Lavani

Understand

Where Lavani comes from

Lavani is a genre of music and dance that emerged in Maharashtra in the 18th and 19th centuries and was patronised by the Maratha lords and kings. The name is popularly derived from the Sanskrit lavanya (beauty). The tradition has its roots in the Prakrit Gathas collected by the Satavahana-era poet Hala, and developed in parallel with the Tamasha folk-theatre tradition that flourished under the later Peshwas. Lavani developed two distinct performance forms — the public Phadachi Lavani staged as part of a Tamasha troupe's phad, and the more intimate Baithakichi Lavani performed for a private audience. The Lavani poet Bashir Momin Kavathekar was one of the most prolific writers for the Tamasha troupes in the late twentieth century.

How it's practiced

Lavani is performed by women dancers wearing the nauvari — a nine-yard sari draped in the Maratha pant-style — with heavy jewellery and a hair bun (ambada). The dancers perform to the powerful rhythm of the dholki drum and the quick-tempo Lavani song, with movements emphasising hip, eye and hand gesture over footwork. The lyrics are traditionally of two kinds — the devotional Nirguni Lavani (philosophical) and the sensual Shringari Lavani — and frequently carry pungent socio-political satire alongside their entertainment function. Lavani was traditionally used to entertain and energise tired Maratha soldiers on campaign.