Karwar: After being suspended for a few years due to COVID – 19 and other reasons, the harvest dance of Gunagi Samaja in the Taluk has resumed this year with great enthusiasm.
Performed during the Holi festival, this harvest dance of the Gunagi Community has a history of several decades. To preserve this age-old tradition for the next generation, a group of harvest dance troupes from Chendiya Village in the Taluk are once again travelling around with kolata, turai and musical instruments.
The harvest dance, which begins 9 days before the festival of Holi, culminates by playing in one’s own village on the full moon day of Holi.
On the opening day, MLA Rupali Naik flagged off harvest dance troupe. In Chendiya, Arga, Kodara and Binaga villages of the Taluk, the Gunagi Samaja went from door-to-door and performed the harvest dance. The team also arrived in Karwar City and performed at Gurumatha here.
Speaking on the occasion, the dancers said, “We will also go to the houses of the Gunagi Community and other community perform the harvest dance,” they said.
The harvest begins in the presence of the community’s kulavis, kolakaras and other prominent people of the society and all the villagers cooperate for the same.
The artistes who set out 9 days before Holi festival do not wear slippers on their feet till it is over. In the meantime, they don’t even go to their homes or take a bath. On the last day, they perform pooja, bathe in the sea and return to their homes.
Another artiste said that when they went to their village, villagers arranged for food and night shelter there. “All in all, practices such as the harvest dance play an important role in preserving and nurturing the traditions that our forefathers have been practising since time immemorial for the protection of religion and culture as well as in terms of entertainment. People feel that the entertainment of our old traditions is effective for minds that are always busy with mobile, TV, video games and help them imbibe positive thoughts,” he added.
