Kharika Dance

Understand

Where Kharika Dance comes from

Kharika is the name of a broader family of folk-dance-traditions of the Tirhut and Magadh regions of Bihar (particularly the Nawada, Jehanabad, Gaya and Patna districts), performed at the festivals of Chhath, Sohrai and other village occasions. The Kharika form was historically performed by the lower-caste communities of Bihar (the Bhuiya, Mushahar and others) and later popularised through the cultural programmes of the state. The form is part of the central Indian folk-dance tradition that shares elements with the Chhattisgarhi and Madhya Pradesh forms (the Karma and Saila). Today Kharika continues in the villages of southern Bihar and at the cultural pageants of Patna.

How it's practiced

Kharika is performed by mixed groups of men and women in a circle or in rows at the village festival, dancing to the heavy drum of the dhol and the dholak. The dance features vigorous footwork, hip movements and the characteristic Mithila hand-gestures. The accompanying songs are typically folk verses of Chhath and Sohrai of the southern Bihar region. Costume is the everyday rural dress of the southern Bihar villages — the dhoti-kurta for men and the traditional sari for women, with the men wearing the regional cap and the women in colourful saris. Performances are at the village celebrations and at cultural programmes of the state folk-arts festivals.