Of Bazigars & Behrupiyas...

Amarjot Kaur

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The sight beyond the modern sculpture fountain at the Chandigarh Carnival might be a little less alluring than the colourful rickshaw rides around it (decorated with pop cultural references, ranging from cartoons like Doremon to sitcoms like Game of Thrones), but it is undoubtedly more intriguing... 

A muddy 7-foot stretch that escalates at the ground level to two-foot tall makeshift ramp is a stage for the acrobats of Punjab. They are called Bazigars. A charpoy, a wooden ladder, and a stick with an extended rope along with it, are seen in the vicinity of the ramp. The Bazigars, however, are away for lunch and would only return from Panchayat Bhawan at dusk.

Meanwhile, away from the madding crowd, behind the main stage, are four people dressed like Hindu deities. They introduce themselves as Behrupiyas from Rajasthan—a Muslim family of six that was summoned from Bandikui village, in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, to the shobha yatra, which was taken out in Ayodhya to mark the Treta Yug celebrations in October, this year.

Behrupiyas unmasked

Shamshad Behrupiya, who is dressed like a langur, punctuates his attire with make-up that is immaculately done with multani mitti all over his body. “Behrupiya is one of the oldest professions known to India. It dates back to almost 700 years. Besides entertaining the kings in their courts, our ancestors would often work as spies too; they were asked to travel across kingdoms to fetch news. But, with the advent of radio, television, and Internet, we are now starved for opportunities,” says Shamshad, who is accompanied by his younger brother Salim Behrupiya, Karan Raj and Rahul Raj.

Though Shamshad and Salim’s father, Subrati Behrupiya, has been awarded with two national awards, the Kala Samman Awards, they struggle to make even Rs 15,000 a month. “My father has travelled to Paris, Belgium, Germany, and Dubai, to promote this art form and even though we get summoned at festivals organised by the Ministry of Culture or those funded by the government, there’s not much money to make,” he says. 

At the Carnival, Shamshad and his group will be making Rs 1000 a day (excluding travel and stay). However, he looks at the brighter side, “I have recently done a small cameo in a song from the recently released film Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, where I play the role of Narad Muni,” he laughs.

Haar kar jeetne wale ko... 

Well, Bazigar kehte hai, but this community, unlike its namesake Bollywood film, is not quite a hit in the commercial scene. A group of eight men, including 58-year-old Bawa Singh, who is paralysed in his right arm, has tutored his sons as well as the village boys to train in Bazi and hails from Ferozpur’s Zira Tehsil’s village Bhago. The name Bazigar, derived from the Urdu word bazi, means an acrobat. They, reportedly, took to the occupation of acrobatics to escape persecution and attempt to forcefully convert them to Islam during the period of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. They have now been granted Scheduled Caste status in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. 

The nomadic tribe is also employed as seasonal agricultural labourers. “I have small dairy farm in the village, but bazi is my passion...I’ve been doing this for over 40 years now and have taken my performance to Dubai, Taiwan, and Thailand too,” says Bawa Singh, who is accompanied by his seven men, the youngest one, Captain Singh, being an 18-year old. Other members include Raja Singh (20), Mandeep Singh (21), Harjinder Singh (25), Jagsir Sing (35), Satnam Singh (34) and Pappu Singh (40). “At the Carnival, the boys are paid Rs 800 a day, while I am getting Rs 1000, but we only perform twice or thrice in a year,” he says. As he signs off, he pulls out a note from Guru Gobind Singh’s bani that mentions Bazigars: 

Bazigar jaisi bazi pai,
Na na roop pekh dekhlai,
Bazigar dank bajai,
Sab khalak dhamasse aai,
Bazigar swang sukhela,
Jehra apne rang mein rahe akela...
On till Sunday.