MUSIC & DANCE Popular Song : Jhoori Popular Musical Instruments : Wind, Percussion, Drums Dances Forms : Tribal Dance Best Time to Visit : During the Festive Season

Famous Kullu Dance of Himachal

Arts & Crafts People

Festivals

Kullu Dussehra

Dance and Music of Himachal Pradesh – The Invoking Art

Music and Dance of Himachal Pradesh are as soul stirring and melodious as the cool winds and the clouds that seem to play the musical notes. Preserving itself from the influence of the external acculturation, the music and dance of the state are reflective of the cultural identity. Performed primarily to impress and satisfy the local gods, these cultural entity have become a major drawing card for the tourists. One can see these marvels of cultural influence during the festive season, when the whole state seems to reverberate and dance on the tonal patterns of the rich music. The folk music of the region caters mainly to love, separation, urge and even the expressions of everyday life. They are so melodious and meaningful that you will not notice the lack of a musical instrument. However, there are some simple instruments that are used to during festivals. Some of the most popular and noted instruments that are exploited during the various occasions are Dammama, Karnal, Dhol, Ghungru, Jhanjh, Thali, Gramyang, Sarnagi, Ektara, Algoja, Gajju, Dhaunsa, Dholku, Tamaka, Ruman, Ghanta, Shehnai, Chimta, Manjira.

You should come to Himachal Pradesh to enjoy the canorous music and the elegant dancing moves to enjoy the folk culture of Himachal Pradesh. Also remember that this is the only way of solace to the pauper population of Himachal Pradesh.

Music of Himachal Pradesh – Nutrient For Precarious Souls

The music of Himachal Pradesh is synonymous with the various events and happenings in the day to day life of the people. There is no classical form of music, but they have the folk kind that you will surely want to be a part of. However, while mentioning the songs of the state one cannot miss the Samskara song, that is a special song that belongs to the genre of Indian classical form of music. The subject of these folk lores shift according to the seasons and there is a song for almost all the occasions. The main subject of these songs are romance, stories of war and gallantry, seasonal variation, to name a few. Child birth as well as mournings too are common. Some of the commonly sung songs are Chhinj, Laman, Jhoori, Gangi, Mohana and Tappe, that are love songs. Dholru is a seasonal song while Bare – Haren are ballads about warriors and Soohadiyan are the songs that are sung at Childbirth. Losi, Pakkahad and Suhaag are all family songs and Karak are songs of praise in the honour of the deities. Alhaini on the other hand is a song of mourning.

Sung in unison, these songs do follow a pattern as per the singer who decides how and which way the notes and syllables are to be pronounced. Further, he can even change and replace the words. The songs of Himachal Pradesh are the specialty and identity of tribal culture that reside in the people of the state.

Musicians Playing Music During a Traditional Wedding

Jhoori

This is the sing dance song that is supposed to be connected with Jhoomer, which is a female dance form. The theme of this folk lore is extra marital affair and it is performed outdoors. Dominantly sung in the areas of Sirmaur and Mahasu you should notice the special rhythm of the song. A huge emphasis is laid on the rhythmic pattern of the song that comprises four lines where the last syllable in the first line is articulated in a prolonged manner.

Laman

This is the song of Kullu district that symbolizes romantic emotions among the men and women. These songs are sung by women of the higher status during the mornings and at nights. When listened carefully, you will realize that some of these morning songs have traces of Raga Asa in them.

Ainchaliyan

This is a religious songs that are sung in the house of the would be bride and is quiet popular among the farmer class of Himachal people. The men – folk sing this song in the houses of the married couples on the beat of drums or platters of images. On the other hand the women population of the area sing these songs in the house of the unmarried girls. In these songs, incidents from the marriage of gods like Shiva and Rama are sung with great zest. You should enjoy this song in the Chamba-Pangi areas, where professional singers using puppets, move around in different villages with a khanjari (tambourine) and play this ballad.

Musical Instruments – The Way the Beats are Created

As far as instruments are concerned, it is the Drums that dominate this section of cultural Himachal Pradesh. Drums like Dhol, Dholku, Dolki, Nagara, Dammama, Damanght, Nagarth, Gajju, Doru, Hudak and Dhaunsa are the most common, but each region has its own specific choice of drum. Drums of different shapes and sizes are the highlight in the Kinnaur, Lahaul, Pangi, Sirmaur and Kulu areas. A great importance is laid on the their storage where these are stored with great care in holy spots like temples, Gompas and Madhis. Before they are played, flowers, turmeric paste and rice is offered unto them and prayers are chanted. A special drum called as 'Tamaka' is played during the fairs while Dafale are played at weddings.

Apart from the drums there are Wind Instruments that too are an indispensable instruments during the various festivals. Rana Singha, Karnal, Turhi and Flute or Bishudi, Algoja (twin flutes), Shehnai or Peepni are popular wind instruments. These instruments are played during wedding and other auspicious occasions. The flute is favourite of shepherds and refresh the fatigued travelers. You should travel to Lahaul and Spiti areas in Granyang and Jumang and Mahasu where you can get a chance to listen to some ancient musical instruments like Kindari.

Then there are the Percussions Instruments that includes Jhanjh (large cymbals), Manjira (small cymbals), Chimta (tongs), Ghanta (gongs), Ghariyal (large gong), Thali (platter), Ghunghru (bells) and Kokatha Murchang (a stringed instrument played with a bow with bells). See attentively that during the singing of Ainchali or Jagaratas, a pitcher is placed upon a platter and played with the use of an iron bangle.

Besides these there are Ektara, Kindari Davatra, Gramyang or Rabab, Sarnagi, Jumang and Ruman that falls under the category of Stringed Instruments. Used by professional singers, Gramyang, Rumals, Jumang are tribal instruments of the Lahaul and Kinnar areas.

Dance Being Performed During Winter Carnival

Dance of Himachal Pradesh – The Main Ingredient of Himachal Culture

The Dance forms of Himachal Pradesh are as celebrated as the music that invigorates the soul of the affable people of Himachal Pradesh and act as soothers for the tourists that eye these dances. Tribal influence is eloquent in these dance forms and moreover, every tribes marks it presence with their own set of dancing gestures.

With a potpourri of tribes and village communities, Himachal Pradesh has an astonishingly large number of dances, with themes ranging from seasons and everyday life to myths and legends.

The Dance in Kinnaur and Chamba

The Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh has a beautiful tradition that is expressed by the Losar Shona Chuksam, a dance form that highlights the new Tibetan year. This is the agricultural festival dance wherein you will get a chance to see the movements that depicts the activities from sowing to reaping ogla (barley) and phaphar (a local grain).

The main dance of the Chamba region is Dangi, which is women oriented and can be enjoyed in the Chhatrari village in Chamba. This dance signifies oral communication between two people. It can be a representation of a conversation could between a king and a poor girl with whom he is in love or between a trader and his customers.

See the Dance Forms in Sermur

Come to the Sermur area of Himachal Pradesh to see the Gee Dance that is performed during the Lohri festival. Living up to its name, this dance will surely bring a smile on you faces when you will see singers stand in a curve with instrumentalists while individual dancers (boys or girls) rise one by one to dance to the music. There is an interesting practice associated with this dance. Girls who are born in the village can only participate in this art. That means that brides who have come to this village by engaging themselves in the institution of marriage cannot participate in the dance. Other favored dance forms in the Sermur region are the Rasa that lasts for a long time and the dancers form chains (pindi-bandhas) or concentric circles and the songs (mostly love stories) are enacted in a question-answer form.

The most eccentric and daring dance form is the Burah Dance where men flaunt their art while using a 'Dangras' (axes) in open air. This is a macho martial dance form that is all about legendary heroes and valor soldiers. The Kariyala is a dance drama, more like a theatrical performance by professional artistes, while the Thoda is a dance of archery.

Even Kullu Has an Dancing Art

An all time favorite of the Pahari people of Kullu is the Naati wherein dancers link their hands and move in step to varying rhythm styles that are 13 in number. Though it was traditionally a male dominion dance form, but of recent it has been modified so that women too can participate in it.

Other important dance forms in Kullu are Kharait, Ujagjama and Chadhgebrikar that have specific themes and are of martial significance. Danced with swords in hands the tempo at which they are performed is impeccable.

Dancing Seeps Even in the Desolate Area of Lahaul and Spiti

Shunto is a Buddhist dance form where men dance to a song that praises the lord himself. Another dance here is the Shaboo that is danced on festive occasions while the Gafila is a dance for couples. Most of them revolves around Buddhism or agriculture.