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Performing Art · Puducherry
Garadi
The stick-dance of the Tamil community of Puducherry — performed by men of the community at the central village festival, with the small sticks tapped in coordinated patterns in the regional Tamil tradition.
Understand
Garadi is the stick-dance of the Tamil community of Puducherry (the union territory in south-eastern India that was a former French colony, with the Tamil-speaking regions of Pondicherry and Karaikal as the main areas), performed at the central village festival. The dance is one of the documented regional traditions of Puducherry and is associated with the Tamil folk-dance repertoire of the area. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the union territory and at the regional community festivals.
Garadi is performed by men of the Tamil community of Puducherry in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men hold two small sticks (the garadi) and strike them against partners' sticks in coordinated rhythmic patterns. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Tamil tradition. Music is the dholak and the small cymbals of the regional ensemble. Costume is the everyday Tamil dress — the dhoti and the shirt. Performances are at the central courtyard and at the cultural programmes of the union territory.
The stick-dance of the Tamil community of Puducherry — performed by men of the community at the central village festival, with the small sticks tapped in coordinated patterns in the regional Tamil tradition.
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