However, the performance of jatra does not involve a theatron or the physical space of the theatre, as one would understand in the Greek sense. That the very existence of theatre in India might have been influenced by Greek theatre became one of the speculative factors. And it will likewise be admitted that the shape of a Greek theatre in an Indian building that served similar purposes has a strong bearing upon the question of the Greek influence on the Indian drama. …the small amphitheatre in front of the cave with its hemispherical rows of rock-cut seats rising in terraces above each other and with the pathways between them arranged somewhat like concentric circles and radiants, bearing a somewhat similar resemblance to the plan of a Greek theatre cannot, I think be overlooked. Bloch claimed the discovery of a small amphitheatre at Ramgarh Hill in the area of Laxmanpur on the Bengal Nagpur Railway line. The Archaeological Survey of India report of 1903–1904 by a certain Dr. The claim of the existence of theatre in India was also reinforced by archaeological discoveries of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, when interest in the drama and theatre of India was at a high, after the discovery of Shakuntala by the orientalists, there was much discussion about the existence of auditoriums in India, like those the Greeks had founded. The word ‘theatre’ in English is derived from the Greek word ‘theatron’ which basically signifies a space for the spectators or an auditorium. However the analogy between theatre and jatra draws attention to the etymology of the word ‘theatre’ which came to be used in Bengali and other Indian languages from its usage in English. On the other hand, it has been argued that theatre influenced jatra, as a result of which the amount of dialogue involved in a jatra performance increased. It has often been argued that theatre in Bengal evolved from jatrabhinoy. This could also involve dancing at times. Jatrabhinoy was also known as gitinat or natgiti, which literally would mean ‘singing-acting’ or ‘acting-singing’. Jatrabhinoy involved mainly singing, with a few dialogues here and there in praise of the worshipped deity. These performer-devotees initiated acting in jatra or jatrabhinoy or jatra-acting. Jatra eventually got associated with fairs and festivities apart from the religious links that it already had. During that period, after a yajna or ritual sacrifice, the festivities of the ritual bath took place, which often involved processions that included dancing, singing, chanting and other performative acts. These processional marches are said to have had their origins in the Vedic society. The devotees make a journey from one place to another in a processional march and then return to the place of origin following the idol or the deity. As a noun, a ‘jatra’ is the journey of devotees who are believers of a certain cult. This observation opens up in front of us the question, where does the word ‘theatre’ stand semantically, and can we call ‘theatre’ ‘bilati jatra’? Now ‘jatra’ the word in Bengali means journey.
The book begins with the mention of the fact that during the colonial period, theatre was often mentioned as ‘bilati jatra’. ‘Jatra’ is a performative tradition mainly from Bengal and Orissa. What is interesting is the idea of ‘bilati jatra’ or foreign ‘jatra’.
The title of the book written in Bengali and edited and sub-edited by Subir Raychoudhury and Swapan Mazumdar, respectively, can be translated as Foreign Jatra to Swadeshi theatre.
An interesting observation has been made in the book Bilati Jatra Theke Swadeshi Thiyetar.
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