Dances of Punjab
The people of Punjab are tall healthy and are known for smartness and beauty. Since there are three main religions practised by the Punjabis, The Haryana is predominantly Hindu while Indian Punjabi has Majority Sikhs Pakistani part is all Muslim. The north western Part of Pakistani Punjab has a sizeable pathan population, the culture of the Pathans living in Afganisthan and Pakisthani Punjab is not very different so are the dances and folk customs. The jats, the Kamboj, the Pathan all immigrated to Punjab in different time frame from central Asia so the folk and culture of Punjab has a lot of similarity with central Asian nations. The folk dances of Punjab are divided on the gender ground of male and female. Mostly performed by male dancers who dance on the beat of drum and swing movement of their upper limbs. You can add these things in your India Tour package
Bhangra – One of the Famous Dances of Punjab
The area from Lahore right up to Gurdaspur (just next to the Shivaliks), Amritsar comprises of Majha mainland, this area was the capital of Sikh empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the youth of Majha area are known for their physique. They speak the Majha dialect of Punjabi which is actually the Punjabi spoken on the Doordarshan Jalandhar. In this heart land was born the most famous iconic dance of Punjab the Bhangra. This dance is famous across the world, the pubs, the restaurants and discotheques in london dance to the tune of Bhangra beat. The Bhangra drum beaten with a heavy stick on one side and a lighter one on other sets the stage for a group of male performers dressed in classic Majha turban decked up in classic chadra and kurta. The “shamlas” or the protruding parts of the turbans sway high. The Bhangra is a fast paced dance never complete without the typical rhythmic beat of the drum.
The Dholi or the drummer is the center of attraction and the performers usually perform around him. The swaying movement of upper torso combined with the drummer playing full note displays the vigor of the youth. Generally it is said that Bhangra is a harvest dance, its partly right as it never was performed in the fields. The harvest season was always coupled with the “melas” these melas had the rural youth visitors who were entertained by the Bhangra troupes and the stage was set where everyone participated and danced to the tunes of the “Dholi” Nowadays the local fairs (Melas) have lost their luster but Bhangra has gone cosmopolitan, there are Bhangra schools in US and Canada where lots of Indians and westerners dance to the tunes of Bhangra and learn this style.
Giddha – One of the Popular Dances of Punjab
While Bhangra is domain of the males the Giddha is performed by females. Most of the Punjabis reside in villages. Indian Punjab has more than 12000 villages. These villages since ages were fully independent units. According to Indian Punjabi custom the girls are all wed outside the village into other villages. There is a festival celebrated in every Punjabi village this festival is “Teian” the festival of monsoons (In Haryana its called the “Teej”festival). The girls of the village even those who are married return to their parental village and in the month of sawan the village girls collect outside the precincts of the village in an area of trees. The swings tied to the high branches of stout mango trees, the collection of girls dressed in their best attire makes up the stage for the “Giddha”.
