Description

Ghungroo

In Indian dancing so-called Ghungrus are worn, mostly around the ankles, in order to intensify acoustically the rhythmic movements of the feet. Ghungrus consist of a different number of little bells made from bronze or brass. As they hardly resonate, they represent precisely the rhythmic movements of the dancing feet. The number of bells per foot can vary from 6 to 200. These Ghungroos are not so much a nice looking accessory in combination with the dress, they are an important factor to increase the rhythmical percussion sound which is produced by the foot work. The more bells a pair of Ghungroos has the better the percussion sound will be. Also the quality of the bells is very important. The common professional Ghungroos which dancers use in Kathak should be at least 100 bells each feet. 2 x 50 bells are not enough to get the percussion result a Dancer wants, only for Children it will be OK. In Bharatnatyam we offer a professional pair of 100 bells each feet, this is enough for Bharatnatyam, but the bells should be of very good quality.

Ghungharu are the “tinklebells” or “jingle bells” which are used to adorn the feet of dancers. When tied to the feet, they are played by the act of dancing. They may also be played by hand. This instrument evolved from the payal which are traditional anklets worn by women in India.

The terms payal and ghungharu are nearly interchangeable; there is but a slight difference in the colour of the word. Whereas the term ghungharu evokes an image of the musical or dance performance, the term payal evokes the image of a mere adornment of the feet. The term payal shows up repeatedly in song and poetry in northern India where it is said to be an indication of a girl’s comings and goings, her dancing, and a general joyous mood of the wearer.