Tipri is a Punjabi stick dance popular in
Patiala
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...
(
Punjab, India
Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...
) and
Ambala
Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...
(
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
).
Styles
According to Randhawa (1960), Tipri is performed by boys and men using small sticks. The participants dance in a circle striking the sticks. In one version, the dancers also hold a rope which is tied at the top end to a pole. Each dancer then weaves the rope with the ropes of the other dancers. The ropes are then untangled whilst the male dancers strike the sticks. Randhawa suggests that the dance is local to Patiala city and is similar to dandiya of Bombay (Mumbai) and tipni of Rajasthan.
Another style of Tipri, according to James (1974), is danced by girls who carry small sticks which are tapped to create a rhythm. No singing is involved in the dance. Dhillon (1998) tells of yet another style of Tipri where dancers carry two sticks. Each dancer strikes his own sticks and then that of the other dancers. The participants move in a circle and perform body actions. However, this form of Tipri is another name for the dance known as dandaas popular in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
,
Bahawalpur and north-western
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
.
Bavan Dvadasi
Bavan Dvadasi is a festival dedicated to the Hindu God
Vamana
Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha.
O ...
. The festival is held during the lunar month of Bhadra. Singh writing for the Tribune in 2000 states that "Tipri, a local version of dandia of Gujarat and a characteristic of the Patiala and Ambala districts, is losing popularity. Its performances are now limited to the occasions of Bavan Dvadsi." According to Singh (2000) "Bavan Dvadsi is a local festival celebrated only in the Patiala and Ambala districts. Anywhere else, people are not aware of it. Now, tipri is performed during this festival only." Singh then states that Bavan Dvadsi "is to celebrate the victory of Lord Vishnu, who in the form of a dwarf, had tricked Raja Bali to grant him three wishes, before transforming into a giant to take the Earth, the sky and Bali's life". Tripri competitions are held during the festival. Dancers dance in pairs, striking the sticks and creating a rhythm whilst holding ropes.
[Singh, Jangveer (10.09.2000) The Tribune: Tipri rhythms are fading out in region accessed 04.10.2019]
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See also
* Folk dances of Punjab
References
{{Punjab, India
Punjabi culture
Dances of India