Music of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

is a

state of India India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

. The region's folk heritage includes songs called

rasiya Rasiya is a popular genre of Indian folk music from the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh. The style of rasiya consists of multiple sub genres and is performed in a variety of different contexts. The songs have been known to portray a wide range of ...

(known especially in

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Hary ...

), which celebrate the divine love of

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also d ...

and Shri Krishna. These songs are played by large

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s known as bumb, and are performed at many festivals. During the eras of Guptas and Harsh Vardhans, Uttar Pradesh was a major center for musical innovation. Folk dances or folk theatre forms include: * Ghazals * Khayal * Marsiya * Naqal (mimicry) *

Nautanki Nautanki is one of the most popular folk performance forms of South Asia, particularly in northern India. Before the advent of Bollywood (the Hindi film industry), Nautanki was the biggest entertainment medium in the villages and towns of north ...

* Qawwali * Ramlila *

Raslila The rasalila (), also rendered the raslila or the ras dance, is part of the traditional story of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and the gop ...

* Swang

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