Srinagar, Aug. 25 -- The sound of the dhol once rolled across villages in Kashmir like a call to prayer. The nagara answered with its hollow boom, and the high-pitched surnai followed like a shepherd's whistle, gathering people from fields and lanes toward the village square.

This was how Bhand Pather began, an art form that needed no stage lights, microphones, or curtains. Its stage was the earth, its roof the sky.

The Bhands, Kashmir's folk performers, arrived in bright costumes and wooden masks. They played clowns and kings, landlords and peasants, policemen and cheats. Their stories carried laughter, but their satire was sharp.

They mocked corruption, exposed injustice, and reminded rulers that people were watching. They entertaine...