Panchali (narrative form)

Panchali is an oral narrative form of songs and stories in Assamese and Bengali culture.{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Manisha|title=Bengali Women|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xOZOS5DlsTcC&pg=PA191|accessdate=29 August 2015|date=2010-02-15|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226230443|pages=191–}} (panchali gaan collectively refers to the Bengali ballad songs) During a panchali recitation, the singer walks among the listeners making gestures to accompany the story.{{cite book|last=Datta|first=Utpal|title=Girish Chandra Ghosh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oCARY9BKjT4C&pg=PA8|accessdate=29 August 2015|date=1992-01-01|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788172011970|pages=8–}} The tradition is found among both Hindu and Muslim communities.{{cite book|last=Sengupta|first=Nitish K.|title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&pg=PA113|accessdate=29 August 2015|date=2011-01-01|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=9780143416784|pages=113–}} The themes are typically religious and reflect a variety of impacts on the culture through a period of several centuries.{{cite book|last=Yamin|first=Mohammed|title=Impact of Islam on Orissan Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AN5KebBJxzcC&pg=PA61|accessdate=29 August 2015|publisher=Readworthy|isbn=9789350181027|pages=61–}} Some focus on the duties of a good wife.

Interspersed in the presentation of Bengali folk opera, there are frequently breaks which are filled with panchali and other forms of songs.{{cite book|last1=Chakrabarti|first1=Kunal|last2=Chakrabarti|first2=Shubhra|title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVOFAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA465|accessdate=29 August 2015|date=2013-08-22|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810880245|pages=465–}} The panchali is followed by the singing of a religious song in Assam.{{cite book|last=Barthakur|first=Dilip Ranjan|title=The Music and Musical Instruments of North Eastern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP4vH-4oSEcC&pg=PA42|accessdate=29 August 2015|year=2003|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=9788170998815|pages=42–}}

Some popular Bengali "panchali"s include Lokkhir panchali (The Ballad of Goddess Lakshmi), Sriram panchali (The Ballad Lord Rāma), Bishohorir panchali (The Ballad of Goddess Manasā).