Fugdi is known to be an art form that is performed by the women of Konkan region as a break from the routine, in the season of rice cultivation. One had seen Fudgi performances previously and also made video films on them. On that evening a Fugdi performance were to take place in a village, and He and his friends went to the village to make a video film of the performance. They reached the village before time and after parking their vehicle, they realised that they’d mistakenly left the key inside and locked all the doors of the car. It took a while for them to find a fix and get their video making equipment from inside the car, with the help of the Villagers. The villagers offered them a simple but delicious meal and they were escorted to the Temple in which the performance was to take place.

It began after a usual welcome ceremony and a welcome song. But as soon as the sound of Fugdi began, it was not a usual thing. It was a sound they had never heard before. The Women were dancing in a circle as can be seen in folk art performances, but their gait was very slow. It went on like that for twenty minutes or so. All this time three women were singing, and the group sang after them, and the sound they produced seemed to come from ages before. It was a wonder how it had been kept alive. The sound went deep within oneself. One carried on with his task of video making, but the mind and the heart were with the sound. As the pace began to increase, yet slowly, the movements were becoming fast but with a stillness and control. There was not an outward seriousness to it. They moved joyfully.

The dancers would move round in a circle and one or the other woman would join the singing trio, and a singer join the circle of dancers and they kept rotating at intervals. Though there was a structure to their movements but it looked unplanned. It seemed to come naturally, and so did the rotation. Those who felt like singing became part of the singing trio and so did the singers become dancers when they felt like dancing. Sometimes a woman who remembered the song better would join the singers and come back while the song was over.

While the dancing had become fast one heard an unexpected sound of “fu” the women made which rose in the temple and resonated all around. It was like the sweet sound of bees humming. It was the most natural sound that was produced by blowing air out from the lips. But it was unlike the frequent “fu” of Fugdi, from which the dance form got its name. As the dancing caught pace it would require one great physical effort to be able to perform the moves. Some women would get tired and stop and retire for a while, while others would go on, and the one who went on till the end was applauded by the group. The ones who had retired early didn’t feel the sadness of losing. There was no such feeling. The stillness and purity of the sound and the dancing movements filled their hearts. For those 2 hours they had forgotten the world and nothing of it seemed to be around.

There was not a planned end to the performance. The women had gotten tired and stopped, otherwise they would go on for another hour or so. They would go on with their dancing acts. All through the performance a woman sang holding her child in her arms, and she sang without an expression on face. She was producing the most pure sound, but she didn’t look at anyone while she sang. She was not singing for anybody. Watching that woman sing looked like watching a river flow.

They thanked the villagers and packed their equipment and got back into the car. While they drove back, they had the sound and the dance in their minds and shall ever have it.