Music and dance reverberates across the long golden stretches of sand of Rajasthan, and also is infused in the blood of its hearty people. Here the lively people probably have a song and dance for every little occasion, for they have the capacity to colour the mundane activities of life with the hues of festivity. People in Rajasthan know how to celebrate life and this very fact is possibly reflected in its many folk song and dance forms, which exude an innate earthy charm.
Some of the popular songs and dances of Rajasthan are:
Raas (symbolic of human love of the Divine)
Ghoomar Dance
Traditionally it was the dance of the Bhil tribals, but in the later ages, royal ladies of Jaipur started performing it on the specific auspicious occasions. Slowly it evolved to its present status of being the community dance of the Rajput ladies. It is a very graceful dance, performed only by the women. Young as well as old veiled women take part in this group dance, which continues for several hours into the night. Here the ladies dressed in gorgeous ghagras dance gracefully in circles; along with the accompanying songs. Dance movements are both clockwise and anti-clockwise. It is expected from the new bride to dance the ghoomar as one of the rituals of the new marriage.
Bhavi
It is one of the most spectacular dances of Rajasthan. It features the veiled women dancers who balance about 7-9 brass pitchers on their heads while dancing with the music. They dance nimbly, at times with the soles of their feet rested on the top of the glass or on the edge of the sword! This awe-inspiring dexterity of the dancers may leave you gaping in amazement.
Chari
The dancers perform the dexterous patterns with their hands and balance the brass pots on their heads. The performance becomes more picturesque when the flames from the cotton seeds are set alight. The bobbing heads of the dancers develop a series of enlightened patterns when they move gracefully around the floor.
Drum dance
A naked sword is put in the mouth of a man and he juggles three swords with his hands. Of course, he takes care to avoid any injury to himself, but in the process also gives an enthralling and effortless performance. He is accompanied by a group of musicians holding the cymbals in their hands and aloft drums around their necks. It is a nerve-tingling performance that is sure to be etched in your conscious memory for a lifetime, if not in the recesses of subconscious memories of many future lifetimes.
Fire dance
The fire dance is performed on a huge bed of the flaming coals. The dancers appear almost in the hypnotic state, while dancing to the beats of drums. These devotional dances are performed in the winter's night. And surprise of surprises, the dancers come out unscathed, even without blisters on their feet. If they say said practice makes men perfect, they evidently had not been to Rajasthan; here practice makes men supernatural.
Gair
This picturesque dance has numerous variations. It is performed by both men and women. The men wear pleated, long tunics. They open out into the full-length skirts as they move in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. With every movement, their sticks beat to create the rhythm.
Kachhi Ghodi
The origin of this dance of Rajasthan was in the bandit prone regions of Shekhawati. The purpose of the dance is to entertain the bride-groom's party. The elaborate costumes of the dancers give the appearance of riding on the horses. This vigorous dance form uses the mock-fights, flourishing of the swords and the music of flutes and drums to create a spell on the audience.
There are more to the folk dances of Rajasthan. Kathputli is a traditional puppet dance of Rajasthan, which is based on ballad format. The Sapera dance is performed by the Kalbeliya snake-charmer's community. Terah Talli is the devotional type of dance performed by the Kamad communities of Deedwana and Pokhran in the honour of their hero Baba Ramdeo.
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