tipni

Strong and silent…………….

Patiently standing in a line, waiting their turn.

To me they excluded power and dominance, I was mesmerized by them.

All females, various ages lead by a tattooed matriarch.

The music was too loud, so all she did was to shake her head, conveying her irritation.

The volume decreased immediately and she further checked it by stomping her wooded prop on the floor.

Lead by the matriarch, they came on the floor, the dance started and

I was transported…………..

Simple skirts, wooden props and creased faces which had seen the harshness of life.

Skirts twirled and in rhythm they stomped and turned. A young girl missed a beat and got an icy glance from her senior colleague.

But the over all feeling was of raw feminine power, let loose for all to see- and all did…………..

These ladies from Gujarat had performed TIPNI, a dance form which I’l always associate with ‘shakti’ or the feminine.