Little girl wows the crowd with her Pili Vesha tiger moves: Watch video

She is at an age at which many kids would instinctively back away from big brawny men painted up as ferocious tigers.

But not this little girl in a video from Udupi in southern Karnataka. She joins a folk art performer in Pili Vesha, or Tiger Masque, and matches the man tiger step for step, swag for swag.

The 23 second video clip shared by the Visit Udupi Twitter handles begins with the little girl tentatively holding on to her woman's hand as they approach one of the performers.


But that first look is deceptive. The moment the woman steps away, the little one gets in the groove and swings high and stomps her feet, perfectly matching the folk artiste's performance. The crowd cheers her on, and even the other 'tigers' join in the clapping.

As the video went around on social media platform, many others joined in cheering her.

"cute & wow at the same time. mostly kids of that age fear looking at their attire but this little girl danced with them," commented a user. "This is how we need to teach and encourage our kids," wrote another.

In Pili Vesha, similar to the tiger dances seen in other southern states, young boys and men paint their body yellow or brown with dark stripes, wear a tiger mask on their face and dance to the beat of the drums.

Performers stop at homes and businesses or on the roadsides to perform for a short while, after which they collect some money from the people.

Pili vesha is performed mostly during Dasara and Krishna Janmastami in coastal Karnataka.