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Kathak is a
systematic, highly stylized and intricate form of
classical dance with a pattern of artistry, all its
own. It is a dynamic medium of self-expression and
creation of aesthetic pleasures, synchronizing all
the facets of happiness and sorrow, culminating into
a spiritual and cosmic peace and tranquility. This expedient and dignified dance was born and nursed in temples but later flourished in princely courts. Its origin is said to be as old as the Aryan civilization of the north India. Kathak concerns primarily with rhythm and timing which offers scintillating patterns of sound imagery by manipulating the pace of lightning footwork, contrast with brilliant finale of decorative movements, spins, abhinaya and tantalizing arrested pauses. As has been said earlier, this dance is considered not only as the visual expression of intoxicated energy or as an entertainment for those who wished to be amused but an image of the activity of God. The word 'Kathak’ seems to have been derived from ‘Katha’, the art of story telling. This style usually revolves round Krishna’s Love story Ramcharitmanas, Bhagvata Puran Geetgovindam and other religious Literature. History There is a popular saying ‘Katha kahe so kathak kahave”The word ‘Kathak’ seems to have been derived from the word ‘Katha’, the art of story telling. Socially the communities of Kathaks, the rhapsodists, the reciters, the narrators and the storytellers who formed a distinct part of the social organization were Brahmins and used to sing and dance in the temples on mythological stories mainly. The Literature, Dance, Music, Painting and other fine arts found a fuller expression by 15th century with the patronage extended by temples, priests and devotees.During the Moghal Era, these kathakas served as dance teachers, dancers, singers and musical accompanist to dancing concerts in the courts. The art was handed down from one generation to the next as an oral tradition. Developed over the years and given by father to son, the skills, the technique and knowledge of the art of kathak resulted into three main schools:- Lucknow gharana, Jaipur gharana and Benaras Gharana. Dancers were drawn in large numbers to Lucknow during the reign of emperor Asaf Ud Daula (1775-97) and dance reached to its zenith during the reign of Wajid Ali Shah (1847-56) and that’s how the lucknow gharana came into being. Jaipur gharana came into existence in the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai singh (1699 –1743A.D) who founded the jaipur city in the year 1728 and established an institution ‘Gunijankhana’ of 750 artistes. The temples and the princely states extended patronage to dancers and musicians but with the advent of British rule, the dance as an art form was neglected and degenerated. In the wake of our fight for freedom, a similar awakening among the intellectuals and enlightened section of society contributed in salvaging our precious heritage of classical dances, among which kathak too received a renowned patronage. Held within a well-defined system of artistic values, the different schools display salient features that distinguish them. However, with the passage of time, the demarcations are fast disappearing with free exchange of the best from each gharana. Today Kathak has moved from temples and village courtyards, royal courts and mansions of patrons, to the concert platforms in town and cities. The practitioners have changed from professional clans to educated young of upper and middle class society. Kathak is the dance form which is endowed with all three aspects: - Nritta, Nritya and Natya. |
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Nritta Nritta means pure Dance. It is not interpretative or expressional dance. Nritta is dependent on two basic ingredients, Tala and Laya . The tala denotes a time cycle and the laya denotes the speed or tempo. The rhythm being cyclic, it rises from the first beat and reflows to the first beat, completing a round. The ‘sum’ is the beginning of first beat of any tala and piece to be danced has to end on the same beat in the same tala. Some commonly used terms are as follows. Tatkar:- It offers scintillating patterns of sound imagery which is produced by dexterously manipulating the pace of footwork and the cadence of the ankle bells. The dancer uses feet to perform various complicated talas and its fractions. In a way, it is the aesthetic demonstration of the infinite divisibility of time. The basic bols of tatkar are: - Ta Thei Thei tat Tihai: - A rhythmic pattern three times in succession. Thaat: - Thaat in general means, decoration or a graceful attitudes. In thaat, dancer uses gentle and delicate movements of the wrists and the neck with eye glances in most effective and arrested manner. It is done to develop the mood of artist. Aamad: - It is said that with aamad, a dancer used to make an entry on the stage and offer a salutation or greetings. Toda: - In a Toda, a dancer performs to the composition of the time beats in rhythmic cycle arriving on the sum. Generally a tihai is also interwoven at the end of toda. A small toda is known as Tukda. A variety of todas and tukdas are complex in its nature and rich in its arrangement of beats. Paran: - A variety of compositions having bolo played exclusively on Pakhavaj are called parans. Pakhavaj is a percussion instrument on which heavier bols are played. Paremelu: - The compositions based on bolos of variety of percussion instruments are called paremelu. Such compositions are also influenced with scenic beauty of nature, chirping of birds and sounds of small creatures. Padhant: -The recitation of the bolos known as padhant itself is an art and is a communication with percussionist. There is enough scope for improvisation and spontaneity in this rich classical art form. Nritta is meant to convey a sense of pure joy of movement and rhythm. In Nritta the beauty lies in correct rendering of the rhythmic patterns by the feet and graceful movements of the limbs. |
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Nritya As has been said earlier, Katha Kahe so Kathak Kahave, one who tells story is called Kathak. Nritya in general means Abhinaya. In the beginning, it is customary to offer a prayer to God with stuti or vandana as spirituality is a predominant feature of Kathak and is mirror of Indian life. The Nritya in kathak is based on the Rasa theory as explained in Natyashastra and other text and is frequently used while enacting abhinaya to ghazals, Hori, Dhrupad, Dhamar, kajri, kirtan, Dadra, Pad and thumri and bhajan. Bhava is developed on musical lines by weaving a story around the song enhancing the main mood. The improvisation in Nritya depends upon the imagination and poetic sensitivity of the dancer. In most of the Nritya abhinaya, the erotic, sensuous sentiment is demonstrated with philosophical and spiritual interpretation. Out of ten stages of love, few are shown by dancer to depict the state of mind of nayikas that are 8 in number by using the nine basic sentiments called navaras.The life style of rural and traditional milieu is often reflected in abhinaya In jaipur gharana, there is a tradition of kavits that are the compositions to which a dancer performs abhinaya in quick tempo suggesting bhava to some key words of the text recited. Sometimes the mnemonic syllables are also interwoven in Kavits. Many Kavits are composed narrating mythological stories and are performed with abhinaya in a fast tempo. The popular kavit revolves around Krishna and Radha. . There are special numbers found only in Kathak called gatbhava to which a dancer enacts abhinaya without the usage of song or words. The gats tell a simple story like going to fetch water, to do the hair, to prepare one ‘self to receive the lover, to look at the lover through a veil, to show Krishna’s prank like stealing butter, to play holi, peacock dancing etc
Natya It
refers to Dance-Drama. Such choreographies include
proper sets, costumes of historic characters and much
more. The Raaslila and Ramayana are
examples of Dance Dramas found in Kathak Tradition.
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