At a Glance :

Location : Jammu Kashmir, Ladakh

Popular Theatre Art : Achi Lamo, Bhand Pather, Bhagat, Mane Pa and Ras.

Jammu Kashmir state has made its own different and unique style of folk theatre performance; there are  different individual categories of a music, dance and drama. It is like a mixture of all the theatre art of  several media. In Ladakh region Mane pa and Achi Lamo, in Kashmir Bhand Pather and in Jammu region Bhagat and Ras all these make a nice combination of all theatre art forms.

Achi Lamo :

This theatre form is generally used to express the stories of Buddhist Jatik, it also includes the music, dance and drama. To perform this form, the artists comes from Kashmir's Tibet part, in Tibet, it is known as Topa Khamba. This theatre form is adopted by the people of Ladakhi and they are performing it from many years.

Ras & Bhagat :

The folk theatre Culture of the Jammu has a very spiritual and religious effect. Their famous performances are those which are performed to express the scenes of the Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharta. The members of the Ras and Bhagat generally belongs to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab states but they come to Jammu, to perform the Ras Bhagat form and showcase the Indian history.

Bhand Pather :

This folk theatre form is very famous in Kashmir state's masses because it is the only form which maintained their secure sole till this date. Drama is called as Pather in the language of Kashmiri; and the Bhand means the actor or performer. This theatre form generally doesn't pre-decide the themes to perform. The performer of the Bhand Pather form, presents his talent through the step by step improvement, available material and situation to perform the form and entertain the audience. During the performance of the Bhand Pather, they don’t need stage or any platform. They use the instrument to create the music which contains Surnai, it is the Indian Shehnai, Nagara, Big Dhol and Peshrao instrument's Kashmiri version.

Mane Pa :

This form is more dependant on the dialogue and narration than the form of Achi Lamo. This form is performed only by the families of the Mane Pa in the Kashmir's Ladakh region. During the performance to entertain and improve the humor of the people watching, the performer uses the mocks and they laugh on the people.