A ghungroo ( hi, घुँघरू, ur, ), also known as ghunghroo or ghunghru or ghungur or ghungura (Assamese, Bengali and Odia) or Chilanka or Salangai or Gejje (in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada respectively), is one of many small metallic bells strung together to form ghungroos, a musical

anklet An anklet, also called ''ankle chain'', ''ankle bracelet'' or ''ankle string'', is an ornament worn around the ankle. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for at least over 8,000 years by girls and women in Indus Valley, ...

tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers. The sounds produced by ghungroos vary greatly in pitch depending on their metallic composition and size. Ghungroos serve to accentuate the rhythmic aspects of the dance and allow complex footwork to be heard by the audience. They are worn immediately above the ankle, resting on the lateral malleolus and medial malleolus. A string of ghungroos can range from 50 to greater than 200 bells knotted together. Novice children dancers may start with 50 and slowly add more as they grow older and advance in their technical ability. Ghungroos are worn in traditional performances of classical Indian dance forms such as

Bharatnatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

Mohiniyattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

Lavani Lavani () is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavan ...

, and

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. The Nepalese may choose different chaps, according to the lyrics of the song, choosing ones with smaller or larger arrangements of bells. The bells are called Ghunguru (घुँघुरा).

Ghunghroo vadan

''Ghunghroo vadan'' is a music style evolved by V. Anuradha Singh, an Indian classical kathak exponent. She developed bells as a main musical instrument and performs in many pure music festivals where dance is not allowed. ''Ghunghroo vadan'' focuses solely on foot movement as percussive art (100 minutes, non-stop in one place).

References

{{Indian musical instruments Dance equipment Hindu temple dance Indian musical instruments Bells of Nepal

Ghunghroo vadan

See also

References