Jatra () is a type of
Odia theater performance in the Indian state of
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. The Jatra season begins from autumn and continues until the monsoon months of June. The Jatra is usually performed on an open-air stage with an audience seated on all sides. The performance includes play, music and dance.
Origin
The origin of Jatra is variously attributed to the
Natya Shastra
The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...
and the rise of Vaishnavism in Odisha by 16th cen CE. The Odia jatra tradition has evolved and diversified through centuries from stories based on the epics with theater performance in Odisha based on stories of
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
and
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
and later modern plays were also included.
Jatra
''South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka'', by Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills. Published by Taylor & Francis, 2003. . ''Page 307''. Jatra was revived during the period of Baishṇaba Pāṇi with the introduction of "gitinatya" ( musical performance).
References
Odia culture
Odia language
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