Far from the political slugfest, elections in West Bengal have something truly refreshing to offer. Breaking through the gender norms in a traditionally male-dominated field, the women
Hired by both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP, they played and danced at rallies and road shows cutting across party lines. In a striking display of inclusivity and celebration, the women dhakis even had Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other senior leaders dancing and grooving to their beats while campaigning.
The dhakis started joining the mainstream a few years ago when they, in groups, came to the cities during Durga Puja to beat the dhak. Later, they started performing in events. And in this election, they started taking part in campaigns. Their art is devoid of politics.
No Political Affiliation, Just Survival
The dhakis move in teams of around 10 to 12. The teams generally include two to three men, while the women are in majority. The dhakis are primarily based out of the south Bengal region, which includes districts like Birbhum, Burdwan and Hooghly. They have team leaders who sign the contracts with political parties. They get booked for a number of rallies or road shows. However, the politics never matters.
“It is purely business. We have no political affiliation. We are performing for our survival. We travel to far-flung areas depending on the bookings. For each roadshow, depending on the distance and the party, we roughly get around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. The money gets divided among the team members, so we earn around Rs 2,000 a day,” said Aduri Das, leader of a team that was performing in BJP star campaigner Mithun Chakraborty’s roadshow.
Politics is ‘Boring’
Fifty-five-year-old Maya Das has also joined the team with her granddaughter. In the sweltering heat, they walk for miles as part of the roadshow. “We come here as the entertainment quotient. People are bored with the politicians and their cliché speeches. Politics is boring. So, they want to see something new. That is why the political parties are now hiring us or tribal dancers. And it is good for us.”
Kamal Saha, another member of the team, said she has earned almost Rs 30,000 in the first four phases. “We got calls from Trinamool Congress and BJP. I played in almost 12 to 14 roadshows. It is exhausting because we need to walk carrying the dhak on our shoulders. But we have no option left. My husband is a migrant labour, it is difficult to sustain yourself like that,” she said.
These women learnt to play the dhak over the last five years. “We took it as a profession when we saw that it has a market. Earlier, we used to go to cities — Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi — during Durga Puja only. But the election season has opened a new area for us,” added Saha.
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