ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ludic and entertaining dimension of thakurani Yatra, and in particular the masquerades that are considered to be among the main attractions of this festival. Extravagance, role reversal and transgression are considered as complementary symbolic actions required to challenge, reconfirm and vitalize the prevailing moral order. However, unlike male transgressions, female outbreaks are restricted to within the ritual domain and the body repertoire associated with it. It serves as a religious exercise to either express a vow or to give thanks for the goddess' favour from this angle it again corresponds to the male practice of costuming. In contrast to carnivalesque traditions, costuming at the goddess festival is not only done for enjoyment but, most importantly, transmits a religious intention. During the administration of Rajiv Gandhi, the name of the Swedish weapon dealer Bofors became a metaphor for political skulduggery and entered the vocabulary of several Indian languages.
