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Eastern Region
The eastern part of Rajasthan adjoins the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh and
probably because of this affinity retains a rich tradition of Ras-Lila, Ram-Lila, Nautanki and other dance forms.
The community dance of Gindar is a night-long affair on the occasion of Holi.
It is a democratic dance in which caste Hindus and Harijans join hands in a
circle in the centre of which the nagara is played on a wooden platform.
Starting on a low note, the nagaras reach a high pitch and with every beat of
the nagara, the dancers strike their sticks and ring ghungroos tied to their
legs.
The Kanjars and the Sansis are
two ex-criminal tribes of Rajasthan whose women
are good dancers. The dancers of the Sansi women are disorderly, individualistic
and vulgour and they perform them for every meagre payment.
The
Gher Ghemur of the Sansis is the simplest of the dances, both in content and
form. It begins with a slow movement where men and women first dance in two
separate lines and then form a circle with man and women alternately. The tempo
of the dance increases gradually to a point where each person has both a
rotating movements around his own axis, as also a revolving movement along the
circumference of the circle. The hip movements are the most characteristic
feature of this dance. There is both instrumental and vocal music accompaniment
to this dance. The dance is vigorous and there are no languorous movements.
The Kanjar women,
though Muslim but look life Hindus and decorate their bodies with many kinds of
cheap metal ornaments and beads. They sing well and dance exuberantly. Their
males play on the chang and dholak. One of their dances is performed with lathis.
They also dance for a living on festivals life Holi and Diwali.
The dances of the
Nayaks,
Chamars and Mehtars are very attractive and full of life
and vitality.
The Kachhi Ghori dance in eastern Rajasthan is virtually a battle-dance in which
riders of cloth or paper' horses' moving in a circle strike blows at each
other and demonstrate the use of sword and the shield. As the name implies, the
dance is a presentation of horse-riding. The horse used in the dance is made of
two small bamboo sticks with two baskets tied to each end. An artistically
prepared head of a horse is fixed to one of the baskets and a bunch of flex-fibre to the other. The dancer, dressed as a bridegroom in flowing costume
and with sword in hand "adjusts the horse" on his waist in such a way
as to create a realistic effect. Movements are jerky and angular. These dancers are called
in to perform at marriages. In the Shekhawati area, the Kachhi Ghori dancers of
Ganeri, Nechwa and Ramgarh are well known.
Geeder
is danced by the tribes of the Shekhawati area. It begins fifteen days before
Holi. In this, only men take part. Drums are kept on a raised platform and the
dancers form circles. Sticks are also used. It resembles the Gher in many ways.
In this and other dances, we observe the coalescing of the levels of
agricultural functions and myths.
Costumes of the Dancers
 The
costumes of the dancers of Rajasthan either tribal or urban society, have many
common elements. The closely gathered ghagra (skirt) is common to all the tribes
and castes of Rajasthan. The design and the type of the skirt varies from region
to region and the kind of material used also changes from level to level but
bright-coloured prints are common; particular prints are earmarked for special
groups. The women wear long-sleeved cholis and have very large beautifully
printed dupattas. The ornaments are both silver and gold. The Bhil tribes use
silver, but the sophisticated women of the aristocracy prefer gold ornaments. A
characteristic feature of the head ornament is the bolda which is a gold
ornament with stones and is worn in the centre of the forehead; this is also a
common ornament for the lowliest and the highest.
The
characteristic costume of the men consists of a tightly worn dhoti with a
traditional bandi and a turban. Although the type of the dhoti as also the
long-sleeved bandis vary from region to region in Rajasthan, the manner of
draping is common to practically all the communities of Rajasthan.
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