The making of a God
The 'behrupias' of Bengal have gone from being artistes to glorified beggars
Shamik Bag
http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/09212149/The-making-of-a-God.html (http://www.livemint.com/2010/04/09212149/The-making-of-a-God.html)
Balaram Mondal is not amused. The petticoat that has been given to him stops inches above his ankles. He grunts and asks his wife for a bigger size. She pleads helplessness. Mondal has to make do with what he has.
An hour of intense preparation later, Mondal will be ready. He was Shiva yesterday; he is set to hit the road as the goddess Kali today.
At 44, Mondal has spent exactly half his life as a behrupia—the many-faced folk performers in West Bengal who dress as mythological and godly characters, among others, and traverse vast terrain collecting alms.