Dance and Music of Haryana

¤ Dances of Haryana

In India, music and dance are linked to each other. Often a particular region will have its own style of dance, relying mainly on its religious and cultural affinity. Be it a holy festival, the birth of a child, the harvesting of crop or just good ol’ one too many of the hangover liquid, any time is dance time in India.


¤ Phag - A Seasonal Dance

Haryana has its own hip shakers. Phag is the seasonal one, when the farmer, unable to control his happiness on seeing his blooming harvest, breaks into dancing. No kidding; he actually shakes a leg, and shakes it for 15 days and stops only in March when it’s time for Holi, the festival of colours. Both men and women do it with each other, and sometimes they do it with themselves.


¤ Dhamal

Then there’s the Dhamal, whose origin goes back to the days of the Mahabharat. The Raas is also an ancient dance and is associated with Krishna, the flirtatious god. The Loor is performed by girls during the month of Phalguna (spring), and is so named because the word loor means girl in the Bangar area of Haryana. Women do the Jhoomar, whose name is derived from an ornament worn by married women on their foreheads. Another all-women affair is the dance during the Teej festival.


¤ Ratvai Dance

During the rains, the famous Ratvai dance is the favourite of the Mewati’s. The Been-bansuri dance goes on with the accompaniment of been (a wind instrument) and bansuri (flute). An earthen pitcher is used as a miniature drum, with its mouth covered with strips of rubber and played with both hands. For the Gugga dance, devotees of Gugga (a saint) dance around his grave in his honour and sing songs in his praise.

Marriages are another occasion for a dance. The Khoria is popular when a boy is getting married, while the Ghoomar and the Gangaur puja dances are religious.


¤ Music In Haryana

Every dance is accompanied with music or singing which, in India, can sound like music when sung like it is supposed to be sung. The tradition of music in Haryana goes back to the Vedic times, and it is the only state in India to have towns and villages named after different ragas.

Haryana is rich in folk music, whose roots are firmly entrenched in the clasical music of yore. The famous Sringar rasa (based on love songs) has an indirect association with renowned ragas like Bhairavi, Jayjaywanti, Gara (a persian style), Khamaj and Kafi.
However, the folk singer has no idea what a raga is and just goes out and sings.

Mainly string instruments are used to make music. The sarangi is generally preferred. For the wind instruments, the been and the bansuri provide lilting tunes in tandem with the the dholak, a drum usually played with the palms or little sticks. A matka (earthen pitcher) may replace the dholak in certain areas to form the backbeat.
The Jogis, Bhats and Sangis are the people who have made folk music popular in Haryana. The Jogis prefer the sarangi to form the musical backdrop to their songs which revolve around tales of chivalry and valour.

There are other famous instruments which are used along with singing. The shehnai (a flute-like instrument played mainly at weddings), shankh (conch shell) harmonium, damru (a small palm-held drum with strings attached to beads which hit the sides when shaken), nagara, ghungru, tasha, khanjri and manjira. Musical genuises, these Haryanavis; they create music even with matchsticks, papaya (yes, the fruit!), the hard core of a mango and a strip of wood.