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Folk
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Of all the parts of India Gujarat can claim to have a distinction
of having preserved the ancient traditions of songs, dance
and drama. The best known among these is the Ras and Garba.
The folk drama in Gujarat is known as Bhavai. Most of these
art traditions trace their origin to the ancient period
of Lord Krishna who was said to have passed his boyhood
days at Gook and became a great flute player. He charmed
the cow and cowherds by the sweet strains of his divine
flute. He was also a great dancer of divine charms who thrilled
the people of Gokul and Vrindavan. When he became the ruler
of Dwarka in Gujarat, he not merely distinguished himself
as a brave fighter, statesman and philosopher but developed
his love for dance and music too. Since the folk dances
have become a part of the life of the people of Gujarat
who have still preserved them in their pristine glory.
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Ras and Garba
The Ras dance is considered to be the form
of Ras Leela,which Krishna used to perform when he was leading
the life of a cowherd boy at Gokul and vrindavan. The Ras
is by itself very simple and is generally performed by a
group of youthful people who move in a circle to measured
steps, marking time by sticks called dandias keeping in
their hands and singing in chorus accompanied by dhol, cymbals,
zanz, flute or shehnai.
The typical folk costumes
for this dance is a small coat called Keviya with tight
sleeves and pleated frills at the waist with embroidered
borders and shoulders, tight trousers like chudidars and
colorfully embroidered cap or coloured turban and coloured
kamarbandha i.e. waistband, which stands direct contrast
to the general colour scheme the costume.
Just as Krishna popularized
the RAS form of dance Usha, the grand daughter-in-law of
Krishna is credited to have popularized the form, Lasya
Nritya which came to be known as Garba dance.
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The Garba Nritya is a circular form of
dance performed by woman folk of Gujarat and the occasions
for this dance are especially Navaratri, Sharad Purnima,
Vasant Panchmi, Holi and other festivals. It also learnt
that the Shakti cult, which existed during the prehistoric,
times much before the advent of Aryas, had form of a ritualistic
dance for fertility, wherein an unfertile lady takes a small
wooden structure of temple called madh on her head and
dances in the middle encircled by other ladies. The word
Garba derives its name after a lamp called Garbadeep,
meaning the lamp inside the earthen pot. The light in the
earthen pot symbolises the embryonic life. The earthen pot
is usually coloured in white and holes in its side through
which the inner lamp reflects its light. The ladies place
on their heads, move in a circle and sing songs in honour
of the mother Goddess.This is done especially during the
Navaratri, which is a festival in honor of mother Goddess.
On the occasion of Navaratri i.e. the October harvest
time, practically all the cities Gujarat resounds to the
rhythm music and songs of the Garba dance. Though the city-dwellers
have introduced elaborates modern style and gestures in
the Garba dance, its main form has remained more or less
intact. Costumes are never prescribed by any set of rules
but a happy tendency has grown among city people to take
to folk costumes, colours and ornaments. Singing in chorus
is an invariable accomplishment of the Garba Nritya.
Other popular forms of folk
dances in Gujarat are Tippani Nritya, Siddi dance, Padhar
Nritya, Dangi Nritya and other local tribe dances.
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