Folk Dance of West Bengal

West Bengal the eastern part of India is full of cultures. In every department West Bengal has got varieties like Music, Dance, Cuisines, language and dress. In every district of the state there will have something different as culture. These cultures are very colorful and enjoyable too.
In west Bengal Bengalis have found 13 reasons to celebrate in 12 months "Baro Mase Tero Parbon. Such rich culture West Bengal has. Folk Dance is one of the popular cultures. This folk dance too gets different according to the region of the state. So far I will discuss about six very popular folk dances forms of West Bengal.

Brita Dance: This is a kind of traditional Bengali folk dance which is specially performed by women. In rural part of West Bengal this dance form is more traceable than the other part of the state. Basically the purpose of performing this dance is to please the deity and get blessed by the Lord. Brita dance is performed in the temple premises particularly where the women dance before and after fulfillment of the wish. The women who does not have any child or whose children suffering from small pox (Mayer Daya) performs this brita dance often. The other name of this dance form is Vrita.

Gambhira Dance: This is again a popular form of folk dance product from West Bengal. It is very popular in North Bengal's Malda District. This gambhira folk dance is performed during Chadak festival, March-April. It comes with various messages like devotional, social, etc. In devotional form the participants represent their deities like Shiva, Vishnu etc. Another form of gambhira dance is the dual combination of grandfather and grandson. The medium of the dialogue is song and verse. In this form they represent the condition of politics, social, and economic problems. The instruments used during gambhira dance are Bengali traditional Dhak (a big drum), harmonium and flute. The artists wear masks when they perform this dance form.

Chhau Dance: This is the major and most popular folk dance of West Bengal. In West Bengal Purulia district is very famous for Chhau dance. Also this dance is known as Purulia Chhau Nritya. It is purely done by male dancers only and with a peculiar kind of masks on their face. This is a martial kind of dance with masks, swords and sticks, is based upon Hindu Purana Mahavarata and Ramayana. In this chhau dance form the dancers are very energetic, jump around, kneel down and rushing, moving lot of things. The instruments used in this chhau dance form are Drum and Shanai (flute).The dancers worship Ganesha before actually starting to act the drama.

Tusu Dance: As West Bengal is full of festivals and on that account we also find some festival folk dance too. Tusu dance is one of that kind. In the Hindu month of Pausa this Tusu dance is performed in Birbhum district. This tribal folk dance is very popular in Purulia and Medinipur district also. In Purulia and Medinipur they perform this dance to celebrate the coming crop. This form of dance is performed by both tribal men and women.

Santhal Dance: The most under priviledged tribe community is Santhals.They are strong in built and full of cultures and very spiritual. Mainly the Santhals worship nature whom they call Banadevis. In festive seasons they worship Banadevis and dance very vibrantly with some melodious song. The supporting instruments used in this Santhal dance are very unique- Dhamsa, Madal, Singa (Curved horn for blowing).

Lathi Dance: Lathi dance is specially performed during Muharram by mainly Muslims youths. They carry 4-5 feet long bamboo sticks and sword and perform various skill like dancing, jumping, juggling etc. They also perform a mock battle by sword and stics.The instruments used in this lathi dance are Kansi and drum. This is the form of mock Karbala ground battle.

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Manidip