Chandrapur: The rural theatre season in Vidarbha's Jhadipatti belt opens on Bhau Beej, with the traditional nandi of "Naman Natwara", and runs through to Holi, with stages going up in village after village.
About 50 theatre companies work the circuit. A company typically charges ₹65,000 to ₹70,000 for a single show, and a play carries 12 to 15 artistes. Worked out across the season, that comes to an estimated 3,000 shows and roughly ₹100 crore of economic activity, according to people in the trade. No official count has been published.
The season is about more than entertainment. It is the annual livelihood window for thousands of artistes, technicians and small traders, who pick up work on sets, lights, transport, food and lodging for three to four months.
Jhadipatti's stage is a different animal from the professional Mumbai-Pune circuit. The audience is the village. A pandal goes up, the play runs late into the night, and local stories, incidents from everyday life and music do the work.
Companies say newer performers keep coming through, but fees have not moved while costs have.
Preparations begin right after Diwali. Companies rehearse new plays, and pandals, vehicles and crews are booked weeks ahead. Fees are settled village by village, and the first weeks of the season decide which plays travel and which are dropped.
At a time when Marathi theatre in the cities is crowded with new productions, this rural season runs an economy of its own. Where the first show lands after Bhau Beej will set the tone.