Rustic Beats

One such group was of the Gondhalis. Dressed in red garbs,their whirling,energetic dance and singing kept everyone entertained. Originally from the city of Phaltan in Satara,this Jay Malhar Gondhal group was the most entertaining presence at the Jatra. With their traditional musical instruments – Sambal,Damroo,Khanjiri,Tuntune and Taal – in tow,they sang songs praising Lord Shankara. Their unique trait is the ability to identify the names of people in the audience and showing it through hand motions. A person would tell his name to a Gondhali,while his compatriot standing away from him would identify the said name through hand motions made by the first one.

This group belongs to the Nath Panthi Dawari Gosawi community,which can trace its origins to the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “We have got this traditional dance form and the art of identifying the names from our forefathers. We were the soldiers in the army of Shivaji Maharaj and would help him through our unique art by going into the enemy’s camp for information,” said Rahul Pawar,one of the members of the group.

Gondhal dance is usually performed at Maharashtrian weddings as a gesture of goodwill towards the bride and groom. Members of this group often perform as a hobby,while at the same time managing day jobs. They also participated in the ‘Dhinadhin Dha’ show on Marathi Doordarshan in December 2010,and presented their dance at the Lavasa Festival recently.