A look at folk dances from Rajasthan you should know about.

Rajasthan is certainly the royal state of India and is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, of which folk dances play an important part. They now only narrate stories in a unique way but are also aesthetically pleasing. So let us take a look at some of the folk dances from Rajasthan:

Ghoomar

If you talk about Rajasthan, you have to speak about Ghoomar certainly as it is the most popular folk dance in India. Introduced by the Bhil tribe, this dance form was later taken up by Rajputs as well. Ghoomar is usually performed by women at festivals and special occasions as they wear traditional outfits. This folk dance involves swaying hands, beating palms and spinning around with the traditional attire complimenting the movements.

Kalbeliya

Guess what? The Kalbeliya is considered by UNESCO as Intangible Heritage and is performed by the women of the namesake tribe. They wear angrakha (jacket), odhani (veil) and a ghagra (long skirt) and dance on music played on traditional instruments like dholak (two-headed hand drum), khanjari (percussion instrument) etc. It is also called the Snake Charmer dance’ or ‘Sapera dance’ because of the dance movements.

Bhavai

Performed by Kalbelia, Jat, Meena, Bhil or Kumhar tribal communities of Rajasthan, Bhavai is a ritualistic dance and it involves women balancing brass pitchers or earthen pots on their head as they twirl around. They are accompanied by male performers and we must say, it takes years to master this dance form.

Kachhi Ghodi

This dance form has origins in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan and depicts stories of the local bandits of the region, a symbol of chivalry and bravery. Performed on flute music and drums, dancers also do mock fights using swords.

Gair

Performed predominantly by the Bhil community, especially on Janmashtami (celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna) and Holi, this dance form involves men and women dancing together, dressed in traditional attires. They circle around one another, moving in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction while powerful drum beats play along.

Chari

Another ritualistic dance performed by Saini community of Ajmer and Gujjar’s of Kishangarh, this dance form symbolises joy and portrays the collecting water in chari, a pot. The dance is accentuated with sounds of dholak, harmonium and nagada.

Kathputli dance

It is a form of puppet dance and a Kathputli performance narrates stories from Indian folklore and mythology.