Charkula Dance Group

The Charkula dance form hails from the land of Lord Shree Krishna, ‘Brij’ region of Uttar Pradesh state. The women performing this art form balance a wooden pyramid, which is multi-tiered on their heads, with 108 lamps lit in it. They dance on the songs of Krishna, locally known as ‘Rasiya’. This dance is particularly scheduled after 3 days of the Holi festival, which is when Krishna’s consort Radha was born. Legend has it that Radha’s mother ran out of the house with a Charkula on her head, to announce the birth of her baby girl! This dance, therefore, became a symbol of happiness as well as joyful rapture. Lord Krishna raised the mount Goverdhan Hill and as if to re-enact the Govardhan Leela the dancing damsel of Braj raises the 50 Kilograms Charkula on her head while performing the Folk Charkula dance.