Harul is a traditional

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n folk dance performed in the

Jaunsar-Bawar Jaunsar-Bawar is a hilly region in Garhwal division of Uttarakhand, northern India. It is located in the north-west of Dehradun district, along the border with the state of Himachal Pradesh. Ethnically, Jaunsar-Bawar comprises two regions, inh ...

and bordering regions of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. Both men and women can take part. In this dance, participants hold on to each other forming a long line and perform the traditional harul steps. The end positions are usually occupied by the men who hold up a single-handed. This dance is performed in a cheerful mood. Each harul song is in a narrative format between a man and a woman. The participants may also organize themselves into circle with the outer circle formed by men and the inner one by the women. Basic steps consist of criss-crossing the legs while moving accompanied by occasional knee bending, in sync with the rhythm. Participants wear colourful clothes.

References

Folk dance Indian folk dances {{India-dance-stub