Yakshgana and Chhau dance (in Hindi)

Lesson 7 of 9 • 18 upvotes • 12:23mins

Rohit Dadhich

Yakshagana is a Theatre Form of South India. 'Yaksh' means demigods associated with Kubera, God of wealth and 'Gana' is song. Thus Yakshagana means songs of the demigods. Yakshagana is lively, fast-paced form in which songs, dances and improvised dialogue mix according to a prescribed structure. Yakshagana is popular with the rural audiences. At the heart of Yakshagana are the poetic songs (prasanga) sung by the chief musician (bhagavata), who thus controls the pace of the performance. The most popular of these songs have been transcribed and published, even those from hundreds of years ago. With their particular melody (raga) and metre intact, they constitute a major part of the historical record of regional Indian dramatic literature. Chhau dance, also spelled as Chau or Chhau, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial, tribal and folk origins. with origins in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.