Folk dances are community dances passed down without the formal grammar of the classical forms. Punjab has Bhangra and Giddha; Rajasthan Ghoomar; Karnataka Dollu Kunitha; Tamil Nadu Karakattam; Kerala Theyyam; Manipur Thang Ta; Himachal Nati; Jammu and Kashmir Dumhal; Arunachal Bardo Chham; Assam the Bihu dance to the dhol and pepa. Yakshagana is an all-night dance-drama with a bhagawatha singer and drums.
Key facts
- State pairs: Bhangra and Giddha (Punjab), Ghoomar (Rajasthan), Dollu Kunitha (Karnataka), Karakattam (Tamil Nadu), Theyyam (Kerala), Thang Ta (Manipur), Nati (Himachal), Dumhal (Jammu and Kashmir), Bardo Chham (Arunachal).
- Chhau: Seraikela and Purulia styles use masks, Mayurbhanj does not; performed at the spring Chaitra Parva; themes from the epics.
- Yakshagana: a night-long dance-drama with a bhagawatha singer, chande and maddale drums, and Tenku and Badaga styles; Shivaram Karanth modernised it.
- Bihu dance is performed to the dhol and the pepa, a buffalo-horn pipe, during Assam's spring festival.
Why exams ask about it
Match the dance to its state; the north-eastern bamboo dance and the spring festival that goes with it are favourites.