Tag Archives | India

Dum Da Dakha Dum

This week in class we sing “Diwali Aayee,” or “Everybody Loves Diwali,” a holiday ceiebration from India. Diwali (or “Deepavali”) is the Hindu “Festival of Lights,” an exuberant holiday full of fireworks and food. It is an ancient holiday and has developed over more than a thousand years to become a beloved festival with different religious and cultural meaning depending on who is celebrating (Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists also value the holiday, among others) and in what part of the world. All iterations of Diwali celebrate “light,” in its physical and metaphoric forms, with diyas (lamps) and candles marking the path to enlightenment through knowledge, and the triumph of “light” (good) over the darkness of evil.

In India we go to the fair with a mongoose

This week in class we sing “Naanu Bathene,” a song about a boy from Karnataka in India who wants to go to the fair of the deity Kyathaling. accompanied by his friends and his favorite animals. In our version this boy has some pretty cool animal friends, like — I kid you not — a tiger, a mongoose and a snake.

Jaipur Kawa Indian Brass Band

India may not be the first place you’d look for a Balkan-style musuc, but don’t tell that to the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band.

Big brass bands may be all the rage in the Balkans, but you’ll find brassy musical cousins everywhere. Let’s enjoy the brass stylings of the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band (while we hope the guy at the top doesn’t lose his balance and make them all tumble down like dominoes). Just look at these guys — are they not great?

JOSH tractor

We have been singing songs in class this week that people may sing while they’re working. There are also categories of “work songs” that people sing about the work they do; about life on the farm, about being part of a construction crew, about the act of making art. This video may be an ad for tractors, but we consider it a work song too…. These guys sure love JOSH!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

If you’re ever feeling low, watch this video of jhoomer bhangra dancers from Khalsa College in the Indian state of Punjab and I promise you’ll feel better.

We end our South and Central Asia bonus week with pure bliss. In fact, I know you’re sad that this is truly our last day of adventures in South and Central Asia — we start our new online class season tomorrow. So watch the jhoomer bhangra dancers in this video, give yourself a boost, and watch them again. I’ll see you tomorrow, on the other side.

Bhangra 101

Bhangra dancing is the BEST.

Bhangra is an exuberant form of folk music and accompanying acrobatic dance that is based on traditional folk songs of Punjab, a region that straddles the border between Pakistan and India. Bhangra became an international phenomenon when South Asian immigrants in the United Kingdom infused it with Western musics like electronica and pop. Do you want master bhangra dancing? The internet is ready to help. The best “how-to bhangra” videos — like this one, our favorite — will even teach you the names of the steps.

Before the Romani were Romani

We start our bonus week in Rajasthan, a state in India’s northwest. Rajasthan (“Land of Kings”) is India’s largest state by area though not by population, in part because its land includes the vast Thar Desert. The state is known for its vibrant ghoomar dancing, epic folk songs and colorful embroidery and block print art. It also home to several wildlife refuges — a great place to see tigers — and is potentially the ancestral land of the Romani people, who migrated westward and now mainly live in Europe.

We Love the Bihu Dance of Assam

Come with us with Assam where we love the Bihu Dance.

In class this season we sang one of our favorite songs ever — “Ilelele” from the far eastern Indian state of Assam. When we visit India at the beginning of the season we mainly paid attention to the larger states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, but Assam has its many charms. We can easily get into the Assamese mood with this video of the Bihu dance.

Basic Bhangra

Bhangra dancing is pure joy.

The exuberant form of folk music and accompanying acrobatic dance is electric blend of old and new. Based on traditional folk songs of Punjab, a region that straddles the Pakistan/India border, bhangra became an international phenomenon when South Asian immigrants in the United Kingdom infused it with Western musics like electronica and pop. Watch this video, or, heck, any bhangra video worth its salt, and if you’re not up out of your seat and dancing…well, maybe you’re not worth your salt.

Newer posts