Akhyana

Akhyana was a traditional musical theatre as well as medieval genre of Gujarati poetry. It was primarily practiced in Gujarat, a western state of India.

Akhyana literally means to tell or narrate in Sanskrit. The 12th century polymath Hemchandra defined Akhyana in his Kavyanusashana as a side story from religious texts narrated by Granthika (professional story teller) to instruct audience accompanied by singing and acting. This definition does not include the narration of other non-mythological stories like that of Narsinh Mehta. In general, Akhyana can be defined as the stories narrated by story teller for religious instructions to audience accompanied by singing and acting. Dolarrai Mankad defined it as a form of poetry with musical components and scope of acting.

The narrator or professional story tellers who recited Akhyanas were called Manabhatt or Gagaria-bhatt. They set poetry to musical tunes and do mono acting. They wore silver or copper rings on their fingers which were used to sound the beats on overtuned copper-made water pitcher or large globular metal pot having a narrow mouth and bloated mid-part. Mana or Gagar literally means pot in Gujarati. Further musical accompaniment was provided by cymbals (jhanjh), barrel drum (pakhavaj), tabla, and harmonium.

Akhyana were recited by Manabhatts benlonged to Brahmin caste only thus the Akhyana authored by the person of other castes were given to them for recitation. Nakar is recorded as one such non-Brahmin, Bania caste author in medieval Gujarati literature. They chiefly belonged to south Gujarat.

It is a form of enactment of religious episodes from mythological stories as well as epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata. Sometimes non-mythological stories of religious devotees like Narsinh Mehta were also enacted.

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