Bhangra is the traditional Indian dance that makes everyone intoxicated with joy

India has many cultural dance styles that date back thousands of years, and Bhangra is one of them. Bhangra is a traditional folk dance originating from Punjab that celebrates the harvest. The word “Bhangra” literally translates to “intoxicated with joy.” The dance is performed to capture the joy felt at the end of the harvest. Today, we use that joy as an inspiration for all the performances we take part in.

You can connect back to your roots

Cornell Mundey at Pao Bhangra XIII

Through Bhangra, we are given the opportunity to connect back to our roots. Unlike other traditional dance styles such as Bharatanatyam and Kathak, Bhangra allows us to connect with our traditional roots through a modern and evolving dance style. It is one of the dance styles that still has mass appeal to our generation.

It’s a stress-reliever

Because of the Indian Diaspora, Bhangra has become a very popular collegiate activity. During the school year we practice three times a week, for roughly eight hours total.

In college, schoolwork often gets stressful and overwhelming. However, when we do Bhangra, we forget the test we have tomorrow or the three problem sets we have due that week. We get a couple of hours to experience the happy, uplifting, joyous dance of Bhangra, enjoy ourselves, and do something we love.

Bhangra is a stress-reliever. Practice is our time to unwind, enjoy, and forget about school. However, no matter how much we love Bhangra, we are still students first. With that in mind, everyone is very understanding when we a have a hard test coming up or a difficult week. We are all in the same boat, so when we feel overwhelmed with schoolwork, we don’t have to feel any added stress or pressure to give time to Bhangra. This understanding environment allows us to balance schoolwork and Bhangra easily.

During the school year, being far from home, it’s easy to start feeling homesick. But with Bhangra, those feelings are short lived because our team is such a family-like unit.

We compete across America

Bhangra teams from all over North America compete at various competitions throughout the year. Cornell Bhangra travels to about two or three competitions every semester. Although stressful, competitions are fun, rewarding, and an unforgettable experience. Dancing in front of your friends and family who travelled to watch you perform and having a huge audience cheering you on is an experience words cannot describe. Competitions are a time where you not only get to bond with your team, but also get to form bonds with the members of other teams from across the nation. Whether we win or lose, we go to have fun, enjoy ourselves, and show the world what we have been working so hard on. There is no feeling better than getting of stage knowing you gave it your all.

Aside from competitions, our team hosts Pao Bhangra. Pao Bhangra is the largest Bhangra exhibition in North America and the largest student-run show on Cornell University’s campus. Pao Bhangra features renowned teams from all over the continent to share their love and passion for Bhangra with the Cornell community. Last year, we had over 2,700 people attend. This year, Pao Bhangra will take place for the fifteenth year on April 16, 2016.

We bridge the gap between cultures

Bhangra brings people of all races and cultures together through a common interest and helps spread awareness that we are all not really that different from each other. Over the years, Bhangra has evolved to involve modern elements (choreography and music) to bridge the gap between the Indian and American community. Our team aims to foster a cordial environment between races on campus.

We have always been a very diverse team in the circuit and we hope to continue this tendency. We had a wonderful opportunity on America’s Got Talent to spread our culture nationally which is exactly what our team strives to do: spread South Asian culture with America.