Source::Rss
Bhairav dance is one of the ancient cultures of Pokhara. This dance, which has been performed every six years, is now being prepared for performance in Pokhara.
There are different forms of Bhairava worshiped by the Tantrokta method. It is believed that by worshiping Bhairav, all kinds of fear and suffering will be removed. Newari culture has an ancient tradition of Bhairav dance. It is being performed in different parts of Kathmandu Valley under the names of Gaana Nritya (Gan Pyakhan) Bhairava Nritya (Bhail Pyakhan) etc.
Music is created by playing mridanga (Khin) cymbals, tah, dhah, sahnai, (muhali) in this dance, usually 12 dancers, 30 singers, 10 instrumentalists, 12 dance servants, 12 backup artists, 10 volunteers, and 20 participants from another management side.
One hundred and six people will participate. It will cost about 80 thousand rupees to conduct this dance which requires a large number of artists. As the name of King Ranjit Malla of Bhaktapur is mentioned in the hymn of this dance, it can be assumed that its origin is Bhaktapur during Ranjit Malla's time.
Pokhareli people of all communities have continuous support and goodwill towards this ancient cultural heritage of Pokhara. In honor of this dance, the government of Nepal published postage stamps with this dance in 2057.
The senior culture worker of Pokhara, Sarvagyaman Pradhanang Bhairav, along with the chairman of the Cultural Conservation Committee, played the role of guru of this dance for a long time, while Krishna Bahadur Vaidya also played a leadership role as a guru. Currently, the guru of this dance is Krishnadev Pradhananga and the deputy guru is Meghbahandur Tamrakar.
Mukhundo, which is used in dance, is considered to be based on Tantra as it awakens real power through the Tantrokta method. Mahendra Bajimay, treasurer of the committee, informed that dancing power will be imparted to the participating dancers. Before starting the dance, there is a practice of giving Nateswara tika to the artist.
Dr. Siddhiveer Kamacharya was involved in the work of awakening power in Mukhune through Dharmaraj Guvaju, Punyaraj Guvaju Kantiraj Bhaju, Vidhya Mangal Guvaju in the previous dance of 2072. This year, Mr. Heeraratna Guvaju from Lalitpur has been involved in Mukhundo Siddhi.
This dance will be performed at Ganesha temple Ganeshtol on 16th, Saraswati temple Tersapatti on the 17th, Vindhyavasini temple on the 18th, Ganesha temple Bhairawatol on the 19th, Guru Krishnadev Pradhanang's residence Bhairawatol on 22nd.
There is a trend of inviting dances by various individuals and organizations and preparations are being made to perform them at various places as per the demand. Individual and institutional fees have been fixed at Rs 35,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively for inviting dances.
“The dance will start on Mangsir 15 and will continue till the end of Poush. Bhairava has been worshiped as a god of fear and punishment in Hindu and Buddhist cultures since ancient times,” said Tirthaman Pradhanang, president of Bhairav Cultural Conservation Committee Pokhara
"This dance started in Pokhara more than 250 years ago under the auspices of the Newar community here. This dance is being performed every 12 years and will be performed every six years from 2029 onwards in IACO.” He added.
“12 characters like Bhairav, Kali, Indrayani, Barah, Kumari, Bishnuvi, Gangaju, Ganesha, Dagini, Bhucha, and Kabang will be dancing wearing masks. This dance is based on classical hymns. Dancers dance based on Newari language bhajans based on Raga Kaushik, Raga Chhayanat, Raga Malwa, Raga Saranga, Raga Todi, Raga Malashree, and Kharjati Tal, Chok Tal, Ek Tal, Doma Tal.’ Said Tirtha Shrestha, consultant and cultural expert of the Pokhara Bhairav Cultural Conservation Committee
“Although the dance is very expensive, the required costumes have been received from various donors. It is planned to be performed at Bhimsen Temple Bhimsentol on the first day of this dance, which is scheduled to be performed, in honor of Nateswara,” said Secretary Surendraman Vijukshe._Rss
(photo credit: Tripadvisor)
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