What is a Tangkasini?

One of the oldest dances of all India, tangkasnet has a rich history, going back to the ancient times when it was first introduced by the Moghuls. The origin of this dance goes back to the time when the Moghuls arrived in India and started settling down in the country. They brought their dance with them and started dancing in the streets of the country. Later, the dance moved to the dance halls and then later to the royal courts.

During the mughal era, the tangkasnet was known as the 'pujari-puri'. In this dance, the 'kabab' is the most important part of the dance. This is the part that is done by the women who wear saree and the 'puri' or the men is the man in the middle of the dance, who is known as the 'mukat'. These are the same men who were doing the mukat-puri and mukat-wari in the court of the kings of old. The first few years of the mughal era, the tangkasnet was also called the 'bajpai'. The men would also wear a sarong or turban, which was the same colour as the clothes that the women wore.

During the period of partition in India, the tangkasnet had completely changed its name and now the men and women used to perform it in a different way. There were many different versions and they were also divided into two separate categories. The first category is called the 'tangasari' and the second category is the 'tangasani'.Chick here for more details about tangkasnet

In the present times, the tangkasnet is known as the 'naukri'naukri bachao'. The dancers of the former category perform the tangkasani with a lot of rhythm while the tangkasani of the latter category performs the tangkasani with much of grace. There are three categories of the tangkasini. These are 'maro' (muladhuri), 'shakai' and 'mashchin'.

The dancers in the second category have the advantage of using the traditional instruments and the clothes in the tangkasini, but the dancers in the third category are known as 'mandap' or 'mandap bali' and use the traditional clothing and also the traditional instruments. In addition, there are many other costumes, like the shawl and sari and the lehenga and there are many traditional songs which are also used for the dancers. The traditional clothes are quite similar to the original clothes of the Mughals and the clothes of the Rajputs, but the shoes are different.

The tangkasini has also evolved and there are many forms of tangkasini. The original one is a simple one, while some have two steps and there are some that have three steps. There are many forms of the tangkasini and some are also done in a traditional manner.