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Burrakatha |
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| Most popular form
of narrative entertainment in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In this
theatrical form, a storyteller accompanied by his partner gave recitals
of two or three days duration. He sang danced and recited before the
people of a village under the patronage of a village elder.
At regular intervals during the narration he responds to his co-performers, two drummers who play two-headed earthen drums (dakki).the drums produce a distinctly metallic sound to accentuate the songs and are regarded as an indispensable ingredient of Burrakatha performance. |
Performance begins
in the evening with devotional songs in praise of various celestial
beings. Then the performer introduces the main story by establishing the
place, time and historical context of the action. During this section of
the rajkiya and hasyam repeat the refrain of the narrative.
When the
introduction is concluded, the main plot begins in which all three
individuals take an active role assuming various characters in the
incidents, as well as providing narrative bridges between incidents.
Dance, recitation, song and enactment of scenes provide variation within a strong narrative line. Generally a story continues for two to three hours. A longer work may be serialized into several consecutive evenings.
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