What is "bhand"

Bhānds ( Devnagri: भांड, Urdu: بھانڈ, Gurmukhi: ਭੰਡ) are the traditional folk entertainers of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. In India and Nepal, the Bhand are now an endogamous Muslim community, which is no longer involved in their traditional occupation of folk entertainment. They include actors, dancers, minstrels, storytellers and impressionists.

Payment for performances is usually voluntary: often, one performer goes around the audience collecting money on a "pay-what-you-can" basis while the others continue to perform. While most bhands belong to families that are engaged in folk entertainment as their hereditary profession, their specific art forms vary greatly by region, community and language. The term bhand itself can also mean both a specific dramatic story or an entire form/school of drama.