Koli Nritya

Since Maharastra(one of the states of India) is blessed with coastal areas, fish and fisherman play a very vital role, so Koli nritya is a very important folk dance of Maharastra. The name is derived from the 'Koli tribe'. In this dance form, men and women make two different lines facing each other where men hold an oar in their hands and women carry a basket on the heads. Men while dancing display the action of rowing the boat on which they do the action like throwing the net to catch the fish while women folk display the action of shorting the fishes at the time of collecting them. As they rely on the sea for their livelihood this dance act as a thanksgiving to God. Another variation of the Koli dance has the women jumping between sticks held by the men. The dance tends to vary in style depending on the region. Me Dolker, Aga Pori Sambhaal, Dol Doltai, Paru Go Paru, and Valav Re Nakva are some of the popular songs that dancers perform to. The songs which are used are full of hardships faced by them, to forget the sadness and hard work they go through, they sing and dance Koli nritya.