Bhavai is a form of folk theatre where the term is derived from bhav, i.e. `world, or bhava, or `emotion`. As a matter of fact the word `Bhavai` is derived from the Sanskrit word `Bhava` meaning expression of emotion or feeling. In the fourteenth century, an excommunicated Brahman named Asaita Thakar, who was a kathakara i.e. narrator of Puranic stories familiar with dance and music, began writing plays with prose dialogue. He was perhaps inspired by one of the medieval Sanskrit uparupaka forms, enacted in the open. He is said to have written 360 scripts called vesha literal meaning of which was `dress`. In later days it came to be known as Bhavai, along with other similar plays written after him.

The veshas are usually episodes from the social life of the community in the countryside, focusing the satirical way. These mainly say as to how certain sections are characterized. As for example Banias, Bohras, wandering tribes, etc. Women are strictly prohibited from taking part in the Bhavai, hence, the male artists only have to perform the female roles, which makes the entire drama more joyful.

Bhavai is staged open-air in front of temples as a community ritual honouring the goddess Amba. Before the actors begin, they gather near a large earthen lamp and a drawing of a trishula or trident symbolizing the goddess. They sing garbi i.e. religious songs in her praise, and invoke blessings for the success of the performance. The nayaka or leader then enters from the makeshift dressing room and marks a large circle called the chachara or podha, considered a sacred place of pilgrimage and inside which the performance takes place. A barber comes with a torch and oil to feed the flame that remains the central lighting source throughout the show. Next, the actors enter from a distance, providing their own light with small torches in their hands, weaving dance patterns in the air. After that member of the orchestra, comprising two bhungalas i.e. long thin copper pipes, tanlas, jhanjha or large cymbals, and harmonium, take their place near the edge of the chachara. In Asaita Thakar`s time the pakhavaja i.e. double-ended drum and ravaja i.e. a sarangi-like string instrument were played instead of tablas and harmonium respectively. Vocal music provides the opportunity to sing local melodies, ragas, garbis, marriage songs, and other familiar folk tunes. A musical prelude is delivered addressed to Amba. The audience gathers and sits around the chachara, leaving a passage for actors` arrival from the dressing room to the arena. For entrances, the avanun i.e. entry song is sung and the bhungala played loudly to inform the actor of his cue.

First enters Ganapati, god of benevolence, holding in front of his face a bronze plate on which is drawn the auspicious swastika, and the musicians sing praising him. After Ganapati, comes the goddess Kali, dancing with two lit torches in her hands. A man plays her role, as women do not take part in Bhavai. She blesses the villagers and their cattle wealth. Then enters Juthana or Ranglo, the comic character, whose antics make people laugh but also have philosophical layers. He acts as the conscience, satirizing, criticizing, lampooning the doings of authority figures, and pinpointing social evils. Major plays begin around midnight and continue till early morning. Some favourites are Jhanda Jhulan, which is about the love between a Muslim youth and a Hindu merchant`s wife. Another one is Chhela Batau i.e. a heroic romance and the mythological Kana-Gopi i.e. `Krishna and the Gopis`. They depict social, political, or religious themes, educate the people, and try to raise the moral, ethical, and cultural life of their society. The satire takes shape through both verbal and physical humour. The entire cast wears colourful costumes.

Famous twentieth-century Bhavai entertainers included Muljibhai Nayak, Pransukh Nayak, and Chimanlal Naik. But the village environment has radically changed owing to cinema and television, and Bhavai has lost its charm and is decaying. Some workers of modern Gujarati theatre attempted to write new plays to suit the times, though hardly any concerted effort was made in this direction. However, two pioneering endeavors acquired all-India fame. The names can be mentioned as Rasiklal Parikh`s Menu Gurjari i.e. `Mena of Gujarat` in 1953, using elements of Bhavai dance and music, and C. C. Mehta`s Hoholika in 1956, incorporating typical Bhavai clowning.