genre buzz

Bhangra
is a form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.  Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi farmers to celebrate the coming of Vaisakhi, a Punjabi festival. The specific moves of Bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This musical art further became synthesized after the partition of India, when refugees from different parts of the Punjab shared their folk dances with individuals who resided in the regions they settled in. This hybrid dance became Bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the Western World by South Asian communities and is seen in the West as an expression of Indian and Pakistani culture as a whole.

Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe - including pop music, film soundtracks, collegiate competitions and even talent shows.

No particular form of dress is indicated for Bhangra. For maintaining unifromity, the dancers wear shirts with loose sleeves, stiff-starched long-cloth tahmats (loose loin cloth reaching up to the ankles) and bright black, red, green or yellow waist-coasts. A bright strip over the turban is often regarded as a must. Tiny bells are sometimes tied over the ankles.

Bhangra is danced to the accompaniment of dhol and rhythmic clapping. The drummer stands at the centre and the dancers stand in a circle around him. At the beat of the drum, they proceed first with a slow movement of the feet then a rhythmic wriggling of the body and after the shaking of the shoulders they start strutting in rhythm. The tempo increases as the beat of the drum becomes more and more exciting. The physical movements in twist and turn take the drumming and dance to a fine climax.

As many Bhangra lyrics reflect the long and often tumultuous history of the Punjab, knowledge of Punjabi history offers important insights into the meaning of the music. While Bhangra began as a part of harvest festival celebrations, it eventually became a part of such diverse occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. Moreover, during the last thirty years, Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop, house, and reggae. As Bhangra continues to move into mainstream culture, an understanding of its history and tradition helps to appreciate it.