Laavani

Laavani is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra and southern Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of Dholak, a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm and erotic sentiment.It has contributed substantially to the development of Marathi folk theatre. In Maharashtra and southern Madhya Pradesh, it is performed by the female performers wearing nine-yard long sarees. Traditionally, this genre of folk dance deals with different and varied subject matters such as society, religion, politics and romance. The songs in 'Lavani' are mostly erotic in sentiment and the dialogues tend to be pungent in socio-political satire.

The main subject matter of the Laavani is the love between man and women in various forms.Marriedwife’s menstruation, sexual union beting to join the war, pangs of separation, adulterous love- the intensity of adulterous passion, childbirth: these are all the different themes of laavani.

Although beginnings of Lavani can be traced back to 1560s, it came into prominence during the later days of the Peshwa rule. Several celebrated Marathi Shahir poet-singers, which include Ram Joshi (1762–1812), Anant Fandi (1744-1819), Honaji Bala (1754-1844), Prabhakar (1769-1843) and Lok Shahir Annabhau Sathe (1 August 1920 - 18 July 1969) contributed significantly for the development of this genre of music. Honaji Bala introduced tabla in place of the traditional dholki. He also developed the baithakichi Lavani, a sub-genre, which is presented by the singer in the seated position. Satyabhamabai Pandharpurkar and Yamunabai Waikar are the popular present day exponents of Lavani.

Shringar Lavani is mostly sung and danced on the stage by a female and written by male. Lavani can also be termed as a romantic song sung by lady who is waiting for her lover to accept her, who longs for his love. Many Lavani dancers are from some castes of Maharashtra like Kolhati, Kumbhar, and Matang.