Pai Danda is a famous folk dance of
Uttar Pradesh. It is themed around the childhood pranks and frolics of
Lord Krishna. It depicts the mock fights that the lord had with the cowherd boys, with whom he spent his early years.
The dancers in Pai Danda hold sticks measuring one and half feet long. They engage in mock battles in pairs, periodically changing positions and angles. Before the actual performance begins, a symbolic prayer and some verses are sung. The dance starts along the song. Gradually the dancers pickup the pace, with the steps gathering momentum. The singers sing for a while in the beginning, but with the increase in the speed of the dance, the song gradually diminishes in the background. The overall performance is given accompaniment by the beats of folk drums like the Dholak and Nagara.
