Spain Wins The World Cup 2010

South Africa hosts the FIFA WORLD CUP 2010

32 teams qualified to play in the World Cup. Teams were split into 8 groups and they play each team in their group during the first round of the tournament, known as “the Group stage”. Here they are:

Group A – South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France
Group B – Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic and Greece
Group C – England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
Group D – Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana
Group E – Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon
Group F – Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia
Group G – Brazil, Korea DPR, Cote d’Ivoire and Portugal
Group H – Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile


Well done to Spain winning world cup.

What made me think it would have been Argentina....maybe something to do with Diego Maradona

Not surprising England was a total let down as expected

This is my Dream Team of the WORLD CUP 2010
Goalkeeper : Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Defence : Fábio Coentrao(POR), Maicon(BRA), Philipp Lahm (GER), Gerard Pique (SPA)
Midfield : Arjen Robben(NED), Xavi(SPA), Wesley Sneijder (NED), Lionel Messi (ARG)
Forward : David Villa(SPA), Diego Forlan(URU),


Now that the WORLD CUP has finished lets look at some stats As the dust settles on an unforgettable and historic FIFA World Cup™, FIFA.com reflects on some of the key statistics to have emerged over the past month.

669 passes were attempted by Xavi during the tournament, 104 more than his nearest challenger, Bastian Schweinsteiger. Xavi also delivered the second-highest number of crosses with 42, with only Diego Forlan (50) attempting more.

145 goals were scored at South Africa 2010, the lowest of any FIFA World Cup since the tournament switched to a 64-game format. Indeed, the current edition continues a downward trend in this respect since the first 64-game finals were held 12 years ago, with France 1998’s total of 171 goals dwindling to 161 at Korea/Japan 2002 and then to 147 at Germany 2006.

117 minutes was the time at which Andres Iniesta struck against the Netherlands, making his dramatic winner the latest-ever winning goal in a FIFA World Cup Final.

39 years and 330 days old, David James was the most senior player of this FIFA World Cup.

Christian Eriksen was South Africa 2010’s youngest player at 18 years and 120 days old.

31 solo runs established Spain’s Sergio Ramos as the tournament’s most prolific dribbler, ahead of more likely candidates such as Lukas Podolski (27), Andres Iniesta (26), David Villa and Lionel Messi (both 25).

22 goals at Green Point Stadium made the Cape Town arena the highest-scoring of South Africa's ten venues. Johannesburg's Soccer City ranked second with 20.

19 fouls made Japan’s Keisuke Honda an unlikely leader of the competition’s crime count. Finalists Sergio Ramos and Mark van Bommel followed closely behind on 17.

14 FIFA World Cup goals was the landmark reached by Miroslav Klose, leaving the Germany striker one behind record-holder Ronaldo but nonetheless in joint-second place with Gerd Muller.

14 yellow and red cards were handed out in a fiery Final between the Netherlands and Spain, more than doubling the previous record for this fixture, set when Argentina and West Germany shared six cards in 1986.

12 goals were scored by Bayern Munich players during South Africa 2010, making the Bavarian giants the best-represented club in the scoring charts. Bayern’s European conquerors, Inter Milan, were next-highest on nine, while Atletico Madrid players accounted for eight. The Spanish league dominated overall, with 29 goals to 21 for the Bundesliga, 12 for the English Premier League and 16 for Serie A.

9 hours and 19 minutes without conceding enabled Switzerland to set a new FIFA World Cup record. The Helvetians surpassed Italy’s previous record of 550 minutes.

3.18 million fans attended South Africa 2010’s 64 matches, just short of the FIFA World Cup record set when 3.59 million clicked through the turnstiles at USA 1994.

3 players – David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol – accounted for Spain’s entire haul of goals at South Africa 2010. Previously, no team had ever won the FIFA World Cup with fewer than four different goalscorers. La Roja’s overall tally of eight was the lowest of any world champions in history.

2 draws and a defeat from three group games made Italy’s performance in South Africa their worst-ever FIFA World Cup showing. Never before had they failed to win a single match, or finished bottom of their group. Marcello Lippi’s side remain winless in 2010.

2 minutes and 39 seconds was the time at which Thomas Muller scored the tournament’s fastest goal in Germany’s 4-0 win over Argentina.

1 team finished the tournament unbeaten: New Zealand.

The Lost City Of Atlantis

Truth Or Myth


The idea of a lost, but highly advanced civilization has captured the interest of people for centuries. Perhaps the most compelling of these tales is the story of Atlantis. The story appears again and again in books, television shows and movies. Where did the story originate and is any of it true?





Ever since Greek philosopher Plato described the lost Atlantis in his works Timaeus and Critias, debate has raged as to whether it ever existed.

Lost cities have captured the imaginations of many throughout time. The idea that a whole civilization could have vanished without a trace has both fascinated and challenged.



Plato's Atlantis
The story of the lost continent of Atlantis starts in 355 B.C. with the Greek philosopher Plato. Plato had planned to write a trilogy of books discussing the nature of man, the creation of the world, and the story of Atlantis, as well as other subjects. Only the first book was ever completed. The second book was abandoned part way through, and the final book was never even started.


Plato used dialogues to express his ideas. In this type of writing, the author's thoughts are explored in a series of arguments and debates between various characters in the story. Plato often used real people in his dialogues, such as his teacher, Socrates, but the words he gave them were his own.


In Plato's book, Timaeus, a character named Kritias tells an account of Atlantis that has been in his family for generations. According to the character, the story was originally told to his ancestor, Solon, by a priest during Solon's visit to Egypt.


There had been a powerful empire located to the west of the "Pillars of Hercules" (what we now call the Straight of Gibraltar) on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The nation there had been established by Poseidon, the God of the Sea. Poseidon fathered five sets of twins on the island. The firstborn, Atlas, had the continent and the surrounding ocean named for him. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son, or his heirs.


The capital city of Atlantis was a marvel of architecture and engineering. The city was composed of a series of concentric walls and canals. At the very center was a hill, and on top of the hill a temple to Poseidon. Inside was a gold statue of the God of the Sea showing him driving six winged horses.


About 9000 years before the time of Plato, after the people of Atlantis became corrupt and greedy, the gods decided to destroy them. A violent earthquake shook the land, giant waves rolled over the shores, and the island sank into the sea, never to be seen again.


So, is the story of Atlantis just a fable used by Plato to make a point? Or is there some reason to think he was referring to a real place? Well, at numerous points in the dialogues, Plato's characters refer to the story of Atlantis as "genuine history" and it being within "the realm of fact." Plato also seems to put into the story a lot of detail about Atlantis that would be unnecessary if he had intended to use it only as a literary device.


On the other hand according to the writings of the historian Strabo, Plato's student Aristotle remarked that Atlantis was simply created by Plato to illustrate a point. Unfortunately, Aristotle's writings on this subject, which might have cleared the mystery up, have been lost eons ago.


Location, Location, Location
If we make the assumption that Atlantis was a real place, it seems logical that it could be found west of the Straight of Gibraltar near the Azores Islands. In 1882 a man named Ignatius Donnelly published a book titled Atlantis, the Antediluvian World. Donnelly, an American politician, had come to the belief that Plato's story represented actual historical fact. He located Atlantis in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, suggesting the Azores Islands represented what remained of the highest mountain peaks. Donnelly said he had studied zoology and geology and had come to the conclusion that civilization itself had begun with the Atlantians and had spread out throughout the world as the Atlantians established colonies in places like ancient Egypt and Peru. Donnelly's book became a world-wide best seller, but researchers could not take Donnelly's theories seriously as he offered no proof for his ideas.


As time when on it became obvious that Donnelly's theories were faulty. Modern scientific surveys of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean shows it is covered with a blanket of sediment that must have taken millions of years to accumulate. There is no sign of a sunken island continent.


Are there any other candidates for the location of Atlantis? People have made cases for places as diverse as Switzerland, in the middle of Europe, and New Zealand, in the Pacific Ocean. The explorer, Percy Fawcett, thought that it might be located in Brazil. One of the most convincing arguments, though, came from K.T. Frost, a professor of history at the Queen's University in Belfast. Later, Spyridon Marinatos, an archaeologist, and A.G. Galanopoulos, a seismologist, added evidence to Frost's ideas.


The Minoan Connection
Frost suggested that instead of being west of the Pillars of Hercules, Atlantis was east. He also thought that the catastrophic end of the island had come not 9000 years before Plato's time, but only 900. If this was true, the land of Atlantis might already be a well-known place even in Plato's time: the island of Crete.


Crete is now a part of modern Greece and lies just south of Athens across part of the Mediterranean Sea. Before 1500 B.C. it was the seat of the Minoan Empire. The Minoans dominated the eastern Mediterranean with a powerful navy and probably extracted tribute from other surrounding nations. Archaeological excavations have shown that Minoan Crete was probably one of the most sophisticated cultures of its time. It had splendid architecture and art. A code of laws gave women equal legal status to men. Agriculture was highly developed and an extensive irrigation system existed.


Then, seemingly in a blink of an eye, the Minoan Civilization disappeared. Geological studies have shown that on an island we now know as Santorinas, located just ten miles to the north of Crete, a disaster occurred that was very capable of toppling the Minoan state.


Santorinas today is a lush Mediterranean paradise consisting of several islands in a ring shape. Twenty-five hundred years ago, though, it was a single large island with a volcano in the center. The volcano blew itself apart in a massive explosion around 1500 B.C.


To understand the effect of such an explosion, scientists have compared it with the most powerful volcanic explosion in historic times. This occurred on the Island of Krakatoa in 1883. There a giant wave, or tsunami, 120 feet high raced across the sea and hit neighboring islands, killing 36,000 people. Ash thrown up into the air blackened the skies for three days. The sound of the explosion was heard as far away as 3,000 miles.


The explosion at Santorinas was four times as powerful as Krakatoa.


The tsunami that hit Crete must have traveled inland for over half a mile, destroying any coastal towns or cities. The great Minoan fleet of ships were all sunk in a few seconds. Overnight the powerful Minoan Empire was crushed and Crete changed to a political backwater. One can hardly imagine a catastrophe more like Plato's description of Atlantis' fate than the destruction of Crete.


Many of the details of the Atlantis story fit with what is now known about Crete. Women had a relatively high political status, both cultures were peaceful, and both enjoyed the unusual sport of ritualistic bullfighting (where an unarmed man wrestled and jumped over a bull).


If the fall of the Minoans is the story of Atlantis, how did Plato get the location and time wrong? Galanopoulos suggested there was a mistake during translation of some of the figures from Egyptian to Greek and an extra zero added. This would mean 900 years ago became 9000, and the distance from Egypt to "Atlantis" went from 250 miles to 2,500. If this is true, Plato (knowing the layout of the Mediterranean Sea) would have been forced to assume the location of the island continent to be squarely in the Atlantic Ocean.

Not everyone accepts the Minoan Crete theory of the story of Atlantis, but until a convincing case can be made for some other place, it, perhaps, remains science's best guess.
The riddle of Atlantis will only be solved after extensive exploration. However, with no exact location, it may be some time before the ocean reveals it’s secrets.

Song Of The Moment - Mere Ankhon Ke Ujale

You know you only live once so make the most of what you got before it's gone.
In memory to one of the bro's

Song: Mere Ankhon Ke Ujale
Singer: Mohammed Rafi
Movie: Aabroo (1968)
Music: Sonik Omi
Lyric: G S Rawal

RIDDLE : Can You Find The Man In The Coffee Beans

RIDDLE : Can You Find The Man In The Picture


Coffee Beans? Find the man in 3 seconds, right half of your brain is better developed than most. 3 seconds to 1 minute, right half of the brain is developed normally. Plus 1 minute doctors recommend more of these types of exercises.

Planet Earth's Surface - From 35,000 Feet Above And Below Sea Level

Source OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.

How Do You Sleep

Who Am I

I Am The Original Don, There Is No Other Mard Or Shahnshah Like Me.
They Call Me Mr Natwerlal, I Like To Play Dangerous They Call Me The Great Gambler Just Because I Take The Aakhri Rasta Or Agneepath.
No Deewar Or Zanjeer Is Strong Enough To Hold Me Back When I Get Angry.
Kabhi Kabhie You May Think I Am Raaste Ka Patther, But Let Me Tell You That I Am Also A Jadugar Or Known As Mahaan Person.
My Temper Can Be Hot As Sholay, So Stay On The Right Side Of Me And Be My Yaarana Or Dostana.

Main Kaun Hoon


copyright Salhan

If Statue Of Liberty Was In India…

Bollywood Hollywood Look Alikes

Preity Zinta & Drew Barrymore












Arjun Rampal & Armande Assante












Sharukh Khan trying to look like Michael Jackson
















Akshay Kumar & Tom Cruise

Shammi Kapoor & Elvis Presley

Interesting Facts about India

* India never invaded any country in her last 100,000 years of history.

* When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization)

* The name 'India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

* The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name 'Hindustan' combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

* The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara Temple at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The shikhara of the temple is made from a single 80-tonne piece of granite. This magnificent temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

* India is the largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.

* The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat'. The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. In time, the game underwent several modifications, but its meaning remained the same, i.e. good deeds take people to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

* The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

* India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

* The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people.

* The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

* Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

* India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

* The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.

* Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus also originated in India.Quadratic Equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Terra: 10*12(10 to the power of 12).

* The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

* Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

* Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.

* India exports software to 90 countries.

* Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.

* The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.

* The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.

* The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.

* Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.

* Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

* India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.

* His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.

* Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.

* Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

ANOTHER MATHS PUZZLE

1) Pick a number between 1 and 10 (including 1 or 10).

2) Multiply your number by 9.

3) Add the digits of the number created in step two.

4) Subtract 5 from the number created in step three.

5) Find the letter in the alphabet that corresponds to the number created in step four.
ex: 1=A, 2=B, 3=C,...

6) Pick a country in Europe that starts with the letter you found in step five.

7) Pick an animal that starts with the last letter of your country.

8) Pick a color that starts with the last letter of your animal.

9) Let me guess what you got!!

DENMARK
KANGAROO
ORANGE

Dances Of Punjab

HAPPY VAISAKHI


….::::BHANGRA::::.…

Bhangra celebrates the harvest and is associated with the festival of Baisakhi (April 13) when the sight of tall heaps of golden wheat fill the farmer’s heart with joy. To the accompaniment of large drums called dhols, he and his fellow villagers circle round and round in a leaping, laughing caper. It’s a dance that cuts across all divisions of class and education. At marriages, parties, or celebrations of any sort, it is quite common for men to break out in Bhangra. There are few sights more cheering than that of a dignified elder in three-piece suit getting up to join the young fellows for a moment of bhangra revelry.

The Bhangra is perhaps the most virile form of Indian Folk Dances. Springing from the land of five rivers, it abundantly reflects the vigor, the vitality, the leaven of exuberance, and the hilarity permeated among the rural folk by the promise of a bumper crop.

At intervals the dancers stop moving, but continue to beat the rhythm with their feet. One of the dancers come forward near the drummer and covering his left ear with his palm sings a boali or dholla, derived from the traditional folk songs of Punjab. Picking up the last lines, the dancers again start dancing with greater vigor.

In addition to a drum, chimta-musical tongs and burchu and sound of the beats from earthen vessels are used as accompanying instruments. The costume of a Bhangra dancer consists of a bright, colored Patka on the head, a lacha or lungi of the same color, a long tunic and a black or blue waistcoat and ghunghroos on the ankles. Some dancers also wear small rings (nuntian) in their ears.

Bhangra is considered the king of dances. There are several styles of dancing Bhangra. Sialkoti, Sheikhupuri, Tribal, Malwa, Majha. One of the Bhangra’s moves is also akin to the moves of Shiv-Tandav dance, which is danced on one leg. Damru, hand-drum is also used in Bhangra which shows that folk dances and war dances have similar parentage…..


….::::GIDDHA::::….

Women have a different but no less exuberant dance called gidda. The dancers enact verses called bolis, which represent folk poetry at its best. The subject matter of these bolis is wide ranging indeed – everything from arguments with the sister-in-law to political affairs figure in these lively songs. Aside from the drums, the rhythm of this dance is set by the distinctive hand-claps of the dancers.

The vitality of Bhangra can also be seen in the Giddha dance of the women of Punjab. This dance translates into gestures, bolian-verses of different length satirizing politics, the excesses committed by husbands, their sisters and mothers, loneliness of a young bride separated from her husband, evils of society or expressing guileless deep love.

The dance is derived from the ancient ring dance. One of the girls plays on the drum or ‘dholki’ while others form a circle. Some times even the dholki is dispensed with. While moving in a circle, the girls raise their hands to the level of their shoulders and clap their hands in unison. Then they strike their palms against those of their neighbors. Rhythm is generally provided by clapping of hands.

Giddha is a very vigorous folk dance and like other such dances it is very much an affair of the legs. So quick is the movement of the feet in its faster parts that it is difficult for the spectator even to wink till the tempo falls again. The embroidered ‘duppattas’ and heavy jewelry of the participants whose number is unrestricted further exaggerate the movements.

Mimicry is aso very popular in ‘Giddha’. One girl may play the aged bridegroom and another his young bride; or one may play a quarellsome sister in law and another a humble bride. In this way Giddha provides for all the best forum for giving vent to one’s emotions.

The traditional dress during giddha dance is short female style shirt (choli) with ghagra or lehnga (loose shirt upto ankle-length) or ordinary Punjabi Salwar-Kamiz, rich in colour, cloth and design. The ornaments that they wear are suggi-phul (worn on head) to pazaibs (anklets), haar-hamela, (gem-studded golden necklace) baazu-band (worn around upper-arm) and raani-haar (a long necklace made of solid gold)….

….::::JHOOMAR::::….

This dance has originally come from Sandalbar (now in Pakistan), but is now very much a part of Punjab folk heritage. It is a dance of graceful gait, based on specific Jhumar rhythm.

The Jhummar is a dance of ecstasy. It is a living testimony of the happiness of men. Any time is Jhummar time especially during Melas, weddings and other major functions and celebrations. Performed exclusively by men, it is a common feature to see three generations – father, son and grandson – dancing all together. There are three main types of jhummar, each of which has a different mood, and is therefore suited to different occasionally, reason of its predominating mood.

This is also performed in a circle. The dancers dance around a single drummer standing in the center. Dancers circle around the drummer, and keep up a soft, sibilant chorus as they dance.It’s costumes are the same as that of Bhangra. It is danced to the tune of emotional songs. The dance is without acrobatics. The movement of the arms only is considered its main forte. Toes are musically placed in front and backwards and turnings are taken to the right, sometimes the dancers place their one hand below the ribs on the left and gesticulate with the right hand. This dance does not tire out its performers and it is normally danced on moonlit nights in the villages away from the habitation. It is mostly danced by tribal Sikh professional acrobats and has yet not been owned by all Punjabis. The dancers of this dance let-off a sound, "dee dee" in tune with the beat of the dance which adds to its grace. This dance has also been integrated into Bhangra….

….::::JAAGO::::….

Literally, "wake up!" When there’s a marriage in the house, girls dance through the village streets carrying a pot (gaggar) decorated with lightened candles and singing jaagu songs. The theme of song in the ‘Jago’ is social and typically a bit of teasing (often aimed at elders) goes with the song.

On the night before the wedding, the female relations of the bridegroom prepare a ‘Jaago’. Jaago is constructed on the style of ancient balconies on several surfaces of which lamps, fashioned out of dough of wheat flour are constructed in the style of stars, These are filled with ghee or oil, cotton wicks are placed in them and lighted. This effigy is put on the head of groom’s mothers’ brothers’ wife, led by her the mother’s relations, singing, dancing frolicking knocking at the doors of residents of the groom’s village, enter in, dance gidha accept presents of food, grain and ghee for the lamps and continue these rounds through the night, when youth glows and the dark of the night resounds with mirth and laughter….

….::::LUDDI::::….

Luddi is a victory-dance recognisable by the swaying movements of the head. Its costume is a simple loose shirt. The performers place one hand at the back and the other before the face; the body movement is sinuous, snake-like. This is also danced with the drummer in the centre.

This is also a male dance of Punjab. It is danced to celebrate a victory in any field. Its costumes are simple. Only a loose shirt (kurta) and a loincloth are used. Some tie a turban, other the Patka which is somewhat like a scarf tied across the forehead, while still others join in bareheaded. This is also a dance of *** abandon. The performers place one hand at the back and the other before the face copying the movement of a snake’s head. This is also danced with the drummer in the center but sometimes the dancers dance before a throng of people and keep moving forward also. This dance is more popular across the Sutlej and in Pakistan it is almost as popular as the Bhangra. This dance has an historical background and pertains to that moment in history when Punjabi Sardars had begun to rescue Indian women that used to be forcibly taken in the direction of Basra in Middle East.

This dance is also the dance of slow movements and some teachers by integrating it into Bhangra have finished its individual identity….I loved the way singers chant "luddi haey jamalo"..

….::::SAMMI::::….

Traditionally by women of the Sandalbar region, now in Pakistan. The dancers are dressed in bright coloured kurtas and full flowing skirts called lehengas. A peculiar silver hair ornament is associated with this dance.

The fairy dancers of the court of lord Indira are reputed to have taught the technique of Giddha and Sammi to the girls of this earth. The fairy which taught Giddha was known as Giddho while the one who taught Sammi was named as such. This kind of dance form is popular in Sandal Bar which now is in Pakistan. Sammi has not been able to gain popular acceptance and is breathing its last in the huts of the tribals. Women of Baazigars, Rai Sikhs, Lobanas and Sansi lot tribes dance in this medium. This is also danced in the privacy of women.

This women’s dance is also performed like ‘Giddha’. The dancers stand in a circle and swing their hands, bringing them up from the sides, right in front up to the chest level and clap: they take their hands down in accordance with a rythem and clap again. Repeating this gesture, they bend forward and clap again, and go round and round in a circle. As the rythem is maintained with the beat of the feet, various kinds of swinging movements are performed with the arms. Most of the gestures are confined to the movement of the arms, clicking and clapping. No instrument is required as an accompaniment to this dance. Rythem is kept up with the beating of the feet and clapping.

Special make-up is done by its performers. They knit their hair into thin plaits all over their head into intricate patterns and tie the remaining length of the hair in one full plait. In the middle of their head they fix a domed ornament shaped like an inverted lotus called phul-chowk or Suggiphul (flower of the crossings of the plaits). The performers wear a unisex kurta (male shirt) and the tehmet (lower cloth) and cover their head with a thick cloth of loose rectangular dimension, called ‘Bhochhan’. Chutki is a frictional sound of single note created by pressing and then sIiding the thumb and the index or the middle finger and is used to keep the beat in this lance. The background song of this dance is also called sammi. This is also a dance of controlled movements. It is said that even the Devtas (angels) get inebriated while seeing this dance…..

….::::JHULLI & DHAMAAL::::….

Julli is a religious dance associated with Pirs and recluses and is generally danced in their hermitages (khangahs). This dance is performed mostly in a sitting posture; sometimes it is also danced round the grave of a preceptor. A single dancer can also perform this dance. Toes are tensed in this dance. The dancer holds a thick staff in his hands and he dances by revolving it. Normally black clothes are worn by the dancer, so is his head covered with black scarf. Sometimes, the murids (followers) also the tie ghungroos (Jingling bells) around their waists like the Bhangra dancers of yore. This dance is fast disappearing…..

Dhamaal is similar to bhangra and is danced by men in a circle.This folk dance also has not been able to achieve the popularity of Bhangra. Of course it is a male dance and, likewise, is danced in a circle. Drum is used as the accompanying instrument; its costumes are akin to Bhangra and Jhumar…

….::::KIKLI::::….

This dance is performed by women in pairs. They cross their arms, hold each other’s hands and whirl around singing folk songs. Sometimes four girls join hands to perform this dance.

Kilkli, is more of a sport than a dance, is generally popular with the young girls. The dance performed in pairs, is a favourite of the young girls. It can be done by any even number of performers starting with two. Before beginning the dance, the two participants stand face to face with their feet close to each other’s and their bodies inclined back. Standing in this pose the arms of the dancers are stretched to the maximum limitand their hands are interlocked firmly.
The dance is performed when the pairs, maintaining this pose, wheel round and round in a fast movement at the same spot with the feet serving as the pivotal points. The girls sing as they swirl around with colorful ‘orhnis’ or ‘daupttas’ flowing from their heads and anklets producing tinkling melodies.

There is a rich repertoire of traditional songs available that are used to accompany the ‘kikli’ dance. Most of these songs consist merely of loosely rhyming lines without underlying theme. One of the examples is :

Kikli kleer di,
Pag mere vir di,
Daupatta mere bhai da, Phitte mun jawai da…

….::::TEEYAN::::….

Giddha can be seen at its best when ‘Teeyan’ or the women’s dance festival is celebrated. This festival in Punjab is celebrated in the month of Sawan. The dance usually takes place on the bank of some river or pond under big shady trees. Swings are thrown over the branches and singing, swinging and dancing starts. On this day when the married daughters come to their parent’s house their brothers fix the swings for them. As they swing they share their anxieties with each other through songs. Dressed in their best and decked by ornaments, girls gather during these festivals like the fairies. These dancers look a medley of color and beauty. The festival continues till the 3rd Lunar day in the month to full moon and there is a gala function on the concluding day…….