Siddi dhamal, naati hold audiences captive

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, March 29

Siddi dhamal dance of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmauri naati got huge applause by audience at the Crafts Bazaar here.

Talking about the siddi dhamal, programme officer Sabbir Hussain said 15 to 20 dancers participate in the dance. All artistes are Muslims and the dance is performed as a part of worship at the Dargah of Hazrat Baba Gor, which is 100 km from Surat. The dance is also performed on the occasion of marriage ceremonies. The dance starts in the evening and continues till the next morning. In many marriages, it continues for two days, during which one team leaves the place and the other starts dancing. Hussain said the dance was performed in all districts of Gujarat. Dancers from all districts gather at one place and worship through the dance.

He said Siddi was a tribal community. During the dance, if boys and girls like each other, their marriages were solemnised with the consent of family members. He alleged that their ancestors were from Africa and the dance was God gifted.

Hussain said the facilities provided by Deputy Commissioner Apneet Riyait and ADC Himanshu Jain could not be described in words.

Himachali Sirmauri naati dance also remained the center of attraction among people who visited the Crafts Bazaar. Programme officer Kailash Sharma said prayag, puja and mala dances come under naati. Naati was performed on weddings, fairs, festivals and Dev Puja. He said on Janmashtami, the form of Sudarshan Chakra was shown in the Prayag dance. “For the past 40 years, members of Hati cultural group, Baunal, have been performing the dance. We are displaying the art in the country and abroad,” he said.

Sharma said 15 persons were participating in the dance, in which four were girls and the rest boys. They get a chance to participate in fairs organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, and by state governments, where they make people aware of their ancient culture.