This is a popular one-man dance performed during Dussehra and Muharram festivals. An able bodied man with a narrow strip of cloth around the waist, and the whole body painted with stripes like a tiger and elaborate make-up, sporting a long tail, dances vigorously in tiger like strides and wild jumps. A Dappu or Mridangam provides the rhythm. In some parts of Andhra a second man behind the dancer carries the artificial but heavy tail tied to the back of the dancer. The dancer lifts a brass pot full of water with his teeth depicting an unruly tiger's devouring nature and strength.
Music & Dance