New Delhi: Traditional Kashmiri "Rouf" songs
by an all girl chorus from Jammu and Kashmir kept President
Pratibha Patil spellbound and she joined their dance doing
some impromptu steps at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The President was playing host at the sprawling central
lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to all the participants
involved with various tableaux at the main Republic Day
parade at the Rajpath here on Thursday.
The artists who had performed for the tableaux of various
states were performing before the President when she
immediately got up and stood alongside the girls from J and K
singing a Kashmiri 'Rouf' number "Ta Shok Chu Chaine, Maa
shok maine..." (a love song) and did a few steps.
Patil also made her brother's grandchildren dance to the
liting tunes of the song.
The 'Rouf' is a traditional form of Kashmiri dance
usually performed by girls during certain occasions like Eid
and weddings.
Girls position themselves in a row and then move one step
forward and then back in swaying motion while rendering the
song.
Participants of the rouf -- Shilpa and Nisha -- said the
President complimented the dancers. "It was like a dream come
true," Shilpa said.
A Rajasthan "Ghumar" dance and a tribal dance of
Jharkhand also featured at the event.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 27, 2012, 17:19