Bangsawan in Malaysia

"I am narrating history by acting it out. Not everyone will listen to a lecture for an hour. But if we inject a bit of entertainment, the young and old alike will enjoy it and pay attention,” Himanshu Bhatt quotes Mohd Bahroodin Ahmad in Kuala Lumpur’s New Sunday Times (September 10, 2006). The article titled "Bangsa­wan, A mirror of our cultural past” notes that this highly stylized theater, with a unique use of language, "was brought to this part of the world by Indian traders of Parsi descent who had landed in Penang. Locals therefore called it wayang Parsi.”

This unusual bit of history came Parsiana’s way thanks to our reader and supporter Zarir Cama, currently deputy chairman and chief executive officer of HSBC in Malaysia.

Ahmad, at 62, reckoned to be one of the oldest performers of the art form, comes dressed in the garb of a woman character of a century ago and dramatizes how she lived, what her culture and environment were like. "By the time his monolog ended, the audience, consisting of locals and tourists, was laughing at his gossip and clapping at the jingles he recited,” writes Bhatt.

Adorned in a kebaya with brooches, necklaces and earrings, his hair immaculately done up, Ahmad uses his skill and knowledge in the traditional art to fan appreciation of Malaysia’s heritage among modern folk, notes Bhatt. Ahmad told Bhatt he grew up watching his grandfather’s neighbors practicing bangsawan during his holidays. An early yen for theater found vent in school productions, his first ever role being Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Due to his policeman father’s various postings, Ahmad spent his youth in Kelantan and Penang where he got to know different Malay dialects. "Today he gives talks on the various accents and speech peculiarities of the Malay tongue, some of which are extinct. He attributes this skill to his bangsawan exposure that allowed him to be flexible and open,” adds Bhatt.