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Jhumar Dance of Baripada

The famous Jhumar dance is a historic dance form, being performed in the state of Odisha and Jharkhand, along with certain places of Bihar and West Bengal. The local people of Mayurbhanja district are said to be involved in this dance form of 18th century. This is basically performed to entertain the people of the city by trained expert dancers on various occasions with the conversational Jhumar Songs which are being played on the background. Initially the Group which were involved in this dance form were used to be known as the Nachanais and which used to have 10-12 members who used to perform the dance. The audiences that used to visit these dance shows mostly included the Maharajas, Rajas, Zamindars and all belonging to high society group.

the World Famous Jhumar Dance of Baripada

The Jhumar dance is also one of the famous dances performed in the kothas and the mujras of the ancient time. The instruments which were used to provide the background music were the flue, the dhols, harmoniums, trumpet, nagada, mahuri etc. During the 18th century the eminent people used to enjoy these dance forms and were also charmed by the mesmerizing tunes, sweet language and the essence of the dance moves of the dancers.

The Famous Panta Salia Naach

Another dance form in which a circular formations is being made by the dancers and they perform the dance in the Jhumar taal which is a special music being played by the musicians using the ethnic instruments. The dancers were used to be in numbers of say 12-15 and they use to perform this group dance on the beats of the dhol, nagaadas, flutes, madaal etc. the maidens also used to sing the Jhumar songs and they also used to dance simultaneously. These dancers are so much involved in their performance that they even do not come to know that the evening passed and they still keep performing.

Songs Played Along with the Jhumar Dance

The Chaau Dance has always been in the hearts of the people of Odisha and especially in the hearts of the people of Mayurbhanja. The Jhumar dance is said to be a linked dance form of the Chaau dance and is performed by a group of dancers involved in the Jhumar dances. These are the dances which are only performed by the women and it is the dance being played to entertain the guests. There are certain special songs which are played along with the Jhumar dances. It is said that while performing the chaau dance when the dancers reaches the climax, the Jhumar dances starts and goes on for a long time. The Jhumar dance are the tune based dance forms being played by the professional dancers of the Mayurbhanja region. The Lyrics being used in the songs mostly connects to that of the art of the Krishna and Radha’s chemistry. The typical descriptive songs of the raas leela between the God Kanha and is also used by the name of Kanhaiya in these songs.

Musical Instruments Used in Composing Jhumar Songs

There are several handmade musical instruments being used in playing Jhumar dance songs which are mostly found in the places of Mayurbhanja. Some of the most used musical instruments are the dhool, ghungroo, madaal, Bamboo made flute, chad-chadi, tulia, mohuri, harmonium etc. Each of the dance performing troop is accompanied by a bunch of singers as well who play the songs as per the demand on the performance of the dances. The Jhumar is basically a tune based dance and hence it has its own importance in compare to the other dance forms of the state. This is the dance form that purely portrays the acts of the Radha-Krishna along with the gopis of Madhuban. This is one of the most melodious music being played to entertain the viewers which mesmerizes them to a great extent.

There was also one of the famous lyricists who was named as the master lyricist. His name was Jhumar Kabi Shri Bhabaprita Bhushan Ojha. He was the first one who published his book which contained the various songs of the Jhumar dances. He reached at the peak of the all artists and musicians of that time and was very much acknowledged as well. The lyrics penned by him became very popular and he also received various accolades by the kings of that era. The languages being used to pen the lyric of the Jhumar songs were written in many languages such as the Odiya, Hindi, Bengali, Maithili etc. but all these languages were not used in their pure forms but were mixed and the lyrics were thus penned.

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