Railway
'Huli Vesha', the tiger dance, is a popular folk dance of which state?
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Answer: Option D — Karnataka
Detailed Solution
The correct answer is Karnataka. Huli Vesha, which means "tiger costume" or "tiger dance", is a popular folk dance of the coastal region of Karnataka, especially the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada (Mangaluru) districts. It is performed mainly during the Dussehra (Navaratri) festival, and in some areas also during Krishna Janmashtami and Muharram.
In Huli Vesha, the dancers, usually young men, paint their bodies with bright yellow, orange and black stripes to look like tigers, wear tiger masks or paint their faces, and sometimes wear a tail. They dance energetically to the loud beat of drums called tase, imitating the movements of a tiger, such as crouching, pouncing, leaping and roaring. Many dancers also perform acrobatic feats, such as somersaults, and some show their strength by lifting heavy objects or picking up coins or rice bags with their teeth. Groups of tiger dancers go from house to house and street to street, and people give them money and gifts. The dance is linked with the goddess Durga, whose vehicle is the tiger (or lion), and it is believed to honour her. Painting the body can take several hours, and the dancers often keep the paint on for days during the festival. A similar dance, called Pulikali, is performed in Thrissur in Kerala during Onam.
Karnataka's other folk arts include Yakshagana (traditional theatre of the coastal region), Dollu Kunitha (a drum dance), Kamsale (a cymbal dance), Veeragase (performed during Dussehra in honour of Veerabhadra), Bhoota Kola (a spirit-worship ritual of Tulu Nadu), Suggi (a harvest dance) and Huttari (the harvest festival of the Kodavas).
About the other options:
- Kerala has a similar tiger dance called Pulikali, performed in Thrissur during Onam, but Huli Vesha is the name used in Karnataka.
- Tamil Nadu is known for Bharatanatyam, Karagattam and Kummi.
- Andhra Pradesh is known for Kuchipudi, Veeranatyam and Kolattam.
💡 Exam tip
Tiger dances are performed in two southern states. Huli Vesha belongs to coastal Karnataka (mainly during Dussehra), and Pulikali belongs to Thrissur in Kerala (during Onam). Read the question carefully to see which name is used.💬 Discussions on this question
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Indian Dance Forms — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian Dance Forms, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
Indian dance forms are one of the most frequently tested areas of static GK. This topic covers the eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam and Sattriya), the folk and tribal dances of every state, and related terms such as mudra, abhinaya, lasya and tandava. Most questions ask which state a dance belongs to, which community performs it, or which feature identifies a classical style. Learn the classical dances with their state and one signature feature each, such as the face make-up of Kathakali or the brass plate of Kuchipudi. For folk dances, group them state by state, since exams often list three or four dances and ask for the common state. Watch for dances shared by more than one state, such as Chhau, which has three styles. Practise the Indian dance forms questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.