Parramasala provides an opportunity to many people to highlight their talent and to come together in the celebration of cultures.
This time ‘The Desert Gypsies group – Champa Sapera and Party’, a renowned folk dance group from Rajasthan’ came all the way from India to be a part of the celebration.
This group of performers took the people to the down towns of Rajasthan and very effectively highlighted the richness of their culture though their dance and music. Besides Parramasala, this group also presented Gramin Bhawai Nritya at the ‘Glimpses of India’- an information evening organized to conclude the Tourism Week.
The specialty of this group is Rajasthani Kalbelia, folk dance, Gramin Bhawai Nritya and music.
Puran Nath Sapera, the organizer of the group says, “ Born and brought up in a traditional family of snake charmers, we are popularly known as Saperas. We are into promoting the Rajasthani culture through our dance and songs for generations now. I think it is our seventh generation which is now carrying on the legacy of our culture through this dance form. For us, this dance is a family heritage and we want to take it to new heights.”
“Our kids are studying and are doing good in their careers but alongside we want them to learn all these skills as well. We want to pass on this heritage to them,” he adds.
Regarding their participation in Parramasala, Puran Nath said, “It is an honor for us that we got an opportunity to perform at Parramasala this year. We have thoroughly travelled throughout India and have also got many opportunities to perform in abroad and have performed in Paris , Germany , Switzerland , Italy and Dubai.”
Explaining about their work he said, “We have also worked in few Bollywood films including Batwara , Karan Arjun , Saajan Chale Sasural , Veer etc. It is a great feeling when you see yourself on silver screen.”
Regarding the Kalbelia dance form which they generally perform, Puran Nath Sapera says, “ There are many folk dances in Rajasthan and Kalbelia is a catchy form of dance and it is difficult to perform. Kalbelia is a very old form of folk dance derived from some traditional dance forms of the tribal religions in Rajasthan. Because of its uniqueness, this dance form is in demand not only in India but in abroad as well.
Besides Kalbelia, this dance group is expert in Gramin Bhawai Nritya which is one of the most spectacular dance forms of Rajasthan. In this dance form the male or female performers balance a number of earthen pots or brass pitchers as they dance nimbly, pirouetting and then swaying with the soles of their feet perched on the top of a glass, on the edge of the sword or on the rim of a brass thali (plate) during the performance.
‘The Desert Gypsies group – Champa Sapera and Party’, is in Australia for a month and will perform at different occasions.