FOOD

The cuisine found in Jammu and Kashmir varies from place to place. Hindus belonging to Jammu region are mostly vegetarian. Following are some famous dishes of Kashmir:

• Wazwan is a multi-course (36) meal of Kashmir. It is generally prepared for marriages and special functions as it is associated with Kashmir’s culture and identity

.• Sheermal and baqarkhani also have special place in Kashmiri cuisine.

• Kahwa (The saffron tea) is known worldwide for its aroma and medicinal values. At raditional green tea flavoured with cardamom and almond is widely famous as kahwa andi s usually consumed during the winter season and on other occasions

.• An expensive spice, Saffron is grown locally and is used to flavour pulao (ricedish)and sweets

SOCIAL PRACTICES, RITUALS,

EVENTS JHIRI MELA

Jhiri Mela is an annual fair held in Jammu during the month of October –November, to repent for partaking the blood strained grains and for not coming forward to support Baba Jitto. The mela is a symbol of courage , honesty and compassion and proves to be strong rooted to add cultural value to the society

MILAD-UN-NABI (BARAH WAFAT)The festival is called Barah (12) wafat (death) as it signifies the 12 days of sickness that led to the Prophet Muhammad’s death. It holds special significance in places like Kashmir, where the relics of the Prophet are displayed in the Hazrat bal Shrine, which is situated in Srinagar NAVREH Kashmiri

New year TULIP FESTIVAL Tulip garden of Srinagar is the Asia’s largest Tulip garden. Tulip festival is one of the mostpopular flower festivals in India. A large variety of Tulips are displayed on this occasion.

EID-UL-FITR AND EID-UL-AZHA

The two are the most famous festivals of Muslims in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Urs is also held annually at the shrines of Sufi saints on their birth anniversaries.

CHILLAI KALAN

Chillai-Kalan is the 40-day period of harsh winter. Chillai-Kalan begins from December 21and ends on January 31, next year. Chillai-Kalan is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 2

PERFORMING ARTSBHAND PATHER

It is a traditional folk theatre style combination of play and dance in a satirical style where social traditions , evils are depicted and performed in various social and cultural functions.

The performers called Bhands have peculiar dress, improvising wit and humour in their acting, dancing and music Bhand Jashan is performed by a group of 10 to 15 artists in their traditional style accompanied by light music for the entertainment of people.

ROUF DANCE

It is one of the famous folk dance forms practiced in Jammu and Kashmir. It is performed as a welcoming dance for the spring season and also on various occasions like marriages, Eid etc. In this dance, two or four groups are formed consisting of 2 to 3 women wearing beautiful and colourful traditional dress (embroided Pheran).

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KUD DANCE

Kud Dance is mainly preformed in villages during nights around a bonfire during the harves tseason to pay obeisance to the Kul Devi- Devtas (local deities). It is a kind of ritual performed by the villagers. It is the only folk dance of Jammu and Kashmir that is performed in the honour of Kul DeviDevtas (local deities) as a thanksgiving ceremony for the people’s well being. The night of Kud dance was called as Jatra in Dogra culture

CHAJJA DANCE

Chajja Dance is a dance performed by the young boys during the daytime on the eve of the Festival of Lohri. The boys prepare ‘Chajjaa’ from bamboo and decorate it with coloured paper

HERAN DANCE

Heran Dance whose literal meaning is ‘Deer Dance’ is another popular dance performed by the artists on the night of Lohri festival. Unlike children, this dance is performed by adults

GAGAIL DANCE

Gagail is organised on the auspicious occasion of Nagpanchami or Janamasthmi in manyregions of Duggar. It is also called ‘Chowki Nach’ in some regions of Duggar

DHAKU DANCE

It is a famous dance form of Bhaderwah and adjoining regions. This dance is performed on the eve of marriage ceremonies and other joyous occasions

GOJRI DANCE

It is one of the famous dance forms in Jammu and Kashmir performed by the nomadic Gujjar tribe residing in the plains in winter and moving to the mountains in summer

DUMHAL DANCE

It is a dance performed in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Watal tribe. Only the men folk of the Watal are privileged to perform this dance, on specific occasions and at set locations. Generally, this dance is performed with wearing long, colourful robes and tall,conical caps, studded with beads and shells.

WANWUN

It is the classical form of music for Kashmiri Pandits. They sing it mostly on the religious and festive occasions

CHAKRI

It is most popular form of Kashmiri folk music. It has some resemblance with chakra of mountainous regions of Uttar Pradesh. Many fairy tales, love stories, religious stories are told through chakri. Normally Garaha, Sarangi, Rabab were the musical instruments used in the past. But now the harmonium too has made its way in its presentation.

SUFIANA KALAM

Sufiana Kalam is the classical music of Kashmir, which uses its own ragas (known as Muquam) and is accompanied by a hundred-stringed instrument called Santoor along with theKashmiri Saaz and the Sitar. In Hafiz Nagma a dancer is a female while her accompanists on various instruments are males. Hafiza moves her feet on musical notes.

LADI-SHAH

This is a sarcastic and humorous form of music in Jammu and Kashmir. It targets the political and social issues in a sarcastic tone. During the harvesting period of state, singers of Ladishahmove from one village to another singing about the local issues.

JAGARAN

This folk song and dance form of Jammu is based on the theme of marriage and is performed during the marriage ceremony. The whole night is spent in gossiping and dancing, hence the name Jagarna. This is performed exclusively by womenfolk; children and men are strictly prohibited from witnessing or participating.

SANTOOR

Santoor is the most significant musical instrument in the state. It is a hundred strings instrument which plays melodious tones. The famous Santoor players like Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Bhajan Sopori hail from this state. SQAYA martial art with the use of swords and shields