A group of budding artists on Thursday organised a performance of ‘Roff’ — the traditional folk dance of Kashmir — in a bid to revive the lost art. ‘Roff’ dance is the most famous traditional folk dance of Jammu and Kashmir. This dance is performed in springtime, especially on the occasion of Eid and Ramzan. The performances are done by women in colourful traditional attire.
It was primarily performed to celebrate the harvesting season, but, over the years, the dance form has lost its glory and is limited to cultural or government functions. However, in a bid to revive the dance form, a group of students organised a performance at the Srinagar’s famed Tagore Hall, enthralling the audience.
“Roff was performed in old times in every home on different occasions like Eid, Ramdhan, or marriage ceremonies. Those days it was performed live,” director, Mehak Dramatic Club — which organised the event — Farhat Siddiqe told PTI Video here. Supervisor, Mehak Dramatic Club, Manzoor Mir, said these programmes were important for the youth as they are very far from their identity and culture.
“In order to revive that identity, that culture, etc, this event is part of that process. Credit goes to the Ministry of Culture, GOI, which have launched different schemes for preservation and development of culture in Himalayas,” he said.
Noted Kashmiri filmmaker and president Theater Federation of Kashmir Mushatq Ali Khan said ‘Roff’ is known across the globe and the dance form is a sign of happiness and joy.
“We are impressed by the performance of these young girls who performed this Roff on stage. We are happy to see this and we wish the government should support them and more youths should come forward. In a place like Kashmir, holding such programmes are very much needed,” Khan said.
Sobia, a performer, expressed happiness over her participation in the programme. Another performer, Bisma, appealed to youth to participate in such events in large numbers to keep the culture alive.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
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