Captivating show at Yavanika

PANCHKULA, May 27: About 100 folk performers from different states presented a programme of songs and dances for a capacity crowd at the Yavanika Open Air Theatre in Sector 5 here this evening. The Bhawai, a Rajasthani dance to propitiate Sheetala Mata, captivated the audience. Performed by the internationally renowned Dr Roop Singh Shekhawat, the bhawai requires the dancer to sway atop pots, a glass tumbler and on a sword even as he balances a huge stack of matkas on his head. A similar performance was also staged by him at Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy, North Zone Cultural Centre Patiala at Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16, Chandigarh, where the other attractions were Gatka, Bihu, and Bhavvi.

Talking to Newsline, Shekhawat who holds a doctorate in folk dance from the Rajasthan University said that he has performed all over the world. He has been dancing bhawai from the age of nine. While awards have come his way, including the Bihar Lok Samrat Award and Rajasthan8217;s Sangeet Raj award, Shekhawat hopes that none of his six children will become dancers because quot;the government offers us no support and I don8217;t want my children to share my fate.quot;

Among the other performances which delighted the audience were: the colourful Bihu dance from Assam, Lavani from Maharashtra, Rai dance from Madhya Pradesh8217;s Bundelkhand region which is performed to the accompaniment of nagara, mridang and bansuri, West Bengal8217;s Purulia Chau the masked dance often seen at Pooja and the Goma, a dance brought to Gujarat from Africa by tribal people who settled in Baroch district 750 years ago. Haryana was represented by Ragani, performed by Prem Singh Dehati.

Panchkula DC and HUDA Chief Administrator M. Kithan was the chief guest at the programme organised by the Haryana Kala Parishad, under the auspices of the Haryana Cultural Affairs Department and the North Zone Cultural Centre.