IN PHOTOS: The 'Dashavtar' street theatre comes to life in Mumbai's busy suburb of Sion

Dashavtar, a folk theatre form, is popular in Konkan region of Maharashtra. In this, amateurs perform various mythological characters and narrate tales of Lord Vishnu's 10 avatars (reincarnations) from Vishnu Purana. The art form has a history of over 800 years and is still practised across Konkan between October and December. The Konkanis take their tradition with them wherever they migrate. All the artistes are employed across Mumbai as electricians, finance and other professionals. We present here the men behind the faces they wear as they performed Dashavtar in Sion. The troupe will hold their next performance on Thursday, October 10, at Ganesh Galli in Lalbaug (PICS/KIRTI SURVE PARADE)

Updated on : 07 October,2024 07:14 PM IST | Compiled by : Divya Nair

The Dashavtar performance at Sardar Nagar Dashera Mahotsav Mandal in Sion. Pic/Kirti Surve Parade

Prakash Labdhe, who is employed as a warehouse manager, is one of the artistes of the Dashavtar street theatre in Mumbai

Prakash getting into his character of Indrasen before the play

Pritam Kesulkar, who works as an electrician, is one of the artistes who take part in the Dashavtar performances

The men have teamed up to keep the ancient culture alive in the mega city. Here, Kesulkar is getting ready to play the character of Chaitrapriti

Raju Tambe and the other artistes hail from Munge in Deogad district of Konkan. Tambe is a finance professional

Tambe gets ready to perform in the 'Dashavtar' as Lord Ganpati

Arvind Kamble is among the performers who bring the Dashavtar to life at Sardar Nagar Dashera Mahotsav Mandal in Sion. He is employed as an office boy

All the artistes do their own makeup for the performance. Kamble dons the character of an old lady

Artiste Guru Dhuri is another office boy working in Mumbai, who participates in the Dashavtar theatre, which refers to the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu

Several villages in Konkan have the tradition of holding the Dashavtar theatre. Apart from Lord Vishnu and his 10 avtars, the other important characters in the play include Ganesha, Riddhi, Siddhi, Saraswati and Brahma. Dhuri has become the 'Brahmarakshas' here