An interesting theme in these jatra paalas were the jatra duets, which provided sarcasm based comic relief, and involved couple figures such as the dhopa-dhopani (washerman and his wife), methor-metharani (the sweeper and his wife), etc. Gopal Uday was also popular for introducing the popular Khemta naach, performed mostly by men at that time. A leading jatra figure in the mid- 19th century was Gopal Uday (1817-1857), who introduced a new style where dialogues were written in short verses along with songs that evoked emotions that matched beautifully with the poor people who came to watch his paalas, making him the most popular jatra man of his times. Various musical instruments were used in these jatras, like drums and tanpuras in the early years while by the late 19th century western instruments became an integral parts of the jatra orchestra. The Jatras were performed in round or square flat grounds with the audience sitting in a circle around them.
In the songs and dances composed for the Jatras, the most important element in them were the conversations among the different characters taken from Hindu epics, which were given melodramatic interpretations by the actors, and were loved by the audiences. Jatra originated from the religious rituals of songs and dances, popular in the Bengal village festivals. In the 18th century a popular culture was seen developing in Calcutta that showcased traditional Bengal folk culture but enjoyed urban patronage, which was known as the Jatra paala. India has various regional forms of folk culture, and here we will take a brief look at some of the popular ones: