As you enter the Durga Puja pandal in the evening, the sound of dhak, the smell of incense sticks, and fragrant smoke fill your surroundings. Durga Puja is incomplete without all of these things, but one thing that definitely sums up the essence of this festival is the iconic Dhunuchi Naach (dance).
Dhunuchi Naach is a dance performed on the evening of Durga Aarti. Dancers in colorful dresses balance clay bowls filled with coconut husk and burn charcoal and incense powder with their hands and mouths. The sight of dancers dancing to the beat of Dhak.
What is Dhnuchi Naach?
Dhanuch Naach is a devotional dance performed during Durga Puja and is a Bengali tradition. This means balancing a dunuchi (bowl) filled with coconut husk, charcoal, incense, and camphor powder, often called a dhuno.
This dance, performed to give thanks to the goddess, used to be performed only by men, but now women are also actively participating. This dance has become so popular that many states now hold competitions to select the best Dhunuchi Naach artist, and people enthusiastically participate in the dance.
On the eighth day of Navratri, or Durga Pujo, Ashtami, the Dhunuchi dance begins, and even on the last day, the idol is taken out for immersion, and people dance with Dhunuchi.
The next time you visit Kolkata or other parts of Bengal during Durga Puja, why not watch people perform this dance and feel the energy the festival generates?