Find out some more details on chhau festival in this blog. It involves five elaborate processes and depending on the intricacies involved it takes two to seven days to complete a mask. Chhau dance is a genre of indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the indian states of west bengal, jharkhand and odisha. The origin of chhau dance draws us to pharikhanda style of dance, as opined by kiriti mahato, suggesting phari as the shield and khanda as the sword pers. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available.
The mask is unique and in fact traditional as the purulia chhau has some basic differences with the other. The chhau dancer wearing the mask gave a benevolent look and feel to the audiences viewing it. The chhau dance originates in the purulia district in west bengal and draws inspiration from martial arts and combative training. As there is no mention of chhau dance the book of kupland entitled district. Oct 19, 2012 besides purulia chhau, which comes from the purulia district of west bengal, other forms of the dance include seraikella chhau, from jharkhand, and mayurbhanj chhau, from orissa. Thus, the dance style has martial arts and tribal war dance influences. The roots of chhau dance are deeply imbibed to religious festivals, and are notably performed during the spring festival chaitra parva. The stories enacted by chhau dancers include those from the hindu epics such as the. Jan 02, 2021 in 2010, mousumi set up the first allwomen chhau troupe of purulia, mitali chhau maldi. Of these, mayurbhanj chhau artists dont wear masks.
Chau dance, folk dance of purulia, west bengal youtube. Chhau dancers enact indian mythological stories from the ramayana, the mahabharata, the puranas and the rig veda, focusing on the lesserknown subplots in these. Art code is developed to protect rights of community artists. The dance is found in three styles in purulia chau of bengal, the seraikella chau of jharkhand and the mayurbhanj chau of odisha. Though seraikella chhau does use masks, they are simpler, with none of the pomp of these. The chhau dance is a folk dance that has main themes from shaktism, shaivism and vaishnavism. The chau dancers of purulia formed a collective known as manbhum lokshilpi sangha. The masks used in chhau dance are colourful and lively. Now that was his home village for more than a year. The chhau dance of purulia is usually based on veera or courage among the navarasas or nine emotions of indian classical dances. The main difference between the purulia chhau dance and the odisha chhau dance is in the use of the mask. The mayurbhanj chhau and seraikella styles of chhau are highly evolved with classical elements whereas the purulia chhau is less evolved yet highly dramatic and the most vigorous of all styles of chhau. According to its origin, we have three forms of chhau folk dance. Purulia is the westernmost district of west bengal.
Masks form an integral part of chhau dance in purulia and seraikella styles. Purulia project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Danses chhau by grund francoise and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Gi tag has been received for chau masks of purulia. Chau dance was inscribed in the unesco representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010. Lets travel to the unknown lands of purulia ayodhya pahar. In either cases you will have to to confirm about the date to experience the dance. The chhau dance of eastern india is a blend traditions, temple rituals, and folk and popular performance of this region. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i. The chhau mask is a traditional cultural heritage of purulia in the indian state of west bengal. Certainly there was some pioneer who introduced a particular system.
Peculiarity of mask made the chhau of purulia colorful qtd. My trainer, who was a pioneer in the field as he had introduced several modern techniques in the purulia chhau form, used to address me as betachhele a bengali colloquial word meaning a man initially, remembers. Jun 23, 2020 the best way to see chhau festival in india is during how jhumar utsav in purulia. On a genre of folk dance as developed in purulia district of west bengal. Mahua mukharjee, interview of satish mahato by shri abitabh mukharjee. Aug 31, 2018 purulia is the name of a district in west bengal. The rhythm in all the three styles is created by dhol, dhumsa, chadchadi and mahuri. Purulia chhau is based on many episodes of ramayana and mahabharata. The fame of mayurbhanj chhau has crossed geographical limitations and has claimed world wide fans for its beauty, vigour and marvel of the art. Saraikella chhau in jharkhand, mayurbhanj chhau in odisha and.
Kolkatabased chhau dancer madhumita paul started in 1999, living and learning chhau in purulia for several years. Indigenous art and culture of eastern india abs books india. The chhau dance of purulia is not bounded by the efforts or patronage of an individual but it is the product of the people. The dance has been approved as an intangible heritage of india by unesco in 2010. The costumes differ between the three dance styles with purulia and serakeilla using specially made handmade masks to discern the characters. And if various styles of dances known as chhau are analyzed, it is found that they all. Ogg multiplexed audiovideo file, theoravorbis, length 37 s, 640. Seraikella from the state of jharakhand, mayurbhanj from orissa and purulia from west bengal as well as lesser known kharsawan chhau, which is awaiting appreciation from wider audience. The mask is the pivotal part of purulia chhau the hindu. Chhau nrityabreaking the glass ceilings within dance forms. Jul 03, 2018 purulia chhau dance chakrabuhe abhimunay badh. They are performer who visit surajkund mela for chhau performance. Their location in three different states is the result of the reorganisation of indian states in 1947.
The history of the development of purulia chhau makes it evident that the tribal dance was. Due to its energetic and dramatic characteristics, purulia chhau is perhaps, the bestknown. This form of dance is a means to portray stories to the audience, which is why elaborate masks and headgear associated with battle and war are worn during the performance. Chhau was included in unescos intangible cultural heritage list in 2010. Chhau dance, also spelled as chau or chhaau, is a semi classical indian dance with martial. Charida is famous for the chhau masks used in the purulia chhau dance. The purulia chhau uses masks and it exhibits the spontaneity of folk art.
About purulia chhau the three styles of chhau seraikella, purulia and mayurbhanj belong to the neighbouring states of bihar now in jharkhand, west bengal and orissa, in eastern india. However, the mayurbhanj chhau exempts itself from the use of any mask. Chhau the dance of the inner emotions indus scrolls. Jan 06, 2021 there are three main styles of chhau dance.
Feb 01, 2018 chhau dance is a semiclassical indian dance with martial, tribal, and folk origins from the eastern indian states such as west bengal, odhisa, and jharkhand. There are three subgenres of the dance, based on its places of origin and development, seraikella chhau, mayurbhanj chhau and purulia chhau. If we look at the basic differences between the three different styles of chhau, the chhau dancers of purulia wear highly stylized masks, in seraikela the masks are smaller, while in mayurbhanj the dancers do not always use masks. Now purulia chhau in a sense took a somewhat different route. Chhau dance, also spelled as chau or chhaau, is a semi classical indian dance with martial, tribal and folk traditions, with origins in eastern india. This book is outcome of empirical and theoretical efforts of researchers from interdisciplinary fields. I was fortunate enough actually to do my fieldwork and since i did anthropological fieldwork i actually lived in this village which had a very important guru for chhau dance, gambhir singh mura. We can find the combination of folk and classical elements in these two styles also. A diverse orientation, methodologies, approaches help to understand region, society and culture of indigenous people of eastern india. The eloborate masks, headgear, bright costumes ryhtumic drum beats and shehnai are the distinguishing features of purulia chhau. The dance is a combination of martial arts, acrobatics and athletics performed in festivals with usually themes from hindu epics like ramayana and mahabharata.
Chhau jhumar utsav of purulia, west bengal daily passenger. Dance of mayurbhanja and pride of india objective ias. It is a form of dance that is very popular in jharkhand, west bengal and orissa. The tribal communities who are related to the chhau dance are engaged in. Sri ashutosh bhattacharya in his book on purulia chhau narrated t. Jan 02, 2021 the mask is the defining feature of purulia chhau, differentiating it from its two other branches. The dance ranges from celebrating martial arts, acrobatics and athletics performed in festive themes of a folk dance, to a structured dance with religious themes.
Around 110 to 120 chau dance groups are associated with this collective. Chhau dance of purulia by asutosh bhattacharya, 1972, rabindra bharati university edition, in english 1st ed. The chhau dance is a semi classical indian dance with martial, tribal and folk traditions, with origins in the purulia district in west bengal. Mar 16, 2021 charidah village is famous for the chhau dance masks made by its artisans. However, there is no emphasis on drishti bhedo movements of the eye and glances. However the masks, style and accompanying music of each form is noticeably different. Again, not only the dance but also the history of the term chhau is itself a result of an evolution. The traditions of indian dance and dance dramas are among the most. Purulia chhau is a folk dance which is being done from 250 years by the locals of.
The origin of chhau dance is in orissas mayurbhanj. Purulia chhau uses the mask in dance, but odisha does not, thereby combining facial expression with body movement and gesture. Information from its description page there is shown below. Originally, a martial dance, it is traditionally performed in the open air and on the level ground. The dance is known as seraikela chhau in jharkhand, mayurbhanj chhau in orissa and purulia chhau in west bengal. Chhau dance is a indian tribal martial dance which is popular in the indian states of odisha, jharkhand and west bengal. Women dancers have entered the male bastion of chhau and are.
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