The Marathas: The great fighters from central and coastal India!

Culture, traditions, heritage

The Marathas: The great fighters from central and coastal India!

Marathas believe in the fact that the best fighters never get angry! Even if they do get then they ill express it very differently and the form trust me would be artistic!

‘To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is. ― Bruce Lee’

-‘This they have proved it time nnd again and the legacy started a long time back and there is no doubt that the single most important power to emerge in the long twilight of the Mughal dynasty was the Maratha confederacy in India’!

-‘This is not a story from history but definitely is of a heritage, a martial arts form which the peasant and the warrior group that rose to prominence during the rule in that region of the sultans of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar. The most important Maratha warrior clan, the Bhonsles’!

-‘The history is very big starting with Shivaji and the list of fighters even greater beginning with the stealth fighter Tanaji but it’s not all about fighting but this story is about the art of fighting and today we would be talking about the beautiful martial art routine from Maharashtra known as Lezium. The routine is exotic, exquisite in presentation and the maneuvers have that stunning hypnotic effect and the impact they leave on one’s mind is ever lasting’!

-‘The young age is of the romantics and the men from the Indian Army are eternal romantics, fighters to the core and professionals to the hilt but in between the little time they get, they also get emotional. This girl Sangeeta I met in Belgaum and it was she who told me once that never respond to an angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it…Don’t allow his anger to become your anger! At that time I did ask her as to why are you telling me so? It was much later in life I realized that she was spot on because I tended to lose my temper at small matters of fact and perhaps that day I had! The friendship between us continues till date! She was a typical Maharashtrian girl with pleasant mannerisms and artistic to the core and a wonderful lavni dancer, another great art form from the land of Shivaji. But what she told me Lezium just last night before I started writing on this piece I will come to that at the end of the script!

-‘The one in focus today id Lezim which is more of a vigorous physical exercise and drill than a dance; the formations can be in two’s, fours and even in a circle. Historically, there were a few variations of the lezim practiced in the villages of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat, however these are seldom used today. One variation used a 2.5 feet long bamboo pole (Reedh) with an iron chain (Dhanusyasarakhi). This was used more as a form of exercise than dance, as the lezim was heavy. Such lezims were invariably hand made.’

-‘Another variation of the lezim (called Koyande) used a wooden pole, 15 to 18 inches long, with both ends punctured and an iron linked chain weighing about 1 kg running through its scale iron chain link chain. They also contained a 6 inches long hand chain (salaisakhali), through which the four fingers fit snugly. The rural form of the dance usually consists of lezim dancers in two rows, repeating a sequence of steps, changing the steps every few beats. Thus, a 5-minute lezim performance can consist of 25 different steps danced in unison.

-‘Other variations include dancing the lezim in four rows, in a single circle formation (Nartakasamuhanni), or in concentric circles formations (samuhanrtyanta nartakam) (similar to the garba dance), with each dancer twirling and dancers of opposite rows often playing lezim with each other. Changes in steps are “announced” by a ring leader using a whistle.’

By: M S Nazki

Rajouri

‘A Maratha warrior learns of the spiritual realm by dwelling on the cutting edge of the sword, standing at the edge of the fire pit, venturing right up to the edge of starvation if necessary. Vibrant and intense living is the warrior’s form of worship and that is how Shivaji did it and that is how e led the great Marathas in the battles he fought and that he is how he spread the spirit of being a Maratha in the young blood which till day prevails and soars!’

I. Some facts about the routine:

*Lezium is a martial folk dance form, from the state of Maharashtra which originated from 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, Purulia and Mayurbhanj, the first two using masks! During the days of Chatrapati Shivaji, Lezim was actually a sport that people played.

* Sometimes also spelt as Lazium, Lezium, Lezim dancers carry a small musical instrument with jingling cymbals called the Lezim or lezium, after which the dance form is named. There are at least 20 dancers in lezim. This dance is named after a wooden idiophone to which thin metal discs are fitted which produce a jingling sound and the dancers use this while classical dancing. Dholki, a drum instrument, is used as the main percussion music.

* It is performed dressed in colourful costumes.] The dance is frequently used as a fitness drill by schools in Maharashtra, militias and other institutions because it involves many calisthenic moves and can be quite strenuous.

*Lezim is especially popular in rural Maharashtra, often played during the Ganesh festival in village Jatras (religious processions) and in schools as part of the fitness regime.

* An international audience was presented at the ninth Asian Games (1982, Delhi) where 400 of the best Maharashtrian lezim players gave a demonstration .

*It is performed dressed in colourful costumes. The dance is frequently used as a fitness drill by schools in Maharashtra, militias and other institutions because it involves many calisthenic moves and can be quite strenuous.

*Historically, there were a few variations of the lezim practiced in the villages of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat, however these are seldom used today. The rural form of the dance usually consists of lezim dancers in two rows, repeating a sequence of steps, changing the steps every few beats. Thus, a 5-minute lezim performance can consist of 25 different steps danced in unison.

* In Lezim dance, there are various types of movements like stepping, hopping, squatting and bending. Every movement of the dance is executed in perfect time with the proper strikes which are swung in four or eight counts. This provides a rhythmic accompaniment to the dance. The Lezim dances and their specific gestures, movements have been adapted by the physical culturists in their exercises in the drive for a beautiful body.

II. Lezim in Indian Army:

‘When you react, you let others control you. When you respond, you are in control. The men in the Indian army never react and when they respond it is a thunderstorm unleashed. That is what fighting and performing is all about’!

*Indian army regiments with Maratha class composition are keeping the traditional lezium dance alive by performing it in all the main events of the year and keeping the cultural integrity intact.

* The lezium performed by the Marathas is done with a great amount of zeal and enthusiasm .By performing the lezium dance with martial music, enthusiasm is developed amongst the younger generation and also the troops deployed at forward posts and acts as a morale booster for them.

*Watching the synchronized steps and coordinated movement of the lezim dancers , the audience is sure to skip their heartbeat!

I will get back to the beautiful friend of mine then and now a lady of substance from Belgaum, Sangeeta who always has a pearl or two of wisdom to share with me every time we talk and this is what she was sharing with me before I decided to write this piece, truth is universal. Perception of truth varies. I again asked in what pretext are you saying so? The response was typical of the lady, ‘I thought that you were to write on Lezim, the truth is that it the whole routine is an art and the perception is that it’s just a dance and the variation is that it is all about moves and maneuvers in which if you practice all the moves in five times in a day, it is of no use whatsoever. But practice one move every day, and it’ll be your lifetime protector. So send to the trash bin all your arrogance before training. A Lezim martial artist has to be gentle and caring! I was left awe struck by the great words from a lovely mouthpiece!