, artists in the country are dying of hunger and there is nobody to lend a hand, scenario was same in 60s also. Sustainability for folk artist and especially female folk artist was a big deal in that time; Bali Jatti was the first women to own a travelling stage theatre in Punjab in that time. Her real name was Inayat Bibi. She started her career in 1958 in Punjab's very popular local theaters. Her Bali Jatti Theatre was competing with other main stream folk theaters from folk legends like Alam Lohar, Tufail Niazi, Manzoor Jhalla, Nazar, Ashiq Jatt and Inayat Hussain Bhatti. Bali Jatti was seen as a film actress in film Mangeter (1967).

 

Tracing her life from childhood to the time when Jatti lived a near reclusive life, it is revealed that the trials and tribulations Jatti faced as a newcomer on stage to the point when she made her mark as the foremost performer in folk theatre and finally to her last impoverished years. Jatti’s forceful nature that enabled her to confront an often volatile audience and allowed her to take on adversaries on stage is a unique thing in that era. To her credit Jatti established her own theatre company under the name of Shama Theatre, which survived for 12 years.

 

After Bali started to get fame, folk theatre got few good names in female performers also. While men dominated this tradition both in its infrastructure and its audience, it was the women performers whose craft formed the basis of a theatre group’s success. It is the lives of these women — Khurshid Kuku, Naznin Mano, Surayya, Rukayya Jabeen etc.

 

Bali’s contribution in folk theatre in Punjab is unforgettable but unfortunately society has forgotten her already.