RaasLilaandDandiaAnalysis

ThisessaywilldiscussRaasLilaandDandia,twodanceformsareveryfamousinNorth
India,andhopestodrawattentiontothesimilaritiesbetweenthemandwhatcausedthe
differenceaswell.First,ananalysisofRaasLilaisdone.
Theword'Raas'meansafeelingofdivinepleasureand'Lila'meansplay,entertainmentor
sport.WecanquicklygetthesensethatRaasLilaisaveryhappyoccasionfromthemeaning
ofitswordsitself.LilaisLordKrishna'splayfuldancewithhisdevoteesandRaascanbe
thoughtoftheimmeasurableblissarisinginthedevoteesduetothisoccasion.Thefestival
RaasLilaiscelebratedinmanyNorthIndiancitiesmostfamouslyinMathuraandUdaipur.
But,whatmakesRaasLilatrulyspecialisitsdeterminationtoencapsulate,toitslevelbest,
LordKrishna'sjoyousmomentswithhisdevotees.
OneofthemajoridiosyncrasiesofRaasLilaistheusageofchildrentoresembleKrishnaand
Radha.Manydanceformscannotbesaidtoincorporatechildrenletalonegivingthemthe
centerstageoftheperformanceunlikeRaasLilawherethewholefestivalrevolvesaroundthe
twochildren(onetoportrayKrishnaandtheotherportraysRadha)Asthisdanceattemptsto
capturetheformativeyearsofKrishnawithhisdevotees,itstrivestothatstandardbyusing
childrentoresembleKrishna.ThiscanalsobesaidtoenhancethepresenceofLordKrishna
asweassociateLordKrishnaasbeingplayful,unassumingandcarefreelikethechildren.
ThiswholefestivalisbuiltuponthispremisethatKrishnaandRadhahavedescendedupon
thesetwochildrenandhencethesetwochildrenaregivengodlystatusatleastforthe
durationoftheperformance.Thisexemplifiesthestaunchnessofthedevoteesinthattheydo
notmindtobenddownandworshipthesetwochildreninthehopeofattainingtheblessings
ofLordKrishnaaswelltrytotheirlevelbesttoseeLordKrishnainthesetwochildren.The
gopis(whichwerethedevoteesintheepic)areperformedbyveryexperiencedveteransin
thefieldofdance.Uponagreeingtodancewithhisdevotees,legendfollowsthatgopissang
Krishna'sglories.Similarly,todaythesearedividedintofivepartsnamelyShankarleela,the
birthofLordKrishna,Putanaleela,killingofthedemonPutanaandNagleela,killingofthe
serpentKaliya.Theseparts`areenactedinthethreedaylongfestivalofRaasLila.
AnotheraspectthatdemonstratestheunconditionallovethatthedevoteeshaveforKrishnais
theparticulardanceformusedtorepresentRaasLila,Manipuri.Manipuriisoneofthe
hardestdanceformstolearnandmasterasonecannotlearnadancebydecomposingitinto
smallersteps.Ifaparticulardancehastwentydistinctmovesforexample,theteacher
teachesthemalltoyouatoncewithoutbreakingthemoutbecauseeachdanceformasa
wholerepresentsLordKrishnaandbreakingthemisconsideredtobeequaltobreakingLord
Krishna.Althoughitisverysatisfyingtoknowthatsomedanceformsarestilladheringtotheir
ancientcustomsandtraditions,Manipuriishardtomasterandonerequiresyearsofrigorous
trainingtomasterthatdanceform.Thisrepresentsanotheraspectoftherigidandunyielding
devotionthatthedevoteeshaveforLordKrishna.
RaasLilaalsosymbolizeshowmuchadanceformcanbeimportanttopeople.Itiswidely
believedthatwatchingRaasLilaisthehigheststageofblissthatadevoteecanattain.People

fromalloverthecountryflocktothesecitiestowatchRaasLilaandthisrepresentshowmuch
dancecanbeimportantincapturingtheseemotionsforthepeople.Thisemphasizesthat
danceisnotmerelyforentertainment,enjoymentorevenartisticpleasurebutitcanrepresent
issuesthataremuchmoreimportanttoaperson'slife.RaasLilaexemplifiesthisideaand
alsorepresentsoneofthefewclassicaldancesofIndiawhosequalityhasn'tdilutedoverthe
years.
Wehaveseenadancewhichhasmaintaineditsqualitiesovertheyears.Now,letsanalyzea
danceformwhosecultureandtraditionshavebeenshatteredandhasassumedanidentity
thatisradicallydifferentfromwhatithadduringitsinception,theDandiadance.Thepurpose
oftheDandiadancewastoeducatethemassesregardingthefightbetweenthegoddess
DurgaandMahisaur,themightydemonking.ThesticksoftheDandiadancerepresentsthe
swordsusedinthefightandalsotheladiesperformingthedancemustwearcolorful,vibrant
andbrightcolorstosignifyGoddessDurga.
But,whatshouldbeamomentofreligioustestamenttothedeepculturalsignificancehas
becomeacommercialshamwiththedancelosingmostofitsnormsthatneedstobe
followed.NormssaythatladiesmustfastforthewholeofNavaratriandpayregularvisitsto
thetemple.Thedaysmustbefilledwithpayinghomagetothedeityandnightswiththe
vibrantfestivemoodoftheDandiyadanceafterperformingDurgaPuja.Mostofthesenorms
arenotbeingfollowedandnow,Dandiyadanceisactinglikeareplacementtoaconventional
partywithvariousorganizationscommercializingDandiyadancewithpeoplewearing
designerclothes,continentalfood,andglamourgalore.
Thissituationisverysimilartothediscussiononthecourtesanformofdancing.Here,Dandia
representsthetribaldanceasitisgrowinginunspecifiedandunintentional(accordingtothe
purposeofDandia)directionswhereasRaasLila'sdevelopmenthasbeenstreamlinedand
veryloyaltothevaluesthatithadduringitsinception.Whatrepresentsistheentailmentofa
properauthoritytopreservevaluableaspectsofaculturaltradition.InRaasLila,thevarious
templesandthehighermostpeopleinthosetemplesassumecontrolofthiseventandensure
thatRaasLilaisinlinewithallthecustomsasitshouldbe.Thisensuresthatthequalitiesof
RaasLiladoesn'tdiluteandtheusageofchildrenfortheperformanceisatestamenttothe
adherenceoftheauthoritiestonotlosethesignificanceofthedance.However,withDandia
dance,itisusuallyperformedineachperson'srespectivehomewithcloserelativeswithno
authoritytojudgewhetherahouseholdisfollowingallthecustomsornot.Realizingthe
opportunitythatDandiadancecanalsobeusedasanactofsocializing,variouscommercial
organizationshaveusedDandiaasasourceofmakingmoney.Hadtherebeenaproper
religiousauthoritytopreserveDandia,thiscommercialexploitationmayhavebeenavertedor
atleastmoderatedtoacertainextent.Therefore,fromthiswecanunderstandsometimes
thecourtesanwayofstrictjudgmentondancescanactuallybeusefulinpreservingthe
qualitiesandimpartingknowledgetothefuturegenerationsonwhatadanceactually
symbolizes.