Jatra Theatre's Transformation: Stunts and Shock

Key Points

• 1Jatra performances in Odisha are incorporating extreme stunts, such as animal cruelty, to attract audiences.
• 2The use of live animals in cultural performances is illegal without permission from the Animal Welfare Board of India.
• 3Jatra is usually performed on an open-air stage with the audience seated on all sides, and dates back to the rise of Vaishnavism and the Bhakti movement.
• 4Stunts and item numbers have grown in Jatras because the audience wants it.
• 5The traditional staging of the Ramayana in Ganjam villages has undergone an incredible transformation in the last 15 years.