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Purulia Chhou

Tradition, Transformation, and Contemporary Trends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2025

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Abstract

Purulia, a district in the southwestern part of West Bengal, is popular for the renowned chhou dance. Despite the prevalent notion that chhou is exclusively a war dance, it dynamically incorporates contemporary social and political issues, and has undergone significant changes such as new musical instruments and technologies, lighting, costume transformations, and female performers.

Type
Article
Information
TDR , Volume 69 , Issue 1 , March 2025 , pp. 132 - 152
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press for Tisch School of the Arts/NYU

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References

References

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TDReading

Arden, John. 1971. “The Chhau Dancers of Purulia.” Theatre in Asia, TDR 15, 2 (T50):64–75. www.jstor.org/stable/1144621?origin=JSTOR CrossRefGoogle Scholar