The Bhopa people are the priest-singers of the folk deities in the state of Rajasthan, India.
They perform in front of a scroll, known as phad (par in the Rajasthani language) that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity and functions as a portable temple!
As William Darlymple narrates in his book called ‘nine lives’; (if you simply ignore the abysmal Indian diction that is!) Bout the most famous Bhopa artist called Mohan Bhopa who used to perform continuously and even over night!
His narrative is continuous and absolutely flawless! He does not forget his lines and there are no prompts! What is so great about that you say!?
He used to remember his lines when in fact he was illiterate!
This type of memory is called Shruthi! In fact you can find this all over our local traditions and art including the most important ones! Another form of memory is called the Smriti.
Shruti (“that which is heard”) and Smriti (“that which is remembered”) are the two primary pillars of indian scriptural authority.
Shruti refers to eternal, infallible divine revelations (Vedas, Upanishads), while Smriti consists of traditional, human-authored texts (Epics, Puranas, Dharmashastras) that interpret and apply these truths to daily life.
Shruti is “that which is heard” by the ancient sages (rishis) directly from the divine source while Smriti is “that which is remembered” or recorded by sages based on their understanding of the revelations.
Since here also source is important; Shruti is considered the highest, absolute authority (canonical) while Smriti holds a secondary authority, deriving its validity from its alignment with Shruti.
Shruti is believed to be eternal and impersonal (authorless) while Smriti is considered authored, flexible, and evolving with time!
Even in your examinations, you have an interplay of Shruti and Smriti! What your teacher tells you and you repeat is Shruti and what you read and understand is Smriti! Here, also, what the teacher tells has authority!
Then again when it comes to dance and direction; for authority you have Remo Gopi D’Souza!
Now remember what your teachers says!
Shubh Ratri!
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