Bhangra breaks out: An Indian folk dance takes the nation

An executive in a charcoal suit bounces to the clangy ring of a two-sided Indian dohl drum. In a sea of clubgoers, where flailing limbs smack into neighboring dancers, he waves a red kerchief high in the air, shrugging his shoulders and grinning widely.

“Everybody go stomp. Back. Stomp. Back!” instructor Brenden Varma shouts from the stage, his commands quickening with the speeding drum.

It is the eighth anniversary of Basement Bhangra, a monthly celebration at the Manhattan nightclub Sounds of Brazil, known as SOBs. Started by the DJ Rhekha Malhotra, who is known for mixing hip-hop tracks with South Asian beats, the event has popularized the lively Punjabi folk music and dance known as bhangra in New York and beyond.

“It’s kind of impossible not to smile while doing that dance,” said Katherine Withers, 31, who jumped on the stage to dance in the competition for a free T-shirt at the end of the group lesson. “It’s just so much fun!”

Bhangra is infiltrating American pop culture and attracting an increasingly diverse set of devotees. Artists like Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey in her latest album have incorporated the bhangra beats into their work. The music originated in the Punjab region of northern India and eastern Pakistan at least 600 years ago and was performed by entire communities during the harvest season. The bhangra is similarly accessible to groups of partygoers today.

“The moves aren’t complicated,” said Withers. “You just need a lot of energy.”

Its popularity has moved beyond the nightclub scene to classes, competitions, even workout videos. And increasingly, non-Indians are drawn into the mix, making Indian traditions more and more familiar to Americans, say bhangra followers.

With only about 2 million Indians in the United States, the community makes up less than 1 percent of the population. “The numbers are small,” said Rhekha, who uses her first name professionally, “but the presence is strong.”

Dancing the bhangra involves jumping, swinging the arms in short rapid circular motions and thrusting them into the air, all the while bouncing at the knees and shrugging the shoulders--as if doing lightweight shoulder presses.

Some regulars at SOBs have grown up with bhangra. Nisha Gulati, 23, of West Windsor, N.J., trekked to the party with a group of her South Asian girlfriends. Gulati’s immaculate make-up started to run from the sweat pouring down her face. “My parents are from Punjab,” she said, “so I just go crazy when I’m on the floor.”

While New York is considered the “most bhangra-friendly city,” attracting droves of non-Indians, regular nightclub parties have also cropped up in other parts of the country.

In Seattle, the Baltic Room and the Mirabeau Room now both feature a bhangra night, often playing Bollywood pop in addition to Punjabi folk jams. “This has been going on for well over a year now and doesn't seem like it’s going to stop,” said Kamal Sandu, the president of the Indian Student Association at the University of Washington.

Beyond the club scene, bhangra dance-offs are also on the rise. Sandu’s organization started the Bhangra Bash competition two years ago to celebrate the dance and its growing popularity.

In Washington, D.C., the Bhangra Blowout has become one of the largest events of its kind. The competition, started by George Washington University students 11 years ago, attracted teams from nine colleges this year to the capital’s giant DAR Constitution Hall. New York University won this year’s battle, which took place at the end of March.

Some purists see the competitions as a distraction from the traditional Punjabi dance. “I think it’s going in a direction that is not as connected to the music,” said Rhekha. In an effort to outdo each other each year, the teams add the acrobatic feats seen in cheerleading competitions. But they have not diminished bhangra’s popularity.

Even workout videos are picking up on the trend. Sarina Jain, who calls herself the “Indian Jane Fonda,” started the Masala Bhangra Workout in athletic clubs in New York. Her sister Sheila leads the same routine in the San Francisco area, and Jain’s Masala Bhangra videos and DVDs are sold online.

“Basically, anyone who enjoys the music is drawn to it--the drum beats are infectious,” said Sheila Jain. “At my UC Berkeley class, I get close to 100 people, mostly students. I think people like the moves because they are different, and allow room for expression.”

Withers also thinks bhangra is here to stay. “It’s kind of the ultimate dance for the average white person,” she said. “It allows you to channel that in a positive way.”

E-mail: hlw2105@columbia.edu