Intro ‘Art is never finished, only abandoned’. Rightly stated by the genius artist Leonardo Da Vinci, expressing the fact that art never diminishes unless ignored by the masses. Art is considered as a medium of one’s expression.Be it dance, music, or acting, all the forms of art resemble the latent expressions of the artist which he or she desires to achieve and exhibit to the world. Some have managed to be in the hall of fame, while the other art forms are shown the exit door every time they make an attempt to get noticed. One such forgotten art form is impressionism. An impressionist is an individual who impersonates the famous people in order to entertain the folks.
The Women News was fortunate enough to encounter two extremely talented impressionists from Gujarat, Behrupiya Sikandar Khanzada and Behrupiya Mirbhand. In the words of Behrupiya Sikandar Kahnzada, a Behrupiya is the one who makes several impressions by one expression. One day he is a King and other day he is a beggar. An impressionist is the first live performing artist of India. The term Behrupiya has become a prominent part of their identity. Their family lineage has been in this profession since the era of Maharaja Maan Singh.The fact that their ancestors did not choose any other profession was because they were illiterate. Poverty was another main reason why they carried the legacy of their family profession with them to this modern age.They did not even have the privilege of getting sufficient education. This is the only source of income for their families and they lack capital to invest in any other form of business. Behrupiya Sikandar Khanzada does not want his children to get into like him. So, he is trying his best to get them educated. They have to move from one place to other to perform and his family also accompanies him. This way his profession has played the role of a giant who constantly tries to create disturbance in path of getting access to proper education. Their heart touching storiescan even move a stone to tears. The struggle they have been going through decades has gone unheard.
Behrupiya Sikandar Khanzada stated that this art form gained its importance during the rule ofAkbar the great.He also enlightened us about one of the lesser known fact about this particular mode of entertainment that dates back to the eraof Monarchy, when polygamy was practised. In order to gain the attention of their husband, wives took the assistance of Behrupiyas to do their makeup. In this case, Behrupiyas can be called as the first makeup artist to be known. According to, Behrupiya Mirbhand,the art of impressionism is mentioned in various Indian mythological scripts. He further narrated the story of Lord Shiva’s impersonation as a Gopi,also known as ‘Gopeshwar’, to enter Lord Krishna’s Maha Raas Leela is an epitome of practice of impressionism. Even during the times of Kings, impressionistsrepresented themselves as the subjects of the Kings and disseminated the message to the public.They were also sent as detectives to the other territories to extract the strategic plans of enemy’s territories.
“Jag Ko Hasane Bahrupiya, Roop Badal Phir Aayega,
Swarg Yahin Nark Yahan, Iske Siva Jana Kahan…
These lines froman old Hindi song, performed by thegreat Bollywood actor Raj Kapoor’s movie ‘Mera Naam Joker’, where he himself played the role of a ‘joker’ in a circus, sums up the life of an Impressionist.Only a ‘Behrupiya’ can comprehend the sagacity of his herculean task that might seem like a cake walk to the unaware folks. In a population of 1.2 billion people, there are approximately twenty-fivethousand are impressionists in India. Several Behrupiyas have to wander along with their families from one place to other to showcase this dying art and to earn their bread and butter. As a result of which, their children have remained illiterate. There is no other source of income for most of them.Even in modern times, a Behrupiya lives one of the most pathetic and jinxed life. Out of three hundred sixty-five days in a year, a Behrupiya is employed only for a period of forty days altogether. The rest of the days are spent in destitute. There is no one to entertain the face that entertains everyone. Many of them can be found entertaining the public at a local fair or on market days. Unfortunately, their existence has remained confined to the rural areas of our country. There is clearly a dearth of opportunities for them. The urban parts of the country is greatly influenced by the technological advancements and the pompous life of showbiz that, they have been ignorant in identifying this conventional art which has inspired the cinema all over the world.There is a dearth of opportunities for them. Their heart touching story can even move a stone to tears. The struggle they have been going through decades has gone unheard Despite several attempts to sustain itself at par with other advanced entertainment modes, there existence is at stake and this ancient art form is counting its last breath.
Ministry of Culture is putting sincere attempts to bring under the limelight, this endangered art form and its artists. It is organising several State Level and National Level Cultural Fest to so that people get acquainted with this endangered ancient art form. they have been travelling to many states from the West Zone Cultural Centre. But this is not enough, there is a need to conduct regular programmes for thousands of impersonators all over of India and create more employment opportunities for them on a regular basis. They should be sent abroad to various art and cultural festivals and get acquainted with the art of impressionism in foreign countries.Behrupiya Mirbhand’s overwhelmingly hope from The Women News is that, their art form should reach to the knowledge of as many people as possible. The time has come to listen to the unheard, see the unseen and prevent this beautiful form of art from becoming a matter of scriptures.
