Bela

Bela is a small village amidst the tropical deciduous forests at the foothills of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, in the Purulia District of West Bengal. In the local language, Bela means time. Inhabited by tribal communities, namely the Kurmis, the Santhals and the Mundas, Bela is part of the erstwhile Jungle Mahal, an area infamous as the ‘red corridor’ of the Maoist movement in the post-colonial period. The violent past of this region goes back further, to the forced migration during the British colonial rule. This is also the home for a group of Purulia Chhau practitioners. Often the contemporary narratives of conflict and violence find their way into the group’s performances, in contrast to the mythical themes the traditional form engages in. Slowly these contemporary stories morph into fables within the form that pass on to the new generations through the performances.