Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Male Folk dancers from Pratapgarh, a tribal village in the Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, often dress up as females and perform before political leaders get up on stage to deliver a speech, to entertain the audience amid heightened political tensions.
It is to be noted that neither do they promote any political party, nor raise slogans. However, they are majorly asked to perform to act as crowd pullers. Before the heavyweight leaders deliver their serious politically-charged speeches, the audience is made to ease in and settle down by these scintillating artistic performances.
Music is played to the beat of the dholaks, on which young men disguised as women, dance in unison. ETV Bharat met Narendra and Dharmendra, two folk dancers from Pratapgarh who perform on stage before the electoral speeches are delivered.
Both dance in Ghagra Cholis, amusing the tired villagers who become exhausted after farming the entire day. Narendra told ETV Bharat that he has been in this profession since the past five years. "I learned this folk dance at home and then began performing it in the village. My dance moves attract not only the men but also the women," he added.
Dharmendra said that he was fond of music from a very early age in life. "I kept at it and never gave up on music. Later, I started performing in the villages," he said.
When asked if villagers make fun of them when they dress up and perform as women, they said that nobody had ever teased them regarding the same. "We have always been respected as artistes. They respect our artform and do not tease us when we dress up as females and perform," they added.
Another thing to be noted is that none of these artists have ever sought remuneration for performing. Dharmendra said, 'We get rewards in forms other than money in cash. We do not perform solely for money but for the fun of it,"
Earlier, these artistes used to perform only on festivals such as Holi, Diwali, or marriages among other events. However, lately now, they are been making their presence felt even in the biggest festival of democracy, held once in five years, the Lok Sabha Election.
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