The Seraikella Chhau developed in Seraikela, the present day administrative headquarters of the Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, the Purulia Chau in Purulia district of West Bengal and the Mayurbhanj Chhau[5] in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. The most prominent difference among the three subgenres is regarding the use of masks. While, the Seraikela and Purulia subgenres of Chhau use masks, the Mayurbhanj Chhau uses none.[6][7] The Seraikella Chhau's technique and repertoire were developed by the erstwhile nobility of this region who were both its performers and choreographers. The Mayurbhanj Chhau is performed without masks and is technically similar to the Seraikella Chhau. The Purulia Chhau too uses masks and it exhibits the spontaneity of folk art. This is because unlike the Seraikella and Mayurbhanj Chhau, which enjoyed royal patronage, the Purulia Chhau was sustained and developed by the people themselves. Seraikella Chhau uses masks that employ elaborate headgear decorated with artificial pearls, beads and zari work. Masks in this form of the dance are of three main types representing human characters - both mundane and depicting characters from Hindu mythology, masks that represent animals and birds and objects thought of as having human faces and masks that represent ideas and seasons. This last category includes masks representing marumaya (mirage), basanta (spring season) and ratri (night). Purulia Chhau uses masks that are less elaborate and they represent characters from Hindu mythology. These masks are crafted by potters who make clay images of Hindu gods and goddesses and is primarily sourced from Chorda, a village in the Purulia district of West Bengal.[8] In 2010 the Chhau dance was inscribed in the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[9] Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhau_dance

• published: 18 Feb 2014
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