Jharkhand’s chhau dancers and artisans take a battle stance against COVID-19

News:In Jharkhand, Chhau Dancers are making traditional masks to fight against COVID-19 instead of celebrating chhau Dance.

Facts:

• Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. 
• Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella (Jharkhand), Purulia (West Bengal) and Mayurbhanj (Odisha), the first two using masks.
• The origin of the dance is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices.It is also intimately connected to regional festivals notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. 
• The dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk melodies played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai.
• In 2010,it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.