When Delhi saw colours of the holy land

On the occasion of its golden jubilee, Braj Kala Kendra brought the janambhoomi of Lord Krishna alive in Delhi. Braj or Brajbhoomi consists of Mathura, Bharatpur, Agra, Dholpur and Aligarh. Called the land of Lord Krishna, Braj is a very culturally vibrant region. It boasts of many traditional dance and music forms besides its vibrant Holi. Delhiites got a glimpse of it at the Braj Day celebration.

Visiting artists from Braj performed popular Sapera Been dance and Charkula dance, which the audience enjoyed the most. In Charkula, traditionally dressed up and veiled women balanced large multi-tiered circular wooden pyramids on their heads, alight with 108 oil lamps. They danced to rasiya, the songs sung in praise Lord Krishna. Charkula is especially performed three days after Holi, when Radha was born.
Gour Sunder Agarwal, vice president, Braj Kala Kendra, said, “We have completed 50 years. Braj, comprising almost 2500 kms, boasts of several folk dances from the region but we thought of presenting some of the most popular ones for Delhiites.”

“Time and again, we have organised many activities related to culture and traditions of Braj in the City. But it is for the first time that we are celebrating a day in the name of Braj,” he added. Photographs on life, culture, traditions, flora and fauna, landmarks, sports, temples, lifestyle etc of Brajbhoomi were also exhibited at the India International Centre (IIC), where the event was organised.

Part of the celebration also focused on the art of Braj with artists displaying and selling their artworks. Ram Soni, a Sanjhi artist is one of them. He cut words and images with a pair of specially designed scissors using handmade paper. Sanjhi is a stencil-style paper cutting art derived from religious ceremonials associated with the tradition of Radha and Krishna. Its origin lies in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.

“This art developed in Mathura and being a popular art, is practiced even today. The cut designs can be simple or very intricate. It usually takes upto a day to create one design and the cost beginning from Rs 50 can go upto lakhs,”shares Ram, who has been practicing this art for the last 27 years.