Tuition expenses without paying

Anita learned from Babu Khadke Periyar, sometimes danced with him and sometimes with her uncle in various programs and also raised her education expenses.

Anita, who is studying in Class 8 in the local Kedarnath Basic School, is invited to perform the Hudke dance at Asare Ropai, wedding, Vratbandh, fair festival. She dances in pairs with her father and uncle at the fair. She is the only girl who dances Hudke in Jumla. They get paid Rs 5,000 to 10,000 for every dance. She said that it will cover home expenses and education expenses. "I have helped in the preservation of culture by dancing Hudke, I have also been able to manage my expenses easily," she said. He believes that the attraction of the young generation in Hudke dance has not increased due to western culture.

Anita Baje Bhakte Pariyar's land at Simalgaon in Hatsinja was usurped by some thugs and her family became squatters. As there were no people to sew traditional clothes in half a dozen settlements around Sinja Bara, the locals gave some land to Bhakte Pariyar and allowed him to live in Bara village. Now, his family gets khalo (grains from the crop) as wages for sewing about 400 household clothes.

Mostly auspicious functions It is customary to dance Hudke Nach in various social functions like marriage, fasting, planting, Chhaiti Puja, Navaran etc. Kamal Nepali, a local, said that after the latest generation started to enjoy recorded songs rather than hudke dance, the singing and dancing hudke has disappeared. According to him, earlier political parties also used Hudke a lot in election campaigns. During the war, Maoists also prioritized Hudke dance in cultural programs. He said, "The audience at the political gatherings would also leave when they said there was a hood dance," he said.

Another leader, Prem Bahadur Nepali, said that the young generation is not attracted to dancing as their daily livelihood is not even supported by the dance of the Damain community. "Stakeholders who work in the field of arts and culture for its preservation are also indifferent," he said, "but this girl (Anita) has great affection for hudke." He suggested that the young generation should be attracted to hudke dance and the local government should take initiatives for that. Chairman of Sinja Rural Municipality Purnaprasad Dhital says that the municipality is planning to revive original dances including Hudke. He said that the budget has been allocated this year to give collective training to the youth in hudke dance.