Himachali Music and Dances - Page 4

Originally posted by: vinnie-thepooh

here's -Bhala Shipahiya Dogriya: (mil gaya wohooooooooo.it was in one of the CD download links provided by Bhaskar.Thanx Bhaskar)

🤗🤗 thanx vinnie. have downloaded it and listening now. after so so many years. we used to listen to it almost everyday in the hostel.😃

Originally posted by: Barnali

🤗🤗 thanx vinnie. have downloaded it and listening now. after so so many years. we used to listen to it almost everyday in the hostel.😃

di,

i remeber this song was the first one that we have perfomed on in school

and tu ve mala tu ,my mom always use to sing it for my bro and i loved that song,beautifully put emotions of a mother

Originally posted by: TallyHo

WOW!!!....

Thanks vinnie, Bhaskar for the link...

Infact I cant just thank u enough...u made my day!!!

😊

😳😊

FOLK THEATRE

Popular entertainment is an inevitable part of community life and it reflects the tastes and traditions of the people and their social historical scientific attitudes and imaginative qualities. The folk art forms like Swang, Jagrata, Jagra, Ainchali singing, the ballads and songs of the tribes of wandering minstrels are still a vital and living force in the area.

Bhagat, Kariyada, Banthada and Haranyattar are the popular folk theatre forms of Himachal Pradesh. These dramas are usually built around certain character-types. Any available space in the middle of a field marked by two or three feet high poles with cords tied round them, provides the stage for the folk-drama. Audience sits around such a stage.

Kariyada and Banthada

The Kariyada folk art form projects many coloured glimpse into the heart of the region. The loves, joys, sorrows and hopes of the people are reflected in this art form through traditional symbolic patterns.

The performance usually starts with Mangalacharan invoking the three gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh,the forest gods and goddesses and Saraswati the goddess of learning. After this Manasukha or Dandoo comes on the stage and introduces the theme of the play to the people and set it going. The themes of the play ranges from historical to mythological and are interspersed with contemporary references. Ramleela, Ras-leela, Krishnaleela, mythological tales from Puranas and history are all similarly presented. The comic interludes form a necessary part of the show and depict stock characters like the run-away girl, the moneylender and his servant, the guard, the she-snake and Pilpili Sahib (a spoof on the white sahibs). These impromptu shows present sharp and pungent satires about the bureaucracy, the social malpractices like racial discrimination and miserliness. Sly and sharp social commentary comes in form of jokes and puns packed with wit and humour. The role of the female dancer is very important in folk theatre. She not only dances but sings songs and is presented with gifts of money.

The antics of Manasukha are the life and soul of each play. These are staged between Diwali to Baisakhi, when the excessive cold puts a stop to forming activities and people crave for some form of entertainment. To the common folk watching plays is a part of religious ritual. People take religious vows to have these religious plays staged if their wishes come true. They invite the traveling troupes to come and perform in their houses with an advance of money known as Peshagi or Sai. Other family members are also invited to the performance. When the Bhagat (players) reach the house of the hosts, they are given a warm welcome and on this day a feast is offered to the entire village.

For the stage, a bonfire is lit in the middle of the courtyard around which the audience squats. In a corner a few string cots form the wings. Mats or Dhurries are spread on the floor. A large oil lamp which can hold about two liters of oil is lit upon a pillar and torches made of resinous Pine branches are used. Nowadays people also use kerosene oil lanterns and petromax lamps.

The folk artists usually belong to the lower middle classes and castes like Sanhai, Sehsi, Cobblers, Weavers and Jheers. Female roles are enacted by men and chief actor is Manasukha or Rauloo. He acts as the clown and his jokes and flirtatious encounters with the Gopis (maidens) are some of the liveliest bits in the play. For make-up the artists use wigs, Kohl powder and costume jewellery. A face powder is made of fine lime or common flour and kohl is prepared out of carbonated lamp soot. For wigs, barks of trees are used. & nbsp; & nbsp;

The dialogues of these plays are short and sarcastic or sedate according to the occasion. The language is simple, elastic and bereft of ornamentation. Basically all these folk art forms reflect the simple thought patterns of the rural folk. The plays are full of dances set to songs. Some of the folk dance forms presented in these plays are Nati, Gidda, Luddi, Dangi and Dandaras and the musical types are Jhanjhoti, Mohana, Gangi, Jhooriyan and Laman.

In the tribal areas the custom of community dancing is prevalent. In this all the men and women stand in lines or in a semi circle and sing and dance through the night. The entire valley reverberates with the sound of music at such occasions.

In the Sirmaur and Mahasu areas the Kariyada folk theatre is popular. Banthada is popular in the Mandi area and Haranyattar form in the Banthada, Kangra and Chamba areas. The Bhagat comprises of an enactment of incidents from the life of Krishna. This is followed by comic skits or Swang. In between the plays, the players go around with a platter in which the spectators put money.

The Singing of Legendary Love Story of Konju and Chanchalo

The Gaddi boys of Chamba often sing the legendary love story of Konju and Chanchalo.
The tale goes that Konju used to brave perilous rivers and wild animals at midnight to visit his ladylove, Chanchalo. But Chanchalo fears for his life as his rivals have guns. She pleads with him to go back and so the song ends with the sad parting of the lovers who exchange a ring and a scarf:
In your hand is a silk handkerchief,
O, Chanchalo,
and my ring is on your finger,
As a token of our undying love.
My lustrous black eyes, O Konju, often
Admired by you, are now filled with tears
and sorrows,
Symbols of our hopeless love…

Hikat (Himachal Pradesh):
Hikat, danced by women, is a modification of a game played by children. Forming pairs, the participants extend their arms to the front gripping each other's wrists and with the body inclined back, go round and round at the same spot.

Dance and music is a way of expression for the people of Himachal Pradesh. In all regions, people living in this place of natural beauty, embellish themselves for the dance at all times. The breathtaking landscapes and artistic history is garlanded by the passion for dance in this land.

The valley of Kulu, celebrates Dussehra with great grandeur and splendour. There is singing and dancing, around a collection of images of Raghunathji, brought from different temples. There are different dances for different occasions. Collectively all dances are called Natio. No festivals or social ceremonies go without dancing.

Music of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the northwest corner of the country. There are many kinds of folk songs from the area, many of which are sung without accompaniment.

Jhoori is a type of song that celebrates extra-marital romance. It is popular in Mahasu and Sirmaur, and is accompanied by a female dance called jhoomar. Laman songs from Kulu are another type of love song.

Samskara songs are sung at festivals and celebrations by women from some of the higher castes. These songs are based on ragas, which are compositions of Indian classical music, as are the martial jhanjhotis.

Ainchaliyan are religious songs, sung at the bride's house after a wedding and by women at the home of an unmarried girl.

In Chamba-Pangi, wandering musicians play a khanjari (tambourine) and perform, also using string puppets.


Himachal Pradesh folk music features a wide variety of drums, including dammama, damanght, gajju, doru, dhaunsa, nagara, dholku, nagarth, tamaka, dafale, dhol, dolki and hudak. There are also wind instruments like algoja, peepni, shehnai, bishudi, karnal and rana singha, and percussion instruments (aside from drums) like the ghanta and ghariyal (gongs), chimta (tongs), manjira and jhanjh (cymbals), ghungru ( bells), thali (platter) and kokatha murchang. String instruments include gramyang, sarnagi, jumang, ruman, ektara and kindari davatra.

Originally posted by: Swar_Raj

Thanks Vinnie 😛