Dhol, zargoza, tumbi…..it’s house of bhangra

Published August 1, 2012 | 2:02 pm

Gurinder Gill

Toronto: There is something captivating about these good looking men from various areas of Punjab.Decked up in a colourful piece of cloth wrapped around their waist, bright kurta and bhugaris to complete the look, when they pick up their dhol, zargoza, tumbi and bakchu, you certainly cannot contain yourself from joining them in their foot-tapping jig, bhangra.

For almost a decade now, artists from Punjab Cultural Promotion Council led by Davinder Singh Chhina has taken part and won various folk competition across globe.Presently people from this group also train young aspirants keen on learning Bhangra, besides preparing bhangra teams for performance at social functions.Their aim is to spread promotion of Punjabi culture and heritage.

The team has won countless awards and adulation form the audiences across globe .Their repertoire diversifies in different dance forms, starting from bhangra, jhummar, Malwai Giddha, which has men sing couplets (boliyan) with traditional instruments to Gatka, a Sikh martial art performed with swords, daggers and sticks.

According to Davinder Singh Chhina, ” Conventional bhangra performances are made of energetic stunts like mor (peacock), in which a dancer sits on the shoulders of his fellow dancer, while the other one hangs from the torso by his legs, towers of performance and various pinning stunts.Mind you, its one helluva of a job to get them right.”

The continued growth success of Bhangra worldwide  has provided the impetus for many different off shoots from traditional bhangra, something that’s bothering the group.To them, the entertainment industry has changed the form of bhangra, fusing it with different music genres.However they also feel that it has helped bhangra to transcend musical, language and national barriers.

Chhina further adds, ” its not only the form which is being affected , musical instruments like dhol, tumbi, sarangi, sapera, chimta, dhad, dafli, damru are also giving way to modern instruments.

So much so, boliyan (couplets) which used to cover social issues and tales of great men have now given way to new themes based on beautiful ladies and their shrinking attire.

Gone are the days when dancing in the wheat fields on Baisakhi would invigorate the farmers.Now, it has become an integral part of almost all joyous occasions, in a changed form.

Whatever changes the group’s aim is to showcase Punjab around the world.

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