Dancing boys are termed ‘Naacho’ in Sindhi language, which means ‘dancer’. These dancing boys are an important part of every festival that takes place in Sindh.

There are five to 10 dancers or Naachos in every group. They travel all around Sindh to perform at dance festivals and collect money, which is showered on them by their admirers as a token of appreciation.

These tiny tents are used as tea shops in the day time and transform into a ‘boys bar’ in the evenings. Each tent is brightly lit with its own singer and a band of musicians. These dancing boys are aged between eight to 14 years.

Though most of these boys are happy with their profession, the fact remains that they are sold out by their own parents in their childhood. Naachos in Sindh have close resemblance to the ‘Bacha Baazi’ in Afghan, Pashtun and Tajik societies. Few historians link the Naachos with Afghan rulers of Sindh in the past centuries. Presently, these dancers are found in areas of Dadu, Larkana, Shikarpur and other areas of Sindh, where there is no fear of objection to public dance performance.

Group managers and the Naachos themselves revealed that the parents of each dancer are paid Rs.30,000 to Rs.50,000 in advance – Rs.4,000 - 6000 per month is fixed for each young boy. These boys are not professionally trained to dance but they continue to perform and attract a good number of visitors at each festival. Dancing boys have a very short performing-life.

They are only accepted as dancers by their admirers and managers until they reach an adult age. A number of Naachos learn to sing or use musical instruments, but majority of them are left with no option but to eventually work as male prostitutes. —Text and Photos By Nisar Khokhar

 

Opinion

Editorial

Kabul visit
Updated 26 Mar, 2025

Kabul visit

Islamabad should continue to emphasise that presence of terrorists on Afghan soil stands in the way of normal commercial ties.
Drought warning
26 Mar, 2025

Drought warning

DRIVEN by rising temperatures linked to climate change, increasing drought events across Pakistan have affected tens...
Deadly roads
26 Mar, 2025

Deadly roads

DESPITE daytime restrictions on heavy vehicles, Karachi continues to witness one horrific traffic accident after...
Shortcut tactics
Updated 25 Mar, 2025

Shortcut tactics

IMF’s decision to veto move to reduce retail power tariffs seems to be against interests of middle-class consumers.
Unforced error
Updated 25 Mar, 2025

Unforced error

State must not push ordinary citizens away with its excesses when dealing with Balochistan.
Losing again
25 Mar, 2025

Losing again

WHEN Pakistan’s high-risk Twenty20 approach did not work, there was no fallback plan and they collapsed in a heap...