Waste Material Craft - Dandiyas


‘Dandiya Raas’
Dandiyas are the traditional dancing sticks mainly used in the traditional folk dance form of ‘Dandiya Raas’ or ‘Raas Garba’ or it is even known to be called as only ‘Garba’ or ‘Raas’. This Garba dance form is basically from the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India. The Garba is a dance form played by making circles where both men and women take part. Men and women, boys and girls or sometimes even the children participate in this enthusiastic Dandiya dance, they make a pair for themselves and hit the dandiya sticks with their partners and dance to the tune of the music. The songs are generally played in Gujarati because only this language has the best of all the Garba songs.

‘Garba’ dance is normally performed during the festivals of ‘Navratri’ or ‘Dussehra’ for 9 days continuously. People in Gujarat are usually awake even after the midnights to perform the dance in groups and also enjoy the festive mood. This dance is even performed in other parts of the country and also it is widely famous all over the world. It is even performed in the schools for the Annual Day function or for any kind of such celebration.

‘Dandiya Sticks’
The Dandiya sticks are normally made up of woods, so while playing the Dandiya dance it is very necessary to be careful so that you don’t get hurt from your partner. Therefore the adults can manage their part while playing the Garba Raas, however the children may have a little issue playing with the wooden sticks and of course parents usually keep a close watch when their little ones are playing in the group so that they don’t get hit by someone or even they don’t hit someone. There are Dandiya sticks made of foam wax materials which are child safe.

Apart from the ready-made Dandiyas that we get from the market, how about taking just a few moments to create your own dandiya sticks for the ‘Raas Garba’ at your home. Yes, you can make your own dandiya sticks and for that, you would require just a few rolls of newspapers lying in some corners of your home. These dandiya sticks are actually eco-friendly and have no chemical colors used for its decoration, as it is home- made and very safe for the toddlers.

‘Waste-Material Craft’
Dandiya sticks made with newspaper or dandiya sticks paper craft is a creative activity for all the school going children, especially the preschoolers. In school we teach the children about the importance of folk dances and the use of dandiya sticks, children feel interesting while they learn about the facts and also enjoy the creative work, and they feel very excited as and when they complete creating their art and perform with their own dandiya sticks. So this is a fun loving activity and it also encourages the children to create their own ideas. This is an easy way to make the dandiya sticks at home for you and your kids.

So the whole idea of making these paper dandiya sticks and using them is, they are kid-friendly, eco-friendly, reusable, recyclable, soft sticks, hand-made, waste material artwork, decorative dandiya sticks where children can learn, enhance their creative and imaginative skills. Hence instead making a whole lot of junk of papers at the corners of your home, transform them into something creative and fun activity for the child.

Materials Required:
1.     Newspapers – 12-15 (old ones)
2.     Golden marble paper- 2 (you can also select your own colors)
3.     Glue
4.     Cello tape
5.     Decorative items (lace, satin ribbon, latkan, dori,sequins etc)

Procedure:
  1. Set 7 sheets of newspapers (cut into a 30cms square), layered one above the other.
  2. Apply glue towards the side where you start rolling them. Roll them tightly to form a stick.
  3. Bring each of the ends neatly and stick them along with cello tapes on the whole body of the stick.
  4. Apply glue on the stick’s body and cover the outer layer with a golden marble paper. (can use different colored paper as well)
  5. Use any color tape or decorative laces to wrap your dandiya sticks. Bring the lace around the body of the stick by applying glue on it.
  6. If you wish to make the dandiya sticks more decorative, then wrap latkan at the ends of the stick or wrap a satin ribbon. Make sure to put the cello tape on top of it to keep the latkan in its position.(You can decorate the Dandiya sticks with some more decorative items of your choice).
And there you go, now you are ready to groove on the dance floor with your own Dandiya sticks. Enjoy the Garba Dance!! Navratri is around the corner, so get ready to hit the dance floor with the dandiya sticks dancing to the tunes in the Raas Garba. Go on and dance the night away in this festival.


Paromita Pramanick ©2017. All Rights Reserved.

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