Nomadic entertainers struggle to survive

By Manu Shrivastava

In India, about 15 per cent of land area is occupied by tribal communities that live across geographical landscapes including the forests, mountains, islands and arid areas. The indigenous groups are diverse in their way of living, culture and the skills they possess. Some are forest-dwellers who are entirely dependent on forest products for existence while others are nomadic who move from one place to another and wherever they stop, they perform to entertain locals or for a religious cause. 

It’s the nomadic groups that have a delicate existence that was further threatened during the COVID-19 pandemic when during the lockdown, movement of people was strictly regulated. In urban India particularly, the ‘performing’ nomadic groups were hit the worst as they survived on alms given by the people. 

Gugububuwalas and their ‘holy’ cows

Mumbai is home to several nomadic groups, albeit temporarily, like the gugububuwalas who come to the city on foot from far flung places. The members of this tribe live in the interiors of Maharashtra and walk by foot all the way to Mumbai over a few days, making stops at regular spots. Back in Mumbai, they walk with their cows, part of their family and holy owing to the presence of an extra limb or hump and said to possess magical qualities to heal and prophesise about the future.

Also known as the Nandi Bailwalas, the male members of the community walk around the city with the male cow or the Nandi bail with an extra hump, etc. that is considered holy by the devotees. As they walk around the streets of the city and through crowded markets, the devout approach, pay obeisance to the Nandi bail and donate food, clothing or money to the man. Sometimes, the gugububuwala asks a question, related to one’s health or marriage prospects, etc., to the holy cow on behalf of the devotee and the cow ‘answers’ accordingly.

The Gugububuwala are called so owing to the gugu bubu sound that emanates from the special drums they have. The holy cows shake their heads to the sound of these drums, in acquiescence or denial, as the case may be. Over the last whole year, owing to the ban on public movement, the Gugububuwalas stayed back in their villages and didn't come to Mumbai to beg on the streets and at temples where they earn their daily alms and live on food donated by devotees.

The women of the community often sit outside temples in the city with the female cow. The devotees feed the cow while others give food or money to the women in order to make a donation.

Back in the villages, most members of this nomadic tribal group face poverty and illness. Most do not have any farming land in the village and sustain themselves only by way of the food and money they receive during their trip to the city. Thousands of such gugububuwalas have a fragile existence and need assistance for upliftment.

Chabukwalas’ precarious existence

Also known as the Potraj, the Chabukwalas are street performers and a nomadic group. They move about in two, entertaining the public. As the Chabukwala's wife plays a drum, usually holding an infant in a cloth sling by her side and an idol of 'Khada Laxmi' on her head, the Chabukwala swings a heavy whip made of rope around his torso and hits himself to the astonishment of onlookers while dancing throughout the act. The loud sound of the whipping action captivates the onlookers. In the other hand, the man often shakes a bell in sync with the sound of the ghungrus tied to his feet. At the end of the act, the audience may give money to the performer for his ‘brave and entertaining’ act.

The Potraj also are a Denotified Tribe (DNT) and a marginalised group who make a living by performing on the streets in cities. During the lockdown, this group too was prevented from free movement and that severely disrupted their way of living and dried up their source of income. Their existence is entirely dependent on being able to perform in public places. 

"It’s really interesting how the Potraj and other such communities that are street performers like the ones who walk on ropes or do magic tricks or the madaris whose acts include monkeys and other animals are integral to the culture of a city like Mumbai. So many films especially older Hindi films regularly featured these communities. In a few years from now, we may only be able to see these acts in older films,” says Mumbai-based homemaker and history enthusiast Gayatri Sharma. 

Childhood memories with Bioscopewalas 

Another regular feature in old Hindi films, the Bioscopewalas are those who'd arrive with a 'bioscope' — a contraption with a round window, where children would kneel down and look through to view slides of images of the city, old films and Bollywood stars in 'action'. Several Hindi films had songs that featured the Bioscopewalas – for example 'Paisa phenko, tamasha dekho' of Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz-starrer Dushman that showcased a bioscope and its functioning. Now, it's impossible to find a Bioscopewala in the city.

There are several other nomadic groups that are struggling for survival and to keep their age-old traditions alive. The snake charmers are another group found in various parts of India and are a semi-nomadic community that often live on the outskirts of urban and rural settlements.

They are known by different names - Barwa Sampheriya in West Bengal and Sapera in North India. The primary occupation of this community is snake charming and they perform in public zones with snakes even deadly ones like the cobra, as they wander from one place to another. Members of this community are also expert snake catchers. They are often called by the villagers to catch snakes and to remove poison from those who are bitten by poisonous snakes.

The struggle for survival

South Asia has the world’s largest population of nomadic groups. In India, about ten per cent of the population comprises Denotified and Nomadic tribes. The number of DNTs stands at 150 and more than 500 communities form the nomadic tribes. The former have settled across India in rural and urban zones while the latter continue to stay nomadic and more from one place to another pursuing traditional professions and vocations.

Other than the urban nomadic tribes that frequent cities to make a living, there are those who stay in rural and agriculture zones only. These pastoral nomadic communities are spread in different parts of the country. These include the Bakarwal in Jammu and Kashmir, Gaderia in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Gujjar in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, Van Gujar in Uttarakhand, Jath in Kutch, Mer in Saurashtra in Gujarat, Bhutia in Sikkim and more.

Apart from those nomadic groups who are living by performing on streets, many nomadic communities are known to do petty jobs in cities such as the Waghris in Mumbai. Today, Waghris are involved in selling toys and other wares in tourist zones in Mumbai. Many Waghris are also found in tourist hubs across India such as Goa, Kerala, etc., where again they are involved in the tourism sector selling wares, etc.

Most such communities are now struggling to survive and if things don’t change for the better, these forgotten communities risk extinction.