Foreigners lend music for revival of Indian fire-dance

Varanasi, Dec 21 (UNI) A musical instrument used by tribals in Africa to scare away animals was played by tourists from Italy and Israel to revive Banethi -- the traditional Indian fire dance -- here on the Ganga Ghat last evening.

Banethi dancers from Sri Channulal Vyayamshala were joined by a Dutch movie industry professional also specialising in Poi -- New Zealand's fire-dance -- in showcasing the fiery dance form not only for the revival of the dwindling art, but also to raise funds for street-children.

Serenading the dare-devil feats of the Banethi dancers were two foreign tourists -- Juan Franco (Italy) and Kezusta (Israel) -- learning Tabla in Varanasi, but here to play 'Jumbe' an instrument used by African tribals to scare away wild animals in the 'Dark Continent'.

''Generally, the Indian musical instrument Nagada is used to provide rhythm to the electrifying dance, but since foreign tourists are playing a vital part in resusticating this dwindling art form, we decided to use the Jumbe, which is a fun instrument for foreigners learning tabla in Varanasi. We have also planned to draft Desere Doo -- a a bamboo-based musical instrument played by Australian aboriginals to scare away wild animals, but the sore throat of the backpacker supposed to play the instrument spoilt our plans,'' Krishna Murari, the principal Banethi trainer said.

The Rajendra Prasad Ghat, was drenched in darkness de to a power outage, but the fiery display by the Banethi dancers -- Murari, Suraj, Dipak, Tillu, Shyam, Sanjay and Dutchman Hemmo -- illuminated the ghat crowded with foreign tourists.

The dancers, exhibiting perfect balance between mind and body, presented fiery acrobatics with bamboo sticks, swords and burning ropes. The dance performance, that lasted for an hour, reached the pinnacle of excitement when the dancers created a message of love through a fiery heart in unison with another to the applause of the gathering.

''It is a dance form for bravehearts especially warriors which makes it difficult but more elegant than other fire-dancer forms in the world,'' said Hemmo, a film location scout from Netherland, who presented an amalgam of Banethi and New Zealand's Poi to the gathering.

Reacting to the western admiration for the Indian dance form, Krishna Murari, whose family has been practising Banethi for the last three generations, said the form owes its genesis to Lord Hanuman, who burnt the golden Lanka of Ravana through this form.

''It has formed part and parcel of Hindu festival of Nagpanchami, Ramlilla and Dussehra, besides being practised during Moharram by Muslims and Guru Nanak Jayanti by Sikhs, but during the recent years this fiery art is on the wane,'' he maintained.

''It is the western tourists the city who are helping us revive the art. At least ten foreigners are learning the art at our Vyayamshala presently and participate in shows with our group,'' he added.

The western tourists associated with the group, concurring with Murari's standpoint, described the entire exercise as a fifty-fifty joint venture to save Banethi from losing out to modernity.

UNI ARS ATI VD KN1557