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{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
|group= Bahand<br />
|population = 33,000<br />
|popplace = • India • Nepal<br />
|langs = • [[Urdu language|Urdu]] • [[Hindi language|Hindi]] • [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] • [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]<br />
|rels= [[Hindu]]<br />
|related= [[Naqqal]]<br />
}}<br />
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'''Bahānds''' ([[Devanagari]]: भांड; [[Urdu]]: بھانڈ, [[Gurmukhi]]: ਭੰਡ) are the traditional folk entertainers of [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[Nepal]]. In India and Nepal, the Bahand are now an [[endogamy|endogamous]] Hindu community, which is no longer involved in their traditional occupation of folk entertainment.<ref name="ref96mabaj">{{Citation | title=History of Indian theatre | author=Manohar Laxman Varadpande | year=1987 | publisher=Abhinav Publications, 1992 | isbn=978-81-7017-278-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZrjC24PuDQC | quote=''... The most popular of the medieval folk entertainers who still linger on the Indian scene are the Bahands. In [[Sanskrit]] Bahand means jester ... Bahands were patronised by the people and royalty alike ... small skits with extempore jokes, humour laced with social criticism ...''}}</ref> They include actors, dancers, minstrels, storytellers and impressionists.<ref name="ref25fayum">{{Citation | title=Supplement to the glossary of Indian terms | author= Henry Miers Elliot | year= 1845 | publisher=N.H. Longden, 1845 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThnNjANUtyoC | quote=''... Those also are called Bahand who without reference to caste follow the occupation of singing, dancing, and assuming disguises ...''}}</ref><ref name="ref20pumic">{{Citation | title=The world encyclopedia of contemporary theatre, Volume 3 | author=Don Rubin | year=2001 | publisher=Taylor & Francis, 2001 | isbn=978-0-415-26087-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maGU4ziPQJQC | quote=''... one actor goes around collecting money (pay-what-you-can) from the audience ... In the swang tradition is the naqal of Punjab: farcical in nature, it relies heavily on improvisation by the naqalchi ... The bahands are itinerant clowns. It is a centuries-old tradition in the villages, and very popular at marriages. It may be a solo performance, or a troupe may have two or three people. Dressed in rustic clothes ...''}}</ref><br />
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Payment for performances is usually voluntary: often, one performer goes around the audience collecting money on a "pay-what-you-can" basis while the others continue to perform.<ref name="ref20pumic"/> While most {{transl|ur|bahands}} belong to families that are engaged in folk entertainment as their hereditary profession, their specific art forms vary greatly by region, community and language. The term ''bahand'' itself can also mean both a specific dramatic story or an entire form/school of drama.<br />
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== Bahand of Uttar Pradesh ==<br />
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In [[Uttar Pradesh]], the Bahand are an endogamous Muslim community. Their ancestors were employed at the court of the various local rulers as folk entertainers, in particular at the court of the [[Nawabs of Awadh]]. Most Bahand in Uttar Pradesh are no longer involved with folk entertainment. What now binds the community is a sense of stigma attached to the community on account of their ancestral occupation. They are now mainly involved in wage labour; many [[Lucknow]] city are [[Pulled rickshaw|rickshaw]] puller. Little is known about the origin of this community, other than that their ancestors were {{transl|ur|bahands}}. The community has been granted [[Other Backward Classes|Other Backward Class]] status, which gives the community some benefits with regards reservation in public sector jobs. They are [[Sunni]] Muslims, and speak [[Urdu]], and rarely dialects of [[Hindi language|Hindi]]. The [[Naqqal]] sub-group has done better, and now prefer the self-designation Kashmiri Shaikh. They are now a community of successful businessmen.<ref>''People of India Uttar Pradesh'' Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 261 to 262 Manohar Publications</ref><br />
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==Bahand Pather of Kashmir==<br />
[[File:Bhand Pather.jpg|thumbnail|Bahand Pather]]<br />
''Bahand Pather'' is a ''bahand'' of the [[Kashmir]] region in which stories commemorating the lives of {{transl|ur|reshis}} (Sufi sages, both Hindus and Muslims) or more contemporary real or fictional figures are enacted.<ref name="ref31pixup">{{Citation | title=South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka |author1=Peter J. Claus |author2=Sarah Diamond |author3=Margaret Ann Mills |year=2003 | publisher=Taylor & Francis, 2003 | isbn=978-0-415-93919-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC | quote=''... At the heart of the form, though, is the broad, farcical playing of the maskharas, or clowns ...''}}</ref> The storylines (or ''pathers'') are often humorous and satirical, and [[farce]] is an essential component of the plays.<ref name="ref31pixup"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.koausa.org/BhandPather/index.html |title= The Bhand Pather of Kashmir}}</ref><br />
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==Naqal of Punjab==<br />
''Naqal'' (mimicry) is a strong ''bahand'' tradition in the Punjab region.<ref name="ref20pumic"/> The ''naqalchi'' (mimic, sometimes called the ''[[bahrupiya]]'') adopts the persona of a well-known person or character and improvises, using satire and farce extensively, to entertain the audience.<ref name="ref20pumic"/><br />
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==The Ustad and jamoora format==<br />
The ''ustad-[[jamoora]]'' format (''ustad'' means master in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], while ''jamoora'' is an assistant or follower who is usually younger than the ''ustad'') is a popular one in Hindi-speaking regions and involves only two ''bhand'' actors. Usually, the storylines consist of the ''ustad'' tutoring the ''jamoora'' to do or say something, and the ''jamoora'' responding with mechanical obedience with a subtle variation thrown in that creates a strong comical or satirical effect.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Behrupiya]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
{{Indian Muslim}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]<br />
[[Category:Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Folk artists]]<br />
[[Category:Performing arts in India]]<br />
[[Category:Performing castes]]</div>>Citation bot