Thirty-six year old Jyotsana Mahato became a nachni at the age of eighteen. As a young girl, she would often watch nachni performances at the fairs in her village, Bandhdih in Bandwan block, Purulia. Inspired by the renowned nachni Sindhubala Devi, whose parental home was close by, Jyotsana too wished to perform as a nachni. Sindhubala took a liking to the young girl and agreed to take her under her wing. The young Jyotsana eventually plucked up the courage to leave home, against her parent`s wishes and move to Sindhubala`s home in Kendri village. 

Ensconced in her new home, Jyotsana began her training under Sindhubala in the art of being a nachni. Soon after, she was married to Sindhubala`s grandson Bikash Mahato who went on to become her Rasik, after Jyotsana had completed her training. This was probably the first time that a rasik married his nachni. The couple have a fourteen year old son.

Bikash who had formally trained on the tabla for 4 years under an Allahabad University affiliated institution in Purulia, was a professional tabla player. Jhumur songs were a part and parcel of his daily life, since he belonged to a musical family, but it was the famous Jhumuria, Salabat Mahato`s visit to his village, when he was a young lad, that triggered a life long passion. He became a rasik when he was about 22 years old. 

Jyotsana Debi has been a nachni for over 18 years now and is one of the few examples of a nachni being trained by another nachni and not a rasik. She has performed across Bengal and neighbouring states like Odisha and Jharkhand. She performs throughout the year, barring the monsoon months. There is usually a programme during Manosha puja on the last day of the month of Sravan (July-August), with momentum gradually picking up from Vishwakarma Puja/Chhata Parob in mid September. Traditionally, it was the Darbari Jhumur that would be sung by the nachni during her performance. Today this has been replaced by "Chalan" Bhaduria, which is Bhaduria Jhumur with some "taans" akin to the Darbari variety. 

Jyotsana and Bikash`s earnings from their performances are not enough to sustain them through the year and they have to fall back on cultivation. She does not teach any students and Bikash explains that proper teaching of darbari jhumur and the accompanying dance probably stopped with Sindhubala Devi, whose home was also a learning hub for well known nachnis like Postobala, Bimala and Charubala.  Young people these days prefer to get themselves educated, rather than devote time to the folk arts of their land. There is also the fact that performers of Nachni naach or Bai naach till recently carried a social stigma and interest in the form among the new generation is practically non-existent. However Jyotsana states that she was never subjected to any such ostracism and has lived happily in her village, pursuing her art, to the best of her ability, under the guidance of Bikash.

For more on the Nachni dance, read here.