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While the
traditional religious festivals
of the Hindus, Muslims and other
communities are celebrated in
Madhya Pradesh
asenthusiastically as in the
rest of India, it is the tribal
fairs and festivals of Madhya
Pradesh, which are a celebration
of the ethnic life-styles of the
colourful tribes of the land.
The tribal festivals in Jhabua
are marked by carefree revelry,
drinking bouts and exotic
entertainment like
cock-fighting, uninhibited
dancing, etc. The casual visitor
often fails to appreciate
adequately the genuine and
strong tradition of democracy in
tribal society, the harmonious
living with nature, the
respected status accorded to
women, the amicable sharing of
the community resources.
Among the cultural festivals of
Madhya Pradesh, the Khajuraho
Festival of Dances and the
Tansen Music Festival in Gwalior
are poignant celebrations of
Indian classical dance and
music.
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Bhagoria Haat,
Jhabua
This colourful
festival of the
Bhils and Bhilalas,
particularly in the
district of West
Nimar and Jhabua, is
actually in the
nature of a mass
svayamvara, a
marriage market,
usually held on the
various market days
falling before the
Holi festival in
March. As the name
of the festival
indicates, (bhag, to
run), after choosing
their partners, the
young people elope
and are subsequently
accepted as husband
and wife by society
through
predetermined
customs. It is not
always that boys and
girls intending to
marry each other
meet in the festival
for the first time.
In a large number of
cases the alliance
is already made
between the two, the
festival providing
the
institutionalised
framework for
announcing the
alliance publically.
The tradition is
that the boy applies
gulal, red powder,
on the face of the
girl whom he selects
as his wife. The
girl, if willing,
also applies gulal
on the boy's face.
This may not happen
immediately but the
boy may pursue her
and succeed
eventually. |
Khajuraho
Festival of Dances
Every
ancient monument has
a fascinating story
to tell. But few
match the mystery
wrapped around the
temples of Khajuraho
in central India.
Once the capital of
the great Chandela
Kings, Khajuraho
today is a quiet
village of a few
thousand people.
It is also the
setting of the
Khajuraho Festival
of Dances which
draws the best
classical dancers in
the country every
year, who perform
against the
spectacular backdrop
of the floodlit
temples. |
Tansen Music
Festival, Gwalior
Madhya Pradesh
occupies a special
position in the
history of Indian
music. The Gwalior
gharana is among the
most prominent
arbiters of the
classical style.
Raja Mansingh's
patronage of Dhrupad
singers is well
known.
A pillar of
Hindustani classical
music, the great
Tansen, one of the
'nine jewels' of
Akbar's court, lies
buried in Gwalior.
The memorial to this
great musician has a
pristine simplicity,
and is built in the
early Mughal
architectural style. |
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