In Rajasthan, the spectacular is commonplace. Many civilizations forged by waves of settlers ranging from ancient Indus Valley urbanites to pastoral Aryan herdsmen, Bhil forest dwellers, Jain merchant princes, Jat and Gujjar cultivators, Muslim craftsmen, and the Rajput warrior aristocracy have all shaped this region called the land of kings. Colorful costumes, festivals, and customs relieve the tedium of coping with a harsh, demanding land. People come here to savor its splendors, and imbibe its enviable heritage. Discover it all in the fairs and festivals like Pushkar and Desert Festival, dances like Kalbelia, Rajasthani cuisine, and crafts of Rajasthan.

Dance & Music of Rajasthan

The music and dances of Rajasthan are heady, exciting, hypnotic and compelling… and very much a part of the eternal appeal of this strange and wondrous land. They constitute the very warp and weft of life in Rajasthan-indeed the state has a very vibrant, highly evolved tradition of performing arts carefully nurtured and sustained over the centuries.

Rajasthani dances are a spectacular celebration of life and color-and what a stupendous variety of forms! The Kachhi-ghodi is a particularly vigorous dance in which a bridegroom's party boisterously sings folk ballads and stages a mock fight with much nimble sidestepping, sharp pirouetting and brandishing of swords. A statelier dance is the ghair performed mainly in the Mewar region; regal men in fulsome, gathered white ankle-length skirts and brilliant turbans swirl slowly in alternately clockwise and anticlockwise motions, clicking long, painted sticks with each other, the periodic clash of sticks creating its own fevered cadence. There is drama in the charee dance: performers deftly execute intricate choreographic patterns, balancing brass pitchers containing smoldering cottonseeds on their heads. The sapera dance of the kalbeliyas, a snake charmer community, is sensuous and riveting in the extreme. Lissome women, dramatically dressed in black and gold, with glittering tassels woven into their raven hair, sway sensuously to a sonorous chant, which increases in tempo and vigor, ending with a flourish that leaves both performer and spectator exhilarated and exhausted.

DANCE

Bhavai: One of the state’s most spectacular performances, it consists of veiled women dancers balancing up to seven or nine brass pitchers as they dance nimbly, pirouetting and then swaying with the soles of their feet perched on top of a glass, or on the edge of a sword. There is a sense of cutting edge suspense to the performance and even though some of the hotel performers use only papier-mache pots that are stuck together, the feat is still one of amazing dexterity.

Drum Dance: Put a naked sword in the mouth of a man and give him three swords to juggle with his hands while avoiding causing himself injury. This to the accompaniment of his troupe that consists of musicians holding aloft drums around their necks and cymbals in their hands. A stirring performance from a martial race.

Chari: Dancers choreograph deft patterns with their hands while balancing brass pots on their heads. The performance is made more picturesque with the flames from cottonseeds set alight, so that the bobbing heads create streaks of illuminated patterns as they move effortlessly around the floor.

Fire Dance: If there is divine protection to be offered, the Jasnaiths of Bikaner and Churu must be responsible for cornering most of it. These dancers perform on a large bed of flaming coals, their steps moving to the beat of drums that rises in crescendo till the dancers appear to be in a near-hypnotic state. And no, they’re not likely to have any blisters to show for it. These devotional performances are usually to be seen late on a winter’s night.

Gair: There are several variations to this picturesque dance form that is performed by both men and women. The men wear long, pleated tunics that open out into full-length skirts as they move first in clockwise then in anti-clockwise movements, beating their sticks to create the rhythm when they turn. Originally a Bhil dance and performed at the time of Holi, its variations are the Dandia Gair in the Marwar region and Geendad in the Shekhawati region.

Ghoomar: A community dance of the Rajputs, performed by the women of the house and traditionally out of bounds for men, it uses simple, swaying movements to convey the spirit of any auspicious occasion. There is, however, an amazing grace as the skirts flare slowly while the women twirl in circles, their faces covered by the veil. Traditionally, all women, whether old or young participate in the dance, which can continue for hours into the night. A new bride, on being welcomed to the home of her husband too is expected to dance the ghoomar as one of the rituals of the marriage.

Kachhi Ghodi: Originated from the bandit regions of Shekhawati, the dance is performed for the entertainment of a bridegroom’s party. Dancers wear elaborate costumes that resemble them riding on dummy horses. A vigorous dance, it uses mock-fights and the brandishing of swords, nimble sidestepping and pirouetting to the music of fifes and drums. A ballad singer usually sings the exploits of the bandit Robin Hood.

Kathak: This formal, classical dance evolved as a gharana in the courts of Jaipur where it reached a scale that established it as distinct from the other centre of kathak Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Even today, the Jaipur gharana is well established, though performances occur in other centres rather than in the state where the opportunity for classical dance forms has been on the decline for a while.

Kathputli: A tradition of puppeteering has long existed in Rajasthan. A travelling form of entertainment, it uses the ballads, retold in the voice of the puppeteer who is assisted by his family in erecting a makeshift stage. Puppets are strung on the stage and recount historic anecdotes, replay tales of love and include much screeching and high-pitched sounds as the puppets twirl and move frenetically.

Sapera Dance: One of the most sensuous dance forms of Rajasthan, performed by the Kalbeliya snake charmers’ community, the sapera dancers wear long, black skirts embroidered with silver ribbons. As they spin in a circle, their body sways acrobatically, so that it is impossible to believe that they are made of anything other than rubber. As the beat increases in tempo, the pace increases to such a pitch that it leaves the viewer as exhausted as the dancer.

Terah Taali: Another devotional form of dance practiced by the Kamad community of Pokhran and Deedwana, to honour their folk hero, Baba Ramdeo, it consists of women sitting on the floor before his image. Tied to various parts of their body are thirteen cymbals, which they strike with the ones they hold in their hand. Their hands perform various arabesques while they do this and for effect, they may also balance pots on their heads and hold a sword in their mouth.

Top^

MUSIC

Maand: A form of court music, the maand is a raga formation that developed in Marwar and includes a complex inflexion of voices sung in a deep bass. This sophisticated form of music percolated down to folk forms and professional singers use it to sing ballads that have a haunting quality as their voices range over the desert. The maand has also been used to sing the praises of their ruler-patrons. A festival is now exclusively dedicated to the event in Jodhpur.

Pabuji ka Phad: Pabuji Ramdeo was a Bhopa hero of the 14th century whose exploits provide the background for ballads sung against a painted scroll where vignettes of his life are portrayed in comic-strip fashion. Performances are held at night. As the Bhopa minstrel sings the ballad accompanied to the music of the ravanhatha, his wife holds an oil lantern to illuminate the particular portion of the scroll where these deeds have been painted. Entire village communities gather to view the performances.

Top^