This centuries old folk dance drama event of Patan primary conceived to propagate ethics, duty and civic responsibilities to common people continues to enthrall Kathamadu locals and tourists as well for its story lines and archaic presentation with traditional aplomb, narrates Pratiksha Pandit

The flickering traditional torches and the cool November evening breeze playfully indulge and compete with each other. The open air Pandal at the famous Patan Darbar Square facing the golden window of the royal palace in Patan, Kathmandu is abuzz with activities. Musicians are fine tuning their instruments. Few performing artists are busy with make-up and wearing adornments. Others are making flower garlands they would wear during their act. The organisers are preparing the Pandal and supervising lighting arrangement. The excitement and the anticipation are palpable and infectious. The razzle-dazzle looks complete as another season of Kartik Naach festival is about to unfold.
Even the devastating earth quake that wrought havoc in Nepal and brought irreparable damage to the country as well as the famed Durbar Square, even the two times lock down during dreaded Covid pandemic could not stop this annual fest which carries with it 381-year old legacy of being one of the oldest cultural activities of Patan area since 1641 A.D.  Staged every year in the month of Kartika, this traditional dance drama festival is vibrant and colorful, performed with energy and vigor as it offers great entertainment.
Originally planned for only five days, it was started in 1641 A.D.  by the then ruling king Siddhi Narsingha Malla. Subsequently, the event got extended to 10 nights by his son, Srinivasa Malla with new plots and named it Batha Pyakha presented satarically with the intention to propagate societal norms and civic sense, values and aesthetics among the people of his kingdom through puranic tales and narratives largely drawn from the pantheon of Vaishnavite divinity. With further extension of the event by the next king, Yogendra Malla, the event is now spread over 27 nights concluding on Kartika Purnima night.
The plots of this folk dance plays are based on puranic tales largely drawn of Bhagwad Gita, Swasthani Katha and Srimad Bhagabatam. The performances are gripping with its characteristic traditional folkdance exuberance  encompassing expressions of thoughts and acts, different emotional as well as logical discourses that reflect the then contemporary cultural and social environment of the society, communicates different events, feelings and emotions of the character, all packaged to offer entertainment as well as ethical education- altogether creating a niche for itself, a distinct identity in the hearts of Patan locals, who are proud  and happy to carry forward this centuries old tradition. “In the past, This annual event united the local populace, brought immense happiness to their life, imbued civic responsibilities and social obligations that they were expected to follow. “Through Kartik Naach, all three Malla kings had tried to shape collective thought process on duty and obligations towards self and others and the society in very commendable manners,” says veteran Kartik Naach perfomer Keshav Krishna Shrestha, a great exponent of this folk dance.
Originally, starting from the 11th day of the waxing moon in the month of Kartik (Shukla Ekadashi) the five-night festival covered staging of five plots following the sequence of Jalasen Dance, Baraha Avatar, Narsimha Avatar, and two episodes of Krishna Lela: Bastra Haran, Dahi Leela. Among these originally planned five, only the staging of Narsimha Avatar, Baraha Avatar is retained to this day. The event from its peak period of being performed for 27 days have come down presently to 8-12 nights. Besides the two consistently presented story plots, most of the performances is dedicated to Batha Pyakha Dance. One or two nights are for staging other stories.

The permanent stage called Kartik Dabali facing the royal palace was used to be traditionally lighted with huge burning mashals (traditional torches), and continue to be placed in four corners of the stage although modern lighting system has been introduced. Musicians who are integral part of this folk dance perform live with variety of instruments such as Jhokhi, Dha,  Damokhi,  Jonagada,  Mridanga, Jhyali, Ta,  Bhusiya,  Pongga and Muwali. Professional, trained musicians and singers from bhajan mandal take part in the event. However, they have to learn the exclusive singing and music style used in Kartik Naach. To bring out different sound from madal (a percussion instrument),  siyabaji, a paste made of flattened  rice is applied. 
The background singing and singing by the performers with exchange of dialogues in between to the accompaniment of music creates fantastic ambience for audience. Originally these plays were performed in Maithili language, however it got translated into local Newari language recently.
Around a hundred performers are required to stage the 27-night event. As the number of plays are reduced now, around 30 performers take part to enact the stories. They are drawn from basically local Newari and Raj-Upadhyaya communities. Persons in the age group of 8-50 years can take part. “A performer is required to go through very rigorous, long period of training of more than eight months to play a character. This makes it hard to find a replacement for a character,” says Keshav Krishna who is a veteran of playing the Varaha avtar character for more than 35 years. He has received awards for his excellent contribution to keep this folk tradition going.  

Certain characters of this folk drama are traditionally assigned to different Guthis (family lineage) The character of Narsigh Avatar is said to be performed by the family lineage of Harivansh Upadhyaya and Vishnunath Upadhyaya, who guided King Narsimha Malla to introduce Kartik Naach. Persons from this family lineage still serve as pujari (priest) at Krishna Mandir located in Patan Durbar Square. Baraha Avatar is played by Local Newar Kothu Tajhya Guthi  to which Keshav Krishna belongs. And the character of Hiranya Kasyap is assigned to Madhyanani Guthi. All female characters are played by male as is generally found with many traditional folk expression art forms. The argument put forward for this is that a female might get married anytime, and after getting married she would not be able to spare time for the long rehearsal periods to hone her skills required to play the character. However, unlike the past when few educated people were available to perform, presently, educated and employed people are coming forward to take part in the event just to keep this wonderful tradition flourishing.
Before the commencement of the play, artists pay their obeisance to Lord Nrityanath and seek his blessing. The golden window of the royal palace facing the pandal opens once in a year during the enactment of Narsimha Avtar in remembrance and honour of the king Narasingha Mall who introduced this folk dance tradition.. The clothes( Kapa), Mukut (Crown), Ring (Pyakhan Anngu)  and ornaments of Narsimha Avatar, Baraha Avatar, Hiranyakasyap, Devagan, Krishna and other few characters are said to have some amount of gold and silver contents in embroidery and intricate designs which makes these expensive, and are preserved with meticulous care. 
Kartik Naach traditionally always acted as a glue to unite people of Patan and adjoining areas of Lalitpur district  as huge manpower was needed to organize such a almost month long mega event. People from all walks of life enthusiastically participated in and contributed to make this event successful. Prolonged practice period which required almost a year brought a large number of participants together forging lifelong ties with commonly agreed and shared ideas on life and living. The Naach became a common identity for the people of this area which they continue to flaunt as their rich cultural identity. Tourist footfall grows during this event that actually provides income to people involved with tourism related occupations.
Nevertheless, year after year the ideas about life and responsibilities towards self, family and society, social ethics and behavior, civic disciplines and  ideal moral aptitudes gets reinforced through Kartik Naach that has greatly influenced and shaped the living philosophy of the society of Patan and Lalitpur.   “Kartik Naach for the local people is not just a folk cultural event, but is a lifestyle.  We learn, imbibe the learnings in our day to day living, and grow together, thanks to Kartik Naach,” claims the teacher Keshav Krishna Shrestha with a smile.