India is a treasure-chest of  various classical dance forms and the carefully preserved musical traditions.

Home Map of India India An Information Update States & Union Territories Cities & Other Tourist Places Tourist Circuits Hotels Adventure Wildlife Leisure Culture Culinary Delights Festivals Medicine Shopping Airlines Railways	India cherishes and practices the old dance forms which were painstakingly engraved centuries ago by master craftsmen on the numerous temples and monuments all over the land. They have been improvised and perfected and are still a pleasure to watch and hear. The country is home to Kathak, once performed in the courts of pleasure-loving Lucknawi nawabs, and Bharatnatyam, the beautiful dance form of the devdasis. Come, watch the great care taken to express love and its manifestations in the gestures of a Manipuri dancer. From Odissi to Kuchipudi to ballet and numerous folk dances, the Indian dance sequence weaves an intricate rhythm that is the philosophy of dance. In temples or in courts, from backyards to the great auditoria, each dance is elaborate, improvised, yet formal and beautiful, and is individually perfected by each dancer.
	The tabla, pakhawaj or mridangam, a major percussion instrument, is played to an intricate beat by the artist’s fingers. Other major instruments are the sitar and veena which are stringed instruments; the harmonium, a keyboard instrument, and the tanpura—a stringed instrument used as a drone. The shehnai and nadaswaram are wind instruments used at weddings and associated with welcome and joyous celebrations.

The excitement of the Bhangra from Punjab never ceases. The skirts of the women spinning to the Dandiya Raas flip-flap to the clack-clack of the sticks in their hands. Qawwali singers clap their hands in time to the beat of the song. And the milk-maids look beseechingly as Krishna and Radha dance the Raas Lila. The living arts of music and dance in India reflect the diverse cultures from which they have arisen.

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