Pandwani: Mahabharat Lok Natya Shaily

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 818361678X

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8183616782

Pandwani is the rhythmic heartbeat of Chhattisgarh’s performance culture, a premier mono-theatre form centered on the great epic, the Mahabharata. In this work, Niranjan Mahawar traces the fascinating evolution of the art from its origins as oral ballads sung by the Pardhan Gonds. He documents how these ancient tribal tales traveled through the nomadic Dewar community to spread across the entire Chhattisgarh region.

The book captures a pivotal transition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Pandwani transformed from a simple ballad into a fully realized theatrical form. Mahawar highlights a significant cultural shift where performers eventually adopted Sabal Singh Chauhan’s Hindi Mahabharata text, moving away from original Gond narratives while retaining the art's tribal soul. By profiling the dozens of active artists carrying this tradition today, Mahawar offers an essential record of a developing art form that continues to captivate audiences on the global stage.