The most popular figure on the stage is privately known as Badridatta Pande, a Brahman by caste; in the Ramlila he is the leading Joker. This dialogue is conducted in the substandard variety of Hindi called, somewhat contemptuously, 'Bazaar Hindustani'; at the same time it is the kind of language that would be used in a Hindi context in order to caricature the way British sahib would handle the 'vernacular'. Thus while one makes fun of the former masters and their contemporary imitations, one may still participate in their prestige. The closest one can get in own culture to this kind of language use, including puns like the one on fauran - 'right now', and faurin - 'foreign', 'abroad' - are perhaps the dialogues of Shakespearian clowns, which are remarkable for a similar language consciousness. Not surprisingly, therefore, one of the Jokers which are what they are called in the Hindi original as well in another improvised scene, is converted into a language teacher: This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com |