Chajja Dance, also called the peacock dance or 'Dandaras', is performed on the occasion of
Lohri festival in
Himachal Pradesh and
Jammu and Kashmir.
It is based on the popular belief that the peacock is ecstatic with the onset of the spring season. The dance features boys dancing to the beating of the drums along with 'Chajjas', a huge model of peacock elaborately decorated with colored paper and flowers, in a dancing procession along the street. Sweet tunes of 'shehnai', played along with the beating of drums, add to the pomp and merriment.
