Category Archives: Communities, Movements & Identity

“My mother recognizes Earthquake tremors instantly. Afterall she has seen two major ones,” Salim Dawood Khatri says, as he lays an exquisitely embroidered blue jacket in front of me. “Only 700 bucks, Madam,” he adds, persuasively.

The year is 1967. It is another typical day for Mr. Chandrakant Bhide. He has stepped out of his small cozy apartment in Dadar West and is headed to work through the busy streets of Bombay. Working in the clerical department of The Union Bank for the last several years, he is a sincere and a dedicated member of the workforce.

Lakshman Babu Rao Sathe, the man who had just astounded us with his performance or kala pradarshan as he would call it, is the eldest member of the Potraj community of Pune. He belongs to 21st generation of the community, and he has learned the art from his fathers and forefathers who too, were self-flagellators and performers in Maharashtra.

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