Chhand

Chhand (, , ) is a quatrain used in the poetic traditions of North India and Pakistan.

==Chhands in culture== In the culture of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, it is customary for chhands to be recited at ceremonial occasions such as weddings, where they are used by grooms to praise their in-laws. Formerly, the form was extensively employed by court bards to praise royal personages. Chhands are also used extensively in the Nautanki dance-drama tradition of the region, especially in the alha chhand or bir chhand formats. A typical Punjabi wedding chhand might extol the mother- and father-in-law, for instance this one, which says the groom holds them in the same esteem as his own parents -