Nachni: The Saga of Art Unappreciated

The Nachni s of Purulia are a group of women dancers who dance to the characteristic Jhumur of rural Bengal. The dance form of the Nachni is without a doubt part of the cultural heritage of Bengal—and in a broader sense, of India. Yet, a closer look at the community would show up a distinctive lack of acknowledgement about this art form. On the contrary, these women, these dancers are most of the time stigmatized and looked down upon, so much so that these women themselves have come to see their profession as something not to be proud of. This paper proposes to talk of the Nachni s in the Rarh Bengal area—especially, Purulia—to unearth some not-so-pretty causes for the stigma that keeps these artisans of Nachni dance from holding their head high in society.