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Giddha
Giddha is the folk-dance par excellence of women. It
has almost the same intensity as Bhangra. It leaves plenty of margin for
the depiction of feminine grace and elasticity. Women perform this dance
mainly on festive and social occasions especially marriages. In Malwa,
the Giddha performed during marriages is called 'Viyahula Giddha'. Hard
worked village women sometimes get together on moonlit nights and dance
in tune with nature.
It is customary in the Punjab to celebrate Teeyan in the month of Sawan.
The festival lasts from the 3rd lunar day in the month to full moon. Fairs
are held at many places, swings are put up and girls swing and dance to
their heart's content. At such times Giddha is performed under a peepal
or banyan tree. The rainy season is also called the season of Giddha because
the drops of rain and the dark clouds inspire the girls to dance out their
pent-up feelings as nothing else can. Giddha performed during Teeyan is
called 'Teeyan Giddha'. For young girls whether married or unmarried it
is an occasion to look forward to. The newly-married ones yearn to come
to their parental homes during these days.
Giddha is danced in a circle. The girls form a ring.
One of them taking up a small drum (dholki) and sitting in the centre.
If a dholki is not available an earthen pitcher is substituted. The deserved
rhythm is produced by striking it with a pebble. The starting procedure
is the same as in Bhangra. One girl comes forward and sings a boli. As
she comes to the end of it, the others pick up the refrain and join. As
the dance proceeds they sing more and more spiritedly, keeping time by
clapping. The girls dance in twos. The dance is stylistically simple,
the jingle of the bells the thumping of the feet and the beat of the drum
creating an enchanting atmosphere.
Giddha is not performed according to any cut-and-dried
rule but harmony is the essence in such movements as swinging and twisting
the body, shaking the shoulders, bending to a double and clapping. Sometimes
four young girls perform Kikli in group of two's. Girls performing Giddha
indicate through gestures the various phases of the life of a Punjabi
woman spinning, fetching water from the well and grinding. Whichever phase
they portray, they sing with it an appropriate boli. Mimicry is very popular
in Giddha. One girl may play an aged bridegroom and another his
young bride or one may play a quarrelsome sister-in-law and another a
humble bride. All this gives women a chance to give uninhibited expression
to their pent-up feelings.
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