DEHRADUN: President of the United States of America Donald Trump will get a taste of folk culture from Uttarakhand too during his two-day India visit starting from February 24.
A group from Uttarakhand has been invited to perform 'Ghasiyari' dance form before Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
Ghasiyari is a dance of the Jaunsar region of Tehri district in Uttarakhand.
Nathilal Nautiyal, under whose direction the 8-member group will be presenting the dance form said, "We are rehearsing every day to the verge of perfection. I hope the President likes our dance."
In times before technology and advancement when there was no other source of entertainment, women of the region performed the dance as they went about their daily work.
The dance form is performed on joyous occasions like marriage, in festivals like Holi, Diwali and others.
Dancers wearing the traditional ghagra and waist-coat, present the performance to the accompaniment of the drum, flute and the ranasingha – the huge S-shaped musical horn-like instrument.
The group which will perform before the US President has been performing in Republic Day parade for years.
The performance before the US leader will be ranging fir duration of 5-minutes on a Garhwali song titled 'Het Didi, Hey Bhuli, Hey Bwari, Ghaas Kaatan Jaula Palya Saari'.
Nautiyal's group has been performing for decades including Republic Day parade of years 1995, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2017 and 2018.
Apart from Uttarakhand, two other hill states- Himachal Pradesh and Manipur have also been selected to present their folk arts.
Trump will arrive in Ahmedabad where he will be a part of 22-kms roadshow before beginning his talks with the PM.