Ghumura An Ancient Folk Dance

1. Ghumura Dance is traditionally considered to be a folk dance having originated in the Kalahandi district of Odisha. The dress code of this dance resembles the tribal lore; however, its various mudras and dance forms have close significance with those of the other classical dances of India. Ghumura is considered to be one of those folk dances of Odisha that is much ahead of other folk-dance forms in terms of popularity. It is much scholarly enriched, researched and has ties with dances from at least a thousand years ago. The origin of Ghumura folk dance form Odisha, India. The Ghumura is out-rightly a dance of extreme energy and celebration, a power packed clementine. A collection mainly tapping to the long blowing horns and drums, at times the structure breaks to discrete sub groups in strong pyramidal assembly, at times solo performers run across playing a sharp note on his horn or rolling past in some hyper energetic rhythm . At times imitating truly the phenomena called sound – stretching and compressing the space. Scenes of the deity getting driven by the horses, lateral shifts left and right, phase transitioning to circular ensembles and there is a gradual anisotropy in the music, sharpness in the homogeneous calmness yet the mood of celebration persists. A performer equipped with peacock feather fans the space as if acting like the global eraser erasing whatever is supposed to be erased or providing the necessary wind for the static to flow. Drummers play the role of the time keeper as Leonard Cohen introduced his drummer whilst participating in the some involved kneeling postures. Myth wise there are many excerpts. Few accepting Chandra Dhwaja as the originator later taken over by Karttabirya Asura. Again, few accept Ghumura is a war dance in an attempt to imitate the war of the Worlds. Ghumura by its own self is the unified soul, a musical instrument to kill or rather transform the Mahisasur, with Shiva’s Dambaru and Saraswati Veena as the ingredients. Mythology suggests a number of historical evidence regarding the birth of Ghumura. For instance, Nandini Bhasin and Gaganeswar described that the dance form was originally initiated by Chandra Dhwoja but was later taken up by the demon, Karttabirya Asura. The archaeological excavations lead to proofs that Ghumura, Damru and other instruments had existed in 8000 BCE. Cave paintings from ancient period of Gudahandi of Kalahandi and Yogi Matha of Nuapada districts indicate the aforementioned existence. The folk-dance form is renowned for combining grace and expressive elegance in its movement and rhythm. Ghumura was greatly revered among the royal families of the state and dealt with themes like patronizing mythology, the glory of the past and religious hymns. Nuakhai and Dussera are the two apt festivals in Odisha when Ghumura could be witnessed in all its glory. The most striking feature of this dance form is its costume that is considered now as excellent bedrock samples for the fashion industry. Unlike many other Indian folk dances, Ghumura only constitutes male dancers. The main focus of Ghumura is the costume which represents that of the tribal folklore. Indravati is believed to the place where Ghumura was first performed and later, it started spreading out. Now it has various forms including Badi-Ghumura, Ghumura-Ladhei, and others.