Volume VI Special Issue II February 2026

Name of Author : Kanika Sharma

Title of the paper : Bodies on Display: Kolhati Tribal Womens Tamasha and Patriarchal Spectatorship

Abstract: The paper critically analyses the multifaceted exploitation of marginalized Kolhati tribal women engaged in Tamasha performance as depicted in Kishore Shantabai Kales autobiography Against All Odds. The study argues that Tamasha dancers are rendered objects of patriarchal consumption not only by external male audiences but also through internal familial exploitation. The paper shows that the reason behind Kolhati womens relegation to the Tamasha is the greed of male family members in these communities, who are usually unemployed and rely on their daughters and sisters for survival, who, in pursuit of a comfortable life, compel their daughters and sisters into Tamasha, reducing womens bodies to economic assets and sites of sexualized display. Drawing on Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze, the paper demonstrates how Tamasha represents female bodies as spectacles for male pleasure, positioning men as active viewers and women as passive objects of desire. Through close textual analysis, the paper foregrounds how Kolhati women are denied agency and restricted to limited career choices, thereby revealing Tamasha as a cultural site where patriarchy, poverty, and caste intersect to perpetuate gendered oppression.

Keywords : Tamasha Dancers, Kolhati Tribe, Marginalization, Patriarchy, Male Gaze.

DOI :

Page Number : 222-225