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| Mali
Holi - The colourful festival of Holi is played
in many different ways. The 'mali' or gardener
community of Rajasthan has a unique style where
the men colour the women with water and the women
retaliate by hitting them with sticks or long
pieces of cloth. |
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| Gair
At Godaji - Men from 12 villages collect at
Godaji village near Ajmer in Rajasthan to play/dance
gair a few days after holi. Each village brings
his own drummer and young and old gair enthusiasts.
The picturesque location for it is a valley sorrounded
by hills on all sides. Thousands of watchers,
and close to hundred players make a wonderful
sight. |
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| Chakri
Dance - The girls of the Kanjar community
are famous for their dance and the community earns
its livelihood by singing and dancing at weddings
and functions of other communities. The chakri
dance is fascinating for the number of circles
the dancers take in a short time. |
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| Balla
Singh is an Aalha
singer. He sings of the two warrior brothers Alha
and Udhal. Aalha singing is characterized by a
forceful rendition in which the tempo of the singing
increases till it reaches a crescendo and then
comes down, only to start rising again. |
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| Bhopas
are travelling musicians found in Rajasthan, who
move from village to village as they perform.
Usually a husband and wife perform in front of
a intricately painted piece of cloth which depicts
the epics that they sing. The instrument they
use called ravanhatha, is very rare. Sohan
Lal Bhopa - performs a Bhajan.
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| Shyam
Bihari Gaud runs a small dance group which
performs at small and large functions in the city
of Allahabad. Their style incorporates some classical
dance movements but has a largely populistic feel
about it. They perform a Kajri.
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| A
group of singers from Rajasthan sing a song that
is usually sung at fairs where many impromptu
dancers take centre stage. One such enthusiast
demonstrated the mood at this informal singing
session. Mohammed
Ayub and his group sing Kalya.
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| An
Algoza is a rare instrument that looks like two
flutes joined together. In Rajasthan, the algoza
artistes are usually accompanied by singers who
sing and dance in a very characteristic style.
This group, Kalu
Ram & Party is performing a Bhajan
at a fair.
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| Mathura
is the land where Krishna is believed to have
spent his childhood. The holi
celebration of the region is very famous. Women
of Aajnauk Village. |
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