SAILA DANCE... #24 Sketchbook project.

Saila is the most prominent of the folk dances of Chhattisgarh.
By performing this dance Youth exhibit their enthusiasm and spirit. Earlier, this folk dance is performed during the post-harvest season.

It is a stick dance which is famous among the people of Sarguja, Chhindwara and Baitul districts.
There are numerous formations for this dance. Usually, the dancers form a circle, where each one stands on one leg and takes help from the person standing in front. Occasionally, they pair off and go in single or double lines or climb on the back of others.
The refrain of the Saila songs are generally monotonous but the climax is usually progressive and vulgar.

Saila in its simplest kind is performed as the Dussehra dance that’s invariably performed by the Baigas before the festival of Diwali. Most of the post-harvest folk dances like Saila reach their climax towards the culmination of festivities of Diwali. Such dances of the Ahirs and Rawats of Bilaspur and Raipur districts of the state have a significant appeal.