Folk Dances and their importance in lives of people:

In many of the villages in India, it is a common event to hear the beating of the drums in the evenings. This is the beacon call for the village folk to take part in their local folk dances. The people gather together in the places of the drumbeat to spend a gala evening of dance and music. Gradually, they start singing and people join for the group dance. The easy undulating movements and the clappings

attract one and all - the young and the old. This is the usual set-up for the growth and presentation of folk dances. Right from the Himalayas in the North, down to Kanya Kumari in the South of India, we see various folk dances performed by the villagers as well as the tribal people and these are some of the treasures of our country. In our Motherland, villages are the main granaries provided Mother Nature grants them life – giving timely rains. However, if the rains do not come the villagers toil form morning till evening and try to eke out their livelihood from the parched earth, completely submitting themselves to the Will of the Almighty. If the rains come their livelihood is joyous, easy and full of excitement , but if the rains fail, they are doomed to sorrow and extreme difficulties.

These village folk exhibit both their joy and sorrow in the form of folk dances. As their existence is on the beauty of raw Nature, they attempt to reflect Nature’s beauty and gifts in their dances. For them, the trees, the birds, the flowers, the animals are all modes of expression in their dance. Apart from Nature, they present in their dance, their daily chores, such as going to the river, fetching water, milking the cow, powdering the rice, ploughing the earth, sowing the seeds etc.