monisingh
New Member
- Messages
- 279
Thought I share theseBhangra/Dhol from Naya Daur (1957), Clip 1
Bhangra scene from Naya Daur (1957), Clip 2
Bhangra scene from Naya Daur (1957), Clip 2
-
Bhangra discussion is still going strong. Join us in our Facebook group!
Lets go back 54 years
- Thread starter monisingh
- Start date
Vijay
Member
- Messages
- 646
great find, make sure to watch clip 2 as well.
caption:
This is one of the first bhangra scenes captured on film, from the 1957 movie Naya Daur. The video features Ustad Bhanna Ram playing dhol, and dancers Balbir Singh Sekhon and Manohar Deepak. Bhanna Ram was born in 1910 in Sheikhupura, Punjab (current day Pakistan) and learned dhol from Janab Mohammad Ali. Bhanna Ram is thought to be one of the 3 dhol masters from the pre-partition era, the other 2 being Ghuggi and Munshi Ram. [Gibb]
Some things of note: 1) The use of sapp/kato: There's some debate as to when the use of kato and sapp was introduced to 'bhangra', so this video places that around 1955-56 at the latest. 2) 'Pagg' styles: It is quite apparent that the dominant style of pagg in this video is sialkoti gol pagg. Similarly, the dancers in other early videos like Jagte Raho also tie this type of pagg. It raises an interesting question since modern day bhangra is almost exclusively performed with a 'turla-tedi pagg'. Was bhangra traditionally performed with this type of pagg, or was it just the preferred method of Manohar Deepak's group? 3) Flips/Acrobatics: The flips and acrobatics may seem a little odd given the modern sense that they are inappropriate for bhangra. However, considering the baazigar background of Bhanna Ram, it is not surprising that they would infuse the dance with elements from that community.
caption:
This is one of the first bhangra scenes captured on film, from the 1957 movie Naya Daur. The video features Ustad Bhanna Ram playing dhol, and dancers Balbir Singh Sekhon and Manohar Deepak. Bhanna Ram was born in 1910 in Sheikhupura, Punjab (current day Pakistan) and learned dhol from Janab Mohammad Ali. Bhanna Ram is thought to be one of the 3 dhol masters from the pre-partition era, the other 2 being Ghuggi and Munshi Ram. [Gibb]
Some things of note: 1) The use of sapp/kato: There's some debate as to when the use of kato and sapp was introduced to 'bhangra', so this video places that around 1955-56 at the latest. 2) 'Pagg' styles: It is quite apparent that the dominant style of pagg in this video is sialkoti gol pagg. Similarly, the dancers in other early videos like Jagte Raho also tie this type of pagg. It raises an interesting question since modern day bhangra is almost exclusively performed with a 'turla-tedi pagg'. Was bhangra traditionally performed with this type of pagg, or was it just the preferred method of Manohar Deepak's group? 3) Flips/Acrobatics: The flips and acrobatics may seem a little odd given the modern sense that they are inappropriate for bhangra. However, considering the baazigar background of Bhanna Ram, it is not surprising that they would infuse the dance with elements from that community.
amrinder13
Member
- Messages
- 63
Great post Vijay, Guggi is a legend and Munshi Ram is Ravi Dana's grandfather.. good to know there is some knowledgeable folks out there..
dudhmakhna
Member
- Messages
- 85
yes there is... and today's folk bhangra is illustrated by boliyan and composition of the bhangra routine.faizan said:
you can't just put together any routine and start dancing over any song that a singer sings over a dhol and call it "folk"... you see a lot of this in the uk bhangra live scene.
there is much more going on in a live routine than there is in a music routine.
however... I don't understand when people call music routines folk... I can understand them being somewhat traditional, but definitely not folk.
side note: if I'm not mistaken, theres a difference between jatt bhangra and this type of bhangra
but let's not turn this into a definition of folk thread now. thanks for the post
dudhmakhna
Member
- Messages
- 85
lol I didn't mean it like that haha I'm not a major fan of the caste system or anything... but I remember reading something in Gibb's paper about jatt bhangra vs baazigar bhangra. the scene in the first vid fits in perfectly with the description of baazigar bhangra (with the stunts and all)Ashveer said:
Very interesting news to me! Bits I found:
"The notion of a Jatt playing dhol, although it may present no problem to design illustrators, is fairly ridiculous to most Indian dholis. Most would be hesitant to take on a Jatt as a student" pg 69
"Furthermore, given what we know about the social system it is likely that even if the ethnic composition of dancers was mixed, nonetheless the higher and lower classes did not dance together. I propose a scenario where different sections of society danced their own bhangra—or something of the sort—separately. The Bazigar, for example, have indicated their dancing bhangra and other dances alone within their community. Garib Dass remembers that when the Bazigars danced, they had a lot of “fun” with it, including in the performance both acts of pantomiming (svang) and their acrobatic bazi-s. Some contemporary bhangra advocates stress that acrobatics, often performed in staged bhangra, were never part of the original bhangra. However, while this would almost certainly be the case with
the mainstream or Jatt bhangra, which took center stage at Vaisakhi fairs, the Bazigar account suggests other bhangra-s. Another example of a sort of community-specific bhangra is the hemr‚ ı dance described by Bedi. Ascribed to the district Sargodha area, he says it was danced especially by Musalli people (i.e. Muslim Chuhra) (Bedi 1981:925). It was like a bhangra that included svang, which they danced in front of homes until given a donation of flour (ibid). These examples are enough to problematize the notion that bhangra had any one style that can be sourced and compared to as an “original,” and they help to explain why the images of community- danced bhangra after Independence are so incohesive." pp 591-592
From Gibb Schreffler's dissertation. More here: http://bhangrateamsforum.com/discuss/main-bhangra-discussion/major-publication-on-dhol-punjabi-dances-musicians-culture/
"The notion of a Jatt playing dhol, although it may present no problem to design illustrators, is fairly ridiculous to most Indian dholis. Most would be hesitant to take on a Jatt as a student" pg 69
"Furthermore, given what we know about the social system it is likely that even if the ethnic composition of dancers was mixed, nonetheless the higher and lower classes did not dance together. I propose a scenario where different sections of society danced their own bhangra—or something of the sort—separately. The Bazigar, for example, have indicated their dancing bhangra and other dances alone within their community. Garib Dass remembers that when the Bazigars danced, they had a lot of “fun” with it, including in the performance both acts of pantomiming (svang) and their acrobatic bazi-s. Some contemporary bhangra advocates stress that acrobatics, often performed in staged bhangra, were never part of the original bhangra. However, while this would almost certainly be the case with
the mainstream or Jatt bhangra, which took center stage at Vaisakhi fairs, the Bazigar account suggests other bhangra-s. Another example of a sort of community-specific bhangra is the hemr‚ ı dance described by Bedi. Ascribed to the district Sargodha area, he says it was danced especially by Musalli people (i.e. Muslim Chuhra) (Bedi 1981:925). It was like a bhangra that included svang, which they danced in front of homes until given a donation of flour (ibid). These examples are enough to problematize the notion that bhangra had any one style that can be sourced and compared to as an “original,” and they help to explain why the images of community- danced bhangra after Independence are so incohesive." pp 591-592
From Gibb Schreffler's dissertation. More here: http://bhangrateamsforum.com/discuss/main-bhangra-discussion/major-publication-on-dhol-punjabi-dances-musicians-culture/
- Messages
- 1,928
Now featured on facebook http://www.facebook.com/BhangraTeamsForum/posts/296898460340719
ENVY BANG-RUH
Let the music move you!!!!!
- Messages
- 1,151
At 1:03 of the second video, you get to see the first running man too. lol