Rustic celebration

On a Diwali eve in a village near Bodh Gaya I sit on a veranda with Nick, the Englishman who founded a charitable trust in this area about ten years ago, working with the poor in this militant-prone district in Bihar. So here I was, returning to Kanjihar village on the invitation of People First, imbibing beer with three of his guests from Blighty, doctors and travellers no less.

Nick goes on about what a unique experience spending Diwali in the backwoods of Bihar is going to be for the visitors, how unlike the synthetic and saccharine stuff that is on display in Delhi. He tells us that we’re all going to be invited down to the village that night as special guests to witness an extremely ‘cultural’ evening that’s being put on by the village folk as part of the Diwali festivities...

After an extraordinarily long wait during which Nick's ever-smiling staff served up a wonderful supper.. we finally set off to the village cultural event..... and then....

The good doctors stared open mouthed at what was obviously a cross-dressing performance... young men dressed as women belting out a 'prayer song' in hoarse, unmusical male voices... and this was followed by a whole lot of hip-shaking to some raunchy Bhojpuri numbers. Bhojpuri is a north indian dialiect spoken in central and north Bihar.

More suggestive dances followed... in true rustic style... with the males cheering on these 'laundas'[dancing boys] from Sasaram. After about twenty minutes of cross-dresser items, two ladies of the night bounced onto the stage. This was just after I had sort of explained to one of the good doctors that guys usually dressed up like girls because women weren't allowed to perform on stage in rural Bihar!!!

These ladies were so obviously entertaining that the audience... males of all ages... went wild, and rupee notes were proferred to them as they gyrated to ribald rustic rhythms...

Well, it was just about all the entertainment we could take, and the doctors and I bade our farwells and departed... as they say, post haste... ....