Lively Lavani

Manpriya Singh

Lavani dancers throughout the country have a bone to pick with Bollywood. The traditional song and dance from Maharashtra has been reduced to frivolous lyrics, uninhibited women, colourful costumes and drama that can safely be tagged as over the top. Building stereotypes and then breaking them—the things that B-town does; both good and bad. “Bollywood has reduced Lavani dance form to just item numbers,” rues Swapnil Dhotre, founder Swapnil Dance Ensemble from Maharasthra, in Chandigarh with his troupe for the 7th Chandigarh Art and Heritage Festival 2015.

So what exactly is Lavani? Set of steps, certain costumes...“It’s a Marathi folk dance and lavani literally means beautiful girls. It’s dedicated to God and was also performed traditionally to motivate soldiers. It is now also performed at marriage functions.” He adds, “It is characterised by excessive use of shringaar by a woman performing the dance.” While that could be safely said of pretty much all the folk dances all through the country; cheerful lyrics, dolled up women and feet that can’t stop tapping.

Folk ways

It’s a slightly different image here as cultivated by the mainstream Bollywood. So what we see up there are just the borrowed costumes and probably a few steps. “It’s related to Kathak. I would say the only proper lavani number in Bollywood would be the one performed by Madhuri Dixit on the song Main Kolhapur Se Aayi. Then there’s Shabana Azmi’s Lavangi Mirchi. Yet another song, which has the spirit of this folk dance intact.”

The girls, while occupied with pre-performance activities and all the finery and jewellery, nod in approval. “Sometimes it also involves two girls who are in conversation in a question-answer format,” chips in Swapnil, a post-graduate in Bharatnatyam. “We have been here before last year as a part of the Rose Festival. The crowd was encouraging and very nice.”

Perhaps, they can exchange a few notes on Bhangra, while in the city of Punjab. He nods, “It is loud, lively, upbeat and very nice.” Likewise!