Rajasthan has
been a heaven of various folk art forms. A medieval history includes the
existence of princely states, which provided patronage to these art forms and
their artists. Vibrant, vigorous and graceful the dances of Rajasthan evoke the
desert in all its moods. The desert comes alive when the local Rajasthan
performer performs the folk dances that leave the people amazed.
The
kalbeliyas, is a snake charmer community from Rajasthan, which performs
Kalbeliya dance. They are renowned dancers, musicians and snake charmers and
are identified as ‘gypsies’ in modern Indian culture. Kalbeliya is a nomadic
community who sometimes introduces themselves as Saperas or Sadhu. Their
traditional business is to catch snakes and to trade snake venom. Traditionally
Kalbeliya men carried cobras in cane baskets from door to door in villages
while their women sang and danced for alms. They revere cobras and advocate
non-killing of the reptiles. Since the enactment of the wildlife act,1972 the
Kalbeliyas have been pushed out of their traditional profession of snake
handling. Today, performing arts are a major source of income for them and they
have received widespread recognition within and outside India.
The kalbeliya
dancers are exceptionally flexible, they perform beautiful stunts as they twist
and turn their bodies in myriad ways, as is humanly possible. Sometimes they
balance utensils, one or several upon their heads, or use swords and blades to
carry out difficult maneuvers. The dancers are women in flowing black skirts
who dance and swirl, replicating the movement of a serpent. The male
participants take care of the musical part of the dance. They use the different
instruments such as the pungi (a wooden wind instrument traditionally played to
capture snakes), dufli, been, khanjari, morchang, dholak to create the
rhythm on which the dancers perform. The dancers are tattooed in traditional designs
and wear traditional jewellery, bangles, armlets, vibrant bindis, garments
richly embroidered with small mirrors, silver thread and colorful ribbons. As
the performance progress the rhythm becomes faster and faster and so does the
dance. The harmony of their performance is amazing! These songs and dances are
part of an oral tradition that is handed down in generations and for which there
are neither texts nor training manuals.
In 2010, the
kalbeliya folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared part of its
intangible heritage list by the UNESCO.
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