A behrupiya or bahrupiya ( Hindustani: बहरूपिया or بہروپیا) is an

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in the traditional performing arts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Once popular and widespread, the art form is now in decline with most practitioners living in poverty. It was once common for ''behrupiyas'' to make a dramatic entrance at wedding or other festivities dressed as a policeman, priest, or other figure and create a commotion. The social norm surrounding these appearances was that the ''behrupiya'' usually collected no money if he was detected as an impersonator. However, if he was able to successfully convince his audience of his fake identity, he would then reveal it and be awarded a

baksheesh ''Baksheesh'' (from ) is tipping, charitable giving, and certain forms of political corruption and bribery in the Middle East and South Asia. Etymology and usage ''Baksheesh'' comes from the Persian word (), which originated from the Middle ...

for having entertained the group. Due to their expertise with disguise and impersonation, good ''behrupiyas'' were recruited as

spies Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations. Spies or The Spies may also refer to: Arts and media Films * ''Spies'' (1928 film), English title for ''Spione'', a 1928 German film by Fritz Lan ...

by medieval Indian kings.

Etymology and alternative names

The term ''behrupiya'' is derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

words ''bahu'' (many) and ''roop'' (form or appearance). The mostly-obsolete term ''naqqal'' (नक़्क़ाल or نقّال, meaning ''mimic'' or ''copycat'') is also infrequently used for ''behrupiyas''. Sometimes, ''behrupiyas'' are also simply called ''maskharas'' (मसख़रा or مسخره, an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

loanword in Hindustani, and a more general term for

jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

buffoon A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

) or ''

bhand Bhānds (Devanagari: भांड; Urdu: بھانڈ, Gurmukhi: ਭੰਡ, Bengali: ভাঁড়) are the traditional folk entertainers of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In India and Nepal, the Bahand are now an endogamous Hindu and M ...

s'', who are the traditional actors, dancers, storytellers and entertainers of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Notable people

Janki Lal Bhand Janki Lal Bhand (born 1943), also known as Monkey Man and ''बहरूपिया बाबा'', is an Indian Saang and Behrupiya, Behrupiya (impersonation) artist from Rajasthan. He is renowned for his mastery of the traditional art of disgu ...

, Padma Shree awardee.

References

{{reflist, 2 Culture of India Hindi words and phrases Performing arts in India

Etymology and alternative names

Notable people

See also

References