To The Elephant Graveyard by Tarquin Hall

But the recent growth of cinema in Assamese is a greater threat. The region has largely resisted the lure of Bollywood films in Hindi. Travelling theatre has survived because Assam's remoteness meant little competition.

There are about 100 people in the troupe, including cast, costume and make-up personnel, a full orchestra, engineers and cooks. There is a portable generator so plays may be performed in villages with no electricity. The bamboo stage is enormous and the tent seats 2,000. As dusk falls, the entire community converges upon the theatre. Village youths lounge outside the tent on their motorcycles, hoping some of the glamour of theatre will be sprinkled on them. Stalls selling sweetmeats and snacks spring up.

Daily chores cease, and an impromptu four-day carnival begins. Today, the painted lorries heralding the troupe's arrival are greeted rapturously by villagers. In an area starved for entertainment, these soon became immensely popular. To spread his new values of decency and uprightness, his followers travelled from village to village performing yatra, morality plays. Appalled, Shankar Deb founded Vashnavite Hinduism, prevalent in Assam to this day. In a new book, To the Elephant's Graveyard, Tarquin Hall describes a popular method of divination: examining a nine-month foetus cut from the body of its mother. The travelling theatre began with the efforts of a 15th century moralist and religious reformer, Shankar Deb, to educate the Assamese away from the brutal practices of Tantric Hinduism. 'Even in Assam we have cases of husbands who are unfaithful to their wives. 'Princess Diana's story is a morality play,' says Mukib Ahmed, who plays Prince Charles.

To The Elephant Graveyard by Tarquin Hall