My father was an amateur Jatra actor, which looked forward me to become an actor too. But I only went as far as performing in numerous radio plays. Dreams die fast and I ended up as a professional photographer. Jatra, the traditional open-air dwelling opera of Bengal is still popular in the rural Bangladesh entertaining the people through out the country from October to April, which is called the season and goes on through out the night. The time is chosen because of the dry weather prevailing in this part of the world during this period. Loud dialogues and over-acting are still very powerful and effective methods to grip the rural people who have very few sources of entertainment. There are about 50 groups are active every year where about 1,000 male workers and around 600 female are working. Besides, almost 2,400 other staff works to make the band going. It means that about 4,000 people earn a living for their family. They work temporarily for four to six months during the season and remain almost jobless for the rest of the time. An approximate 2, 00,000 people depend on Jatra. The exploitation of the performers, who make the heart of a large number of artists, is almost beyond salvation. No social recognition, a darker life, harassment both sexually and mentally and of course, financially. The situation began in the early 80s when Jatra dance, an inseparable part of the show, virtually turned into striptease. Jatra, which represented the cultural heritage of Bengal, turned into a cheap form of sexual entertainment. It also became the focal point of fundamentalists who in turn bombarded during one of the shows. The main attraction of Jatra, a vigorous form of art, is its orchestra and the acting. Music and dance is the very essence of Jatra, but it has gone through marked changes. Nowadays, dance is the main charm of Jatra. In a sense, success of Jatra depends on it. A single show is a five to six hours’ experience at night but dance only takes about three hours (some time more) off it. A dancer or a general artist gets only 30 to 100 $ per month, whereas the hero or the heroine gets 600 $ to 1,000 $ per month. They are used for the satisfaction of the audience while leading an inhuman life. Sometime they face mental, sexual and financial harassment by the surrounding people. But for the male artists, the love and passion plays a major role for joining the form of art apart from basic needs. The women, who are hounded by lecherous men, try to find a partner as soon as she settles with a band. The salvation comes from a marriage with a co-worker and even if it is needed, a conversion of religion is welcome for relief. The Jatra dance, which was once simply a dance, transformed into striptease in the early 80s, luring young and wild people to the stages instead of the veterans who once graced the shows for the quality of acting and compelling stories. The whole scene is that the art of Bengal is now in its crunch time. It’s time people should think about saving it from the ashes at any cost.