Fill in the Blank: Kalbelia dance represents the movement of _____.

Correct — B. UNESCO's description of Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan says women in flowing black skirts dance and swirl, replicating the movements of a serpent.

The Kalbelias were once professional snake handlers. Their music keeps that past alive through the poongi, a woodwind traditionally played to capture snakes, and the khanjari percussion.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Camels — Camels are not the model. UNESCO describes the swirling movements as a serpent's, drawn from the Kalbelias' former work as snake handlers.
• (c)
  Birds — The movements are a serpent's, not a bird's. UNESCO's description of the dance names the serpent, and the community's identity rests on snake handling.
• (d)
  Horses — Horses belong to Kachchhi Ghodi, a folk dance from Rajasthan's Shekhawati region in which dancers wear dummy-horse costumes. Kalbelia is the serpent dance.

The Kalbelia are a Rajasthan community, also called Sapera, once known for catching snakes. Their dance turns that history into movement: the women dancers twirl and sway like a serpent.

In 2010 UNESCO inscribed "Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan" on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Key facts

• UNESCO inscribed Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
• Kalbelia dancers replicate the movements of a serpent.
• The poongi, a woodwind traditionally played to capture snakes, and the khanjari percussion accompany the dance.

Common traps

• Linking Rajasthan with camels and missing that Kalbelia comes from a snake-charming community.
• Filing Kalbelia among classical dance forms — it is a folk dance.

No directly related past PYQ was found.