FOLK DANCES WESTERN INDIA (GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA)

(I)                WESTERN INDIA (GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA)

Rasa Nritya is considered to be the form of Rasa Leela, which Krishna used to perform when  he was leading the l ife of a ow – herd boy at gokul and vrandavan. In several Sanskrit treaties and books it is mentioned as the form of  Halli Saka Nritya of which Danda Resak, tala Rasak and Laleet Rasa were the Varieties.

Danda Rasak known as Dania Rasa is by itself very simple and is generally performed by a group of youthful people who move in a circle to measured steps, marking timeby sticks called dandias which they keep in thei hands, also sing in chorus accompanied by dhol, chmbals, zanz, flute or shahnai.

Tala and Lalit Rasaka. Similarly when the time measure is kept with clapping of hands instead of ‘sticks’, it is called “Tala Rasak”. This is also allied Garbi in Saurashtra where generally the males percolate. In Gujarat, Dandia Rasa is more popular in Saurashtra than in any other part and performed during the janmashtami and other festive occasions connected with god Krishna’s life

Matki Nritya is a lyrical variation of the Rassa Dance which departs love episodes of God Krishna during his younger days. The time beat is maintained by striking their fingers or ring on the fingers on the empty pots.

Mer Rasa.mers are a virile community which migrated to saurashtra with Jathwa rajputs soon after the fall of vlalabhis in the 8^th century A.D. they are at present founding the porbandar region of junagarh district and Baradi regionof Jamnagar District in Saurashtra. The Rasa of Mars begins is a slow tempo which warms up at the end. They strike the dandies so furiously and brings so much of verve and vigour in the bodily movements that it took more like sabre rattling in a war dance.

Thambal Chonabi a Manipuri folk dance, it is a merry social dance performed during the festival of Holi.

(II)              Western India (Gujarat and Maharashtra)

Rasa Nritya is onsidered to be the form of Rasa leela, whichkrishan wused to perform when he was leading the life of a ow – herd boy at Golul and Vrandavan. In several Sanskrit treaties and books it is mentioned as the form of halli Saka n\Nritya of which Danda Rasak, Tala Rasak and Laleet Rasa were the Varieties.

Danda rass\ak known as Dandia Rasa is by itself very simple andis generallyperformed by a group of youtrhful people who move in a ircle to measured steops. Marking time by stiks a called dandias which theykeep in their hands, also sing in chorus accompanied by dhol, chmbals, zanz, flute or shahnai.

Tala and Lalit Rasaka. Similarly when the timemeasure is kept with clapping\ of hands inse\tead of ‘sticks’, it is called “Tala Rasak”.This is also  called Rasa is more popular in saurashtra than in any other partr and performed during the the Janmashtami and other festive occasions connected with God Krishna’s life. There are various types of Rasas Such as Chokdi, Swastik and Kapai.

Matki Nritya is a lyrical variation of the Rasa Dance which depicts the love episodes ofGod Krishna during his younger days. The time beat is maintained by striking their fingers or rings one the fingers on the empty pots.

Mer Rasa. Mers are a virile community which migrated to saurashtra with Jathwa Rajputs soon after the fall of valabhis in the 8^th century A.D. they are at present found in the Porbandar region of jUnagarh District and Baradi Reegion of Jamnagar district in Saurashtra. The Rasa of Mars begins in a slow tempo which warms up at the end. They strike the Dandias so furiously and bring so much of verve and vigour in the bodily movements that it looks more like sabre rattling in a war dance.

Kutchhi Rasa Kutch, is a repository of some of the most ancient traits of the culture of Gujarat. But so far as folk dances are concerened, the variety which is extant is a form of Rasa popularlyknown as Kutchhi Rasa. It is very akin to the Mery Dance in Movement, tempo and music except its warlike character. Only male dancers participate. Usual accompaniments are Dhol and Shehnai.

Gher and Gherria Rasa Gher is a variation of Rasa Nritya which is more popular in Rajasthan and some parts of Malwa. There, it is a favourite dance of Minas who are akin to the Bhils.

Glherria Rasa in the South Gujarat is a sort of Dance wherein the agricultural labourers of Surat District hold a Dandia in one hand and a peacock feather on the other with which they make different movements and keep time. They go singing to a temple and the player who leads the singing is called kavio. The dance is a male dance wherein everyone done a very colourful costume and wears simple ornaments.

Gof Gunthan. This is a form of Dandia Rasa a maypole dance ofGujarat wherein the process of Gof gunthan i.e. weaving a rope proceeds along with the dance. The Gof Gunthar, popularlyknown as Athanga Nrityyain Gujrat is a very player holds a stick in one hand and a coloured strin in the others which is attached to hook at the top.

Garba Nritya. Just as Krishna popularized the Rasa form of dance, similarly, Usha, the grand daughter – in law of Krishna, i.e. the wife of Antrudhdha and daughter of king banasura of Shonitpur is credited to have popularized the form of lasya nritya which came to be known as the Garba Dance.

The garba nrityais a circular form of dance performed by the village as well as the urban ladies and the occasion for this dances especially Navaratri sharad Purnima, vasant panchmi, Holi and other festival Occasions, Tklhe world “Garba” derives its name after a lamp called “Garbhadip”, meaning the lamp Inside the earthern pot. The light in the earthen pot symbolizes the emporoyonic life. The ladies place it one their head and move in a circle and sing songs in  honour of Mother Goddess.

Bhil Nritya.  The border tracts of Gujarat have a large population of Bhils whjo have much in common with the Bhils of Rajasthan. Of the important forms of Bhil dance, the war dance and hunter’s dance are more or less or ritualistic variety. In the Holi dance, the males and females indulge in a gay revelryof dance. In a war dance, the bow and arrow, the sword and spears, are flourished and the dancers indulge in a wild and boisterous performance to the accompaniment of Dhol and flute.

Siddi Nritya. The afrians in Gujarat are called Siddis. These Siddi dancers hail from a polace called jambur situated in the Forest of Gir, near Junagarh, well-known as the only habitat of lions in Asia. Though three hundred years of domicile in India have made them perfect Indian citizens, they have still retained in their folk dances. Some features which r ensemble their counterparts in Africa. Though the songs they sing while dancing are in Gujarati, they have a ilting efrain and ferocious rhythm, let loose by their primitive drums which remind us of the African trumbal music. Their dances are called Dhamal and ham chi wherein they recreate all the vigour, verve and ferocity for which the African tribal dances are so well known.

Dangi Nritya. The forest areas of Dangs, a district of south Gujarat touches the borders of Maharashtra

And absorbed many influences of the tribal forms of the folks dances of Central India. Dangi Nritya is more or less very akin to Oraon tribal dances of Bihar. It has refreshing vigour and movements whjich are similar to those of jadur dance also. This region of Gurjarat rich both in forest wealth and folk dance is now getting its due share of development and recognition of its contribution to the folk culture of Gujarat.

Manjira Nritya (Cymbal dance). Most of the folk dances in Gujarat have group formations. But the Manjira dance is the only form of a sole dance preserved onkly by the women of a community called kamalias in saurashtra. Tlhe dance is generally performed by a woman who sits on the ground with “Manjiras” tied on all parts of her body i.e. ehad, hand, chest, waist, thighs, anklet, and feet. A naked sword is held in the mouth and an earthen potss balanced on the head with a burning lamp on it. The dancer holds a pair of “Manjiras” in each hand to the accompaniment of music and tables she rhythm able swings to and from the strikes “Manjirss” held in her hands on other “Manjiras affixed on different parts of her body. A slightly different form of this variation exists in Rajasthan, where it is known as Teratali.

Tippani Nritya. Although most of the dance forms in Gujarat are either connected with Lord Krishna’s episodes of life or other Shakti cults, there are some dance forms which typically represent the community activities and their functional aspect. Such activities are clearly visible in a dance form called tippani Nritya performed by the women of chorwad, a seaside place near Somnath. These women are generally labourers, who is spite of the advent of tiles and cement concrete, have still maintained their ancient vocation.

The orchestration is quite simple. The drummer accompanied by zanz and cymbal players controls the tempo and the pace of movements. He is also the person, who leads the signing too.

Hali Nritya. Tkhe Hallis belong to a community called Dubalas forom Udwada is Surat District, whoare a sect of an ancient community called Bhils. Tlheir festive oasion for dances are Holi, Diwali and Marriages. The usual accompanishment is a Turi and a Thali, i.e. brass plate. The steps of the dance change with every new formation with a corresponhding change in the measure. A row of women with arms interlaced dance in a straight line opposite a row of males. Both the rows of males and females swing forward backward with swiftness and agility to the funeful rhythm of Turi and Thali.Their dane begins with a failry fast tempo and continues changing the patterns of the rows, while the Turi and Thali players take position in the midst of dancers and play the instruments against each group.

Padhar Nritya. Padhar Nritya derives its name from a community called padhar who are one of the tribal communities’ of Gujarat. Ranagarh, one of the villages of Bhall situated in the surendranagar district has produced one of the most distinguished trups of folk dancers of Gujarat. This ancient community has preserved a form of folk dance which typifies their life, which is full of toil, enterprise and joy of boating and rowing mariners, the undulating seawares and introduce the hilarity of rural joy.

They sit with bended knees in a ring formation and with little cymals in their hands they keep perfect timing and sig in chorus.They rise up and down, move to and fro and simulate the vigorous movements of boat rowing. They rise with bended knees and lie down and roll form side to side. After this dance is over, they change to a form termed as Zakolia, wherein they mainly use the zanz i.e. big andflat cymbal. Four persons form the circular formation stand in the i.e big and flat cymbal. Four persons form the circular formation stand in the Middle with zanz tied to long strings. The folk instruments used in the performance are tablas,zanz, cymbals and a grotesque instrument called Bagalia.

Tamasha is an operation folk dance from Maharashtra with a certain amount of dancing in it. The player sing and narrate stories with mime interwoven by dancers. Men do foreful martial movements and women sing in high tones with their dancing steps that are quick concise and staccato accentuating the gusto by rhythmic pauses.

Dholacha nach. This dance takes its name after the nameof the drum dhol. Two other similar folk dances named after musical instruments and Tamboricha nach after the tambori and the Tarapicha Nach after the wind instrument tarapi. The formation of most of these dances is circular.

Tarapi is performed at the time of Holi by the Warlis and The Kas.The tarapi dances are of many types, each taking its name either from thepredominant movement or the formation. There are nearly nine or ten different types of formations which are excuted in the Tarapi dances, and in each there is a characteristic pattern of foot movements, by swings and hand and arm movements.

Gauricha is a popular folk dance of the Kunabis of Kolaba. This dance is also known as heuli Nach and Jakhadia. This danceisusuallly performed on Gauri Puja or Ganapati Puja.

Dindi and Thekala.Both these are associated with Lord Krishna and thedescripition of his childhood pranks. The dindi is a dance of the Rasa Variety.

The kala is performed around Gokl Ashtami, and is connected with the breaking of a dahi handi. The dancer’s rom a pyramidal structure to neat the breaking of earthen pot.

Rajasthan

Ghumar or jhumar is the most popular folk dance of Rajasthan. Performed in all seasons, it is always accompanied by songs of love, glory or defeat. Men and women dance in a circle, one half made of men and the other half of women with the accompaniment of instrumental and vocal music.

Raika is a martial folk dance, in which men and women both participate. The men hold swords and sing invoking the gods to grant them strength. Men and women then form circle and move in steps.

Jhoria the word jhoria which means a wooden stick, is a marriage dance. The men form one circle, the owmen another and they perform a vivacious dance to the accompaniment of Nagara. Shehani and Dhol.

Dandiya and the Dhamal are the circular stick dances of men. They are associated with the Lord Krishna legend and the songs such during the dance tell the story of God Krishna’s boyhood.

Kachi Ghori is performed by the Bavaris and Saegaras of eastern Rajasthan. As the name implies, the dance is a presentation of horse riding. The horse used in the dance is made of bamboo sticks and dancer dressed as abridgeroom,”adjusts the horse” on his waist in such a way as to create a realistic effect.

Bhavai is a ballad, dance drama and theatre performed by the Bhavai community. The themes of these dances are based on the popular love story, historical or social incidents.