Folk dance
A graceful women's dance from Rajasthan, where every turn sends the ghaghra flaring out in a wheel of color.
Ghoomar takes its name from the word ghoomna, which means to twirl.
Ghoomar is danced by women. The dancers form a circle and move gracefully around it, spinning as they go, while their hands trace soft, matching patterns in the air. With every turn, each dancer's long skirt opens out around her, and the whole circle fills with color.
Traditionally, the women dance with their faces covered by the ghoonghat, the end of the odhani drawn down as a veil. The steps are gentle and flowing, built from ghoomar spins, graceful hand movements and turns that step forward around the circle.
Ghoomar is believed to have begun with the Bhil community, who danced it in worship of the goddess Saraswati. It was later embraced by the Rajputs and by other communities across Rajasthan.
Taught at home and passed down through generations, Ghoomar is still danced at weddings and festivals. Tradition holds that a new bride dances Ghoomar when she is welcomed into her new home.
Dancers wear the traditional Rajasthani poshak. The long, flared ghaghra is worn with a fitted chudidar beneath it, and the odhani, a long veil cloth, is draped over the head and body in the traditional way.
The jewelry matters just as much. Ghoomar dancers wear traditional Rajasthani ornaments in silver or gold, from the borla on the forehead to the payal at the ankles, with ghungroo bells that sound softly with every step.
Look out for the nath, a nose ring, the aad, a necklace that covers the chest, and the bajuband, an armlet worn on the upper arm.
Ghoomar is so closely tied to Rajasthan that it has become a symbol of the state's culture. In November 2025, Rajasthan held its first Ghoomar Festival, and 6,100 women danced it together across seven divisions of the state, a feat recognized by the Asia Book of Records.
6,100
Women dancing
Ghoomar Festival · Rajasthan · 2025
Ghoomar is a dance of grace and joy, carried from one generation to the next.
From family weddings to festival stages, the circle keeps turning, one graceful spin at a time.
Performance
