| Nautanki
Nautanki is a form of Swang. It takes its name from the legend of a beautiful
princess of the Punjab who fell in love with Phool Singh. The drama of
her life when played and replayed before audiences became so popular that
in course of time all plays performed on its pattern came to be called
Nautanki.
The main difference between Nautanki
and Swang is that the Swang is intended to arouse religious sentiments
and is didactic by nature and the Nautanki is in essence a presentation
of episodes depicting love and valour. Swangs are serious by nature. There
is always a jester in the Nautanki who occasionally comes to the stage
and makes the audience laugh. Sometimes he makes open digs at the unfair
treatment which the rich mete out to the poor. Most of the tunes are adapted
from popular folk tunes. Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, Nala Damayanti and
Sucha Singh Surma are some the most famous legends adapted for the Nautanki. |
