Jatra (theatre)

Jatra (Bengali: যাত্রা, origin: Yatra meaning procession or journey in Sanskrit) is a popular folk-theatre form of Bengali theatre, spread throughout most of Bengali speaking areas of the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Tripura As of 2005, there were some 55 troupes based in Calcutta's old jatra district, Chitpur Road, and all together, jatra is a $21m-a-year industry, performed on nearly 4,000 stages in West Bengal alone, where in 2001, over 300 companies employed over 20,000 people, more than the local film industry and urban theatre.

The word `jatra' means journey or going. The origin of jatra intrinsically a musical theatre form, is traditionally credited to the rise Sri Chaitanya's Bhakti movement, wherein Chaitanya himself played Rukmini in the performance of Rukmini Haran ("The abduction of the Charming Rukmini") from Krishna's life story, a first definite presentation of this theatrical spectacle. The performance, which lasted through the night in 1507 AD., has been described in Chaitanya Bhagavata, Chaitanya's hagiography by a disciple Vrindavana Dasa Thakura. Though there are evidences of existence of a form of singing called the 'Carya', which was popular between the 9th and the 12th centuries in Bengal, which existed in Orissa simultaneously as the popular 'Carya Padas' form. Jatra performances resemble, the Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh, the Tamasha of Maharashtra and Bhavai of Gujarat.

Bengal

Bengal /bɛŋˈɡɔːl/ (Bengali: বাংলা  Bangla  /baŋla/ or বঙ্গ Bônggo /bɔŋɡo/) is a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, at the apex of the Bay of Bengal and dominated by the fertile Ganges delta. The Bengal region was politically divided in the 1947 Partition of India based on religion: predominantly Hindu West Bengal became a province (now a state) of India, while predominantly Muslim East Bengal became a province of Pakistan and later gained independence as Bangladesh. Some regions of the historical kingdoms of Bengal are now part of Nepal and the neighbouring Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Meghalaya, Manipur, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The Bengali people (বাঙালি Bangali), who speak the Bengali language (বাংলা Bangla), which is Indo-Aryan, natively inhabit the region, alongside dozens of indigenous ethnic groups who speak minority languages of the Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic, and Dravidian families.

Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, with an estimated population of 250 million people and a population density exceeding 900 people per square kilometre. Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges Delta, the world's largest river delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. In the coastal southeast lies Cox's Bazar, the world's longest beach with a length of more than 100 km (62 mi). While most of the region is rural and agrarian, it includes two megacities: Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Dhaka (formerly Dacca).

Bengal (comics)

Bengal (Duc No Tranh) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The character first appeared in Daredevil #258 and was created by Fabian Nicieza and artist Ron Lim.

Fictional character biography

Duc No Tranh was a boy growing up in a Vietnamese village during the Vietnam War. During the war, American soldiers, including Red Wolf, Willie Lincoln, and the future Reverend Michael Janes, massacre his village and parents. The boy tries to climb aboard the Americans' helicopter, but was kicked off by Private Janes, despite the pleas of other soldiers on board.

Years later, the boy became the costumed Bengal and travels to America for revenge on the soldiers involved in the destruction of his village. Willie Lincoln seeks Daredevil's protection. The costumed hero defeats Bengal.

Bengal later attacks Father Michael Janes. He soon clashes with Silhouette and the other New Warriors over the fate of Janes. Bengal also fights Night Thrasher for the first time. His origin is recounted, and his battle with Night Thrasher is ended by the Punisher. Bengal befriends the New Warriors, and Bengal and Janes make peace with each other.

Bengal (disambiguation)

Bengal is a region in South Asia.

Bengal or Bengals can also refer to:

Places

Flora and faunas

Sports

In fiction

Other uses