Folk Entertainment and Drama in State :

The Muria and Maria Gonds of Bastar enact the hobby-horse dance during festivals and religious ceremonies. The Gonds of Mandla district perform the horse-ride mainly as an entertainment. Boys come riding on hobby-horses made of sticks with rags tied around the top-ends as heads. They beat the people sitting around with tail ends of their hobby-horses. Then they pretend to ride away. At some distance they throw their hobby-horses and return. Riddles provide both boys and girls a good entertainment. But with the gradual urbanization, this aspect of life is becoming rare and is fading away even from the remotest of villages.

Maanch - Lyric Drama :

Maanch which is a form of operatic ballet is very popular in Malwa. The word Maanch is derived from the Sanskrit folk-form, Manch i.e. the stage. As an indigenous folk-form, Maanch seems to have its beginning in the seventeenth century.

Maanch is generally performed in open air with barest of theatrical accessories. The stage is a round platform. It is never covered from any side. No curtain is used for the background. Close to the stage, at the rear, a place is reserved for old veterans. It is known as 'Bara Ghant Ka Pat' means a seat for experienced persons. On both sides the seats are provided for organisers and workers. The Guru or the leader sits on the stage itself. Provision for instrumentalists is made on the left side corner of the platform. The person who joins the singing of the refrain during the performance also sits near the 'Bara Ghant Ka Pat' or else gets a place near the instrumentalists on the stage.

Stage :

Wooden poles and bamboos are used to provide the platform (stage) a height of five to six feet or even  more from the ground. The length of the stage is generally thirty feet while the width is about twenty feet. A different type of stage was also popular in Malwa in which instrumentalists used to sit on a separate platform at a considerable height. The acting place used to be quite below this platform. Both the platforms were connected to each other. In such a stage-design the performers have a definite disadvantage. For the actors, who depend upon the dholak and sarangi players at suitable points while singing, will need to look up and thus lose the contact with the audience so vital for this folk form.

Performance :

A play opens late in the evening with an invocation of gods and goddesses by the players. It begins quite often with a tribute to the founder of the Maanch mandal (group) and the script-writer. This is followed by verses in praise of Saraswati (the goddess of learning), Ganesh, Bherun, Chousath Jogin ( The sixty-four nuns) etc. The songs are rendered by the entire cast standing with folded hands on the stage.

The Chopdar has to perform an important role before the actual play starts. He invites the actors on the stage and introduces them with a few introductory words to the audience. The dialogues in the Maanch always end with the refrain line which is sung by the performers, standing together either in the corner of the stage or arranging themselves near the instrumentalists. Here dholak plays a vital part. The orchestra repeats the dramatic verse and enables the actor to dance in circles at the conclusion of each couplet. The dholak has its own style and forms the base of typical folk music of the region. The sarangi is used to produce orchestral effects.

The presentation technique of the Maanch, its thematic elements, efflorescent musical fabric and gaudy costumes have a rich tradition. Actors are free to move during the performance. There are no rigid rules and stage formalities. They sometimes even sit amongst the audience when there is no work on stage. Sometimes the characters do not leave the platform at all. They just go a few steps backward and wait for their turn. Certain characters make their entry ceremoniously from a distance often walking through the audience.

Musical Content :

In Maanch the dialogues are set to different tunes called Rangat Dohas. It is the musical sense that permeates the entire structure. The couplets are sung in three styles namely, Ikhari Rangat, Dokadi Rangat and Langdi Rangat. The intact melody of Jhela is introduced in between the Dohas, whenever the singing pattern needs a change. Each couplet or single unit of dialogue ends with a fixed refrain sung in chorus. The scale of tal is strictly followed in dholak while the sarangi follows the singer in normal course. There are about two dozen tunes often utilised in Maanch. Rangat Ikhari, Rangat Dokadi, Kaligara Rangat, Jhela, Chhoti Rangat, Sindhu Badhawa, Udayya etc. are some of the known varieties. Haloor ends with a phrase called Mahara Raj. Gazal is also used. It is a separate metre sung in a quick tempo

In Maanch, the opening block of lines is called Ger, i.e. the beginning and the lines that follow are known as Udapa. Daur is the word for quick singing. The words are heard only in between the dialogues concluding with the leading lines. Folk tunes are utilised at proper situations in the play. A definite tune of Maanch cuts across the whole play. It has its own identity. A kind of gusto and abundance is attached to it.

Costumes :

The costumes used in Maanch are locally prepared. Each character actor has a set of familiar clothes. The main character has to wear more attractive angarkha or a long coat with multi-hued safu, adding Kaldi to it. He enters the stage with an aura of dignity. Women's roles are enacted by male actors. Spectators do not mind whether she has moustaches and masculine angles. These actors adequately use the stage. They move in conventional styles speaking or singing their dialogues while at every movement the dholak is at work. Their facial expressions and physical gestures of hands and feet always give dramatic impact upon the audience.