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Phari Divas 2023: Celebrating Himachal Pradesh’s Culture

In terms of its significance, the entire concept takes shape with the sole purpose of creating a highly engaging atmosphere, one that is filled with the pace of lively music. You may never see people standing idle at these events because the rhythm is bound to get you. The ‘Thoda’ sport, a remnant of martial culture, is popular in the districts of Shimla, Sirmaur, and Solan. Essentially, “thoda” is the art of archery, deriving its name from the circular wooden ball used instead of a deadly arrowhead.

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  • However, nowadays, Thoda is conducted in a marked court in order to have a certain amount of discipline in the game.
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  • This game has two groups and the main target is the opponent’s legs below knees.
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  • Himachal Pradesh enthusiastically celebrated ‘Pahari Divas’ on November 1 to promote and conserve the state’s traditional art and culture.
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  • ‘Thoda’ is a unique martial art form from Himachal Pradesh, blending archery, dance, and music.
  • While the rules and the formations sound complicated, they will seem easy once you start following it or watching them.
  • The cultural significance that a sport like Thoda holds is second to none and it is something that you ought to witness.

Another version states that the name comes from thud, meaning lower limbs, which are targeted during the fight. As a blend of culture, sports and martial arts, Thoda hardly lacks anything and its significance can also be felt when you witness its effects on people. Thoda, which is played during the festival day of Baisakhi, sees the entire community pray to Durga and Goddess Mashoo. A highlight of the celebration was the traditional folk sport known as ‘Thoda,’ a unique form of Indian archery with elements of dance and music. ‘Thoda’ is often performed during local festivals, and it may symbolically represent the war depicted in the Mahabharata.

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Two teams take part in the folk archery game, known as a pasha and saatha. The participants believe that they are the descendants of Pandavas and the Kauravas. The two groups, called Saathi and Pashi, consist of nearly 500 people each and most of them act as cheerleaders for the players who are bound to get into action. Once the event is set to take place, both groups reach the village and dance to songs that are related to warfare. Himachal Pradesh enthusiastically celebrated ‘Pahari Divas’ on November 1 to promote and conserve the state’s traditional art and culture.

The Significance Behind Thoda

The two sides that take part are named as Saathi and Pashi since they are believed to be descendants of Pandavas and Kauravas. In addition to the instruments used for combat, the art form also involves music in which traditional instruments such as the dhol, nagara, shehnai and narsingh are used. The martial art form is popular today in the districts of get the facts Shimla, Sirmaur and Solan in Himachal Pradesh and is usually performed on the day of Baisakhi.

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‘Thoda’ a sport dance belongs to which of the following states?

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When the villagers would come to draw water in the morning, they would see the leaves and take it as a warning sign. Himachal Pradesh celebrated ‘Pahari Divas’ with enthusiasm on November 1, aiming to promote and preserve the traditional art and culture of the region. The three-day festival concluded on Pahari Divas, a day dedicated to commemorating and preserving Himachal’s hill culture. The traditional martial art form, which has been around for ages, is widely followed in Himachal Pradesh and some consider it to be sacred to their culture. Thoda is a sport that requires you to excel in archery because as weapons, you will be using bows and arrows. The game, which is heavily followed in Himachal Pradesh, brings in two groups wherein the main target for all is to hit the opponent’s legs, right below the knees.

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Thoda: Himachals Style of Martial Arts

We also welcome feedback and all articles include a bibliography (see below). In an attempt to keep our content accurate and representative of evolving scholarship, we invite you to give feedback on any information in this article. Shamsheer Singh, a 57-year-old Thoda dancer, has introduced his two sons to this dance form and is pleased that the younger generation is following the tradition. Our website is currently undergoing maintenance and re-design, due to which we have had to take down some of our bibliographies. While these will be re-published shortly, you can request references for specific articles by writing to hellomapacademy@map-india.org. The above question is part of 40000+ General Studies MCQ Series Course on GKToday Android app.

In fact the whole get the facts concept of the sport is to create a highly energetic atmosphere with non-stop leg kicking on one-hand and constant attempts to hit the target on the other. The whole competition is conducted to the lively, virile rhythm of war dance, with one side furiously sidestepping, legs kicking in all directions, and other side doing its best to place an arrow on the target. If a defender is hit on the wrong part of the body, negative points are awarded. At present, the game is played in a marked court, which ensures that a certain degree of discipline. In the olden days, Thoda was organized in a very exciting manner.

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  • Following this, they would then hide in the bushes and when the villagers arrive to remove water from the well, they would challenge them for a game of Thoda.
  • |}

  • The two groups are called Saathi and Pashi, who are believed to be descendants of the Pandavas.
  • The traditional martial art form, which has been around for ages, is widely followed in Himachal Pradesh and some consider it to be sacred to their culture.
  • ‘Pahari Divas’ was celebrated with grandeur and enthusiasm throughout the hill state of north India.
  • {

  • A highlight of the celebration was the traditional folk sport known as ‘Thoda,’ a unique form of Indian archery with elements of dance and music.
  • |}{

  • Shamsheer Singh, a 57-year-old Thoda dancer, has introduced his two sons to this dance form and is pleased that the younger generation is following the tradition.
  • |}

The whole concept of Thoda martial art is to create a highly energetic atmosphere by filling the air with pacing music and using lively actions by the players. Both of the teams stand at least 10 meters apart from each other and prepare to attack. The only way of defence is lightning movements and agility, that is conducted with lively music. When both of the groups reach the village ground, they dance to the rhythmic melody of warfare on either side of the court and wave their swords high up to mock each other. The Pashi group forms a chakravyuh(people circled) and blocks the players from the Saathi team. The Saathi team’s defenders try to invade through the chakravyuh and get in the middle of the ground.

The only form of defence that comes to a player’s rescue is lightning movements that are mostly conducted with the help of live music. While the rules and the formations sound complicated, they will seem easy once you start following it or watching them. In response to that, the defenders from the Saathi team will look to invite through the circle and get into the middle of the ground.

The Significance Behind Thoda

Some villagers would go to another village, dump tree leaves in their village well before dawn. Following this, they would then hide in the bushes and when the villagers arrive to remove water from the well, they would challenge them for a game of Thoda. However, nowadays, Thoda is conducted in a marked court in order to have a certain amount of discipline in the game. Thoda is hugely popular in Theog Division (Shimla District), Narkanda block and many other places. The Pashi group forms a `chakravyuh`, and blocks the Saathi group, who in turn begin to penetrate their defences.

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Today’s Article

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It is the traditional or as we say Himachal style of Martial Arts that is certainly worth exploring. In Thoda, there are two groups of 500 people each, most of them act as cheerleaders for the players. The two groups are called Saathi and Pashi, who are believed to be descendants of the Pandavas.