A Date with Thai Traditional Dancers

Yesterday,I got an opportunity to attend Traditional Thai Dance performance at NCPA, Nariman Point.Dancers were from Rajbhatt University, Thailand.

Surprisingly, the whole dance sequences as well as background music scores were no different from our folk tradition, Their subtle moments mesmerised and regaled the audience . What is praiseworthy, Thai people have preserved its tradition and culture in the purest form.

The event  was organised by Royal Thai Trade Commission,Bombay, the objective was very business like, to get bigger pie from new breed of middle class Indian Tourists who have money and lust to visit a phoren land.

   First, little bit about the dance forms showcased at performance. Khon performed at NCPA, is the most stylised form of Thai dance. It is performed by dancers who mime the action while the story is being told/sung by a chorus in the background. Dancers wear elaborate costumes and masks to portray different characters. Khon characters include demons, monkeys, humans and celestial beings. The dance  requires agility and muscular exertion.

Most khon performances feature episodes from the Ramakien, the Thai version of Ramayana, our own  epic Ramayana. 

Lakhon is other dance form, it is less formal than Khon. Here 
the dancers do not wear masks. Beauty of Lakhon dance is its movements (especially the upper torso and hands) very very graceful, sensual, and fluid portraying different emotions. Dancers are usually female and perform as a group rather than representing individual characters.Lakhon plots feature a wider range of stories drawn from the Ramakien, the Jatakas (stories of previous lives of Siddharta Gautama Buddha) and other folk stories. 

Fawn Thai is a form of "folk-dance" accompanied by folk music of the Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. Fawn loosely fall within five classic styles:        

                    Fawn Leb (Fingernails Dance from Chiang Mai)

                Fawn Ngiew (scarf Dance from Chiang Rai)

                       Fawn Marn Gumm Ber (Butterfly Dance)            

                Fawn Marn Mong Kol (Happy Dance)

                Fawn Tian (Candle Dance)



Another dance form not shown at performance is 'Manohara'. It  is unique to Southern Part of Thailand.It is basically love story of Thai Heer Ranjha Prince Suthon and Kinnari Manohara (half woman half bird)While the prince was away at war, unscrupulous court advisors misled the king into believing that the sacrifice by fire of Manohra was the only means to prevent his imminent death.We will talk some other time about this dance form.

Royal Thai Trade Commission treated all guest with royal touch during performance, you may say that this is their smart marketing move, is it not  to be imitated by our 14-15 tourism boards of various states of India, who always blame that enough tourists do not visit their state.

In case of Thailand, visit any city or tourist destination, cab drivers, airport ground staff, shop keepers, hotel/restaurant support staff is extremely helpful and friendly.Hotel Room Tariff is also tourist friendly, for a reasonably comfortable room in a star hotel is as low as Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 with complementary breakfast, in stark contrast in Bombay or Delhi,  below ordinary standard room ranges from Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 with no complementary breakfast. The moment a shopkeeper senses that you are a tourist (either phoren or Indian) his rates will skyrocketed. Cabdriver will also try to extract fare of at least 7-8 trip from a single phoren tourist!

Of course, there is dark side of Thai tourism success story.  iIn fact most of the Western and Arab tourists visit Thailand for fulfilling all kind of sex fantasies, girl of any shape, size or age is available at sport bar, massage parlor or even right in your hotel room at through away price if you convert asking price in pound, dollar or dinar.Government has turned blind eye to this   whole business..