Tamasha troupes are booked to perform almost all days in Chaitra and Vaishakh. Only 10 free days are left. The mood during this period is upbeat in villages and residents want entertainment and are ready to pay for it.

The groups congregate at Narayangaon. They are from neighboring districts and all parts of Maharashtra. They pitch their tents and welcome village leaders who come here to book the shows. There is fair in Narayangaon — an annual ritual. It is a meeting ground for tamasha groups and buyers (say a village sarpanch or mukhiya).

The tamasha groups are named after their founder. Almost 30 groups come for the fair. This year (2025) is good for sales — the group is paid Rs. 3 lac for an evening’s programme. The team managers represent the troupes. The combined earnings of 30 groups are around Rs.12 crore.

An average tamasha group has 40 artistes. There are as many supporting staff — cooks, technicians, drivers of vehicles. These troupes take loans from private money lenders around May and repay them the next April. The loans sustain them to the next season.

Previously, there used to be a full tamasha programme beginning with Gan Gavlan — an ode to Ganesha and Krishna Leela to Vagnatya — featured plays. There were social messages about alcoholism and female foeticide. These days the performances consist of Hindi-Marathi music, dances and orchestra. The audience for Natak is dwindling. It used to start late at night.

Previously, tamasha was brought to the village for yatra of Gram Devta. That has not changed.

It will be difficult to fund a tamasha programme. There were no alternatives for earlier generation. These days we have cell phones and TV.

People leave as soon as the Natak starts. Still the payment remains — Rs.2- Rs. 2.5 lacs per show.

Many troupes do not perform for seven months. The performing days are reduced to 40-50 days of Chaitra and Vaishakh. Formerly, the audience consisted of 3000 people. These days there is a crowd of 300 people. The salaries of artistes have gone up to Rs. 2000 -Rs 2500 per show. Banks do not finance the shows.

The established groups are putting up a fight. They get repeated booking since the audience loves them. There should be a supportive scheme for tamasha artistes providing them a minimum 100-days performance at state events among others.