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 Shinjini Kulkarni presenting a Kathak performance | |
| Genre | Indian classical dance |
|---|---|
| Instrument(s) | Ghungroo,Tabla,Manjira |
| Origin | Uttar Pradesh |
Kathak is one of the eight major forms ofIndian classical dance.[1] Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancientnorthern India known asKathakar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from theHindu epics through dance, songs, and music. Its name derives from theSanskrit wordkatha which means "story", andkathakar which means "the one who tells a story" or "to do with stories". 'Katha kahe so kathak kahave' - Kathak is the dance of story tellers. Stories are narrated through the medium of the body, face, hands, and feet in sync with the tabla and lehra.
Kathak dancers tell various stories utilizing hand movements and extensive footwork, their body movements, and flexibility, as well as theirfacial expressions.Kathak often has a strong beat and can be danced in many taals. While proto-Kathak elements can be seen long before,Kathak evolved during theBhakti movement, particularly by incorporating thechildhood and stories of the Hindu deity Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms.[2][3] During the period of Mughal rule, the emperors were patrons ofKathak dance and actively promoted it in their royal courts.[4]Kathak performances include Urdughazal and commonly used instruments brought during the Mughal period.[5] As a result, it is the only Indian classical dance form to feature Persian elements.[6]
Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called "gharana", named after the cities where theKathak dance tradition evolved –Jaipur,Banares, andLucknow.[7][clarification needed] While the Jaipurgharana focuses more on the foot movements, the Banaras and Lucknowgharana focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand movements. Stylistically, theKathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot movements, adorned with small bells (Ghungroo) and the movement harmonized to the music.[3][8] The legs and torso are generally straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper body movement, facial expressions, neck movements, eyes and eyebrow movement, stage movements, bends, and turns. The main focus of the dance becomes the eyes and the foot movements. The eyes work as a medium of communication of the story the dancer is trying to communicate. With the eyebrows the dancer gives various facial expressions.[3][9] The difference between the sub-traditions is the relative emphasis between acting versus footwork, with Lucknow style emphasizing acting and Jaipur style famed for its spectacular footwork.[3]
Kathak is a performance art that has survived and thrived as anoral tradition, innovated and taught from one generation to another verbally and through practice.[10] It transitioned, adapted, and integrated the tastes of the Mughal courts[11] in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly byAkbar, but stagnated and went into decline during theBritish colonial era,[12] then was reborn as India gained independence and sought to rediscover its ancient roots and a sense of national identity through the arts.[9][10]
The termKathak is rooted in theVedic termKatha (Sanskrit:कथा) which means "story, conversation, traditional tale".[2][3]Kathak refers to one of the major classical dance forms primarily found in northern India, with a historical influence similar toBharatanatyam in south India,Odissi in east India, and other major classical dances found in South Asia.[3][13] It differs from the numerous folk dance forms found in the north and other parts of the Indian subcontinent.[13]
TheKathak dancers in ancient India were traveling bards and were known asKathakas[2] orKathakar.[14][15]
Kathak has inspired simplified regional variants, such as theBhavai – a form of rural theatre focusing on the tales of Hindu goddesses (Shakti) – and one which emerged in the medieval era, and is presently found inGujarat,Rajasthan, andMadhya Pradesh.[16] Another variant that emerged from ancientKathak isThumri.[17]
Thumri was developed by thetawaif community who were called "nautch" dancers by the British. Their history asKathak dancers have been erased in modern India.Pallabi Chakravorty. (2008).[18]"Bells Of Change: Kathak Dance, Women And Modernity In India", also see"The Tawaif And The Item Girl: A Struggle For Identity"[19]
Performance arts and culture
Let Nātya (drama and dance) be the fifthvedic scripture.
Combined with an epic story,
tending to virtue, wealth, joy and spiritual freedom,
it must contain the significance of every scripture
and forward every art.
According to Mary Snodgrass, theKathak tradition of India is traceable to 400 BCE.[22] The earliest surviving text withKathak roots is theNatya Shastra,[22] attributed to sageBharata. Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE,[23][24] but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.[25]
The most studied version of theNatya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.[23][26] Natalia Lidova states that the text describes the theory ofTāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, and standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances, includingKathak.[23][27][28] Dance and performance arts, states this ancient Hindu text,[29] are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues, and the essence of scriptures.[21][30]
The 2nd century BCE panels found inBharhut show the dancers in a vertical stance with their arms' positions already suggesting today'sKathak movements. Most of the dancers have one arm near the ear in a ''pataka hasta'' (mudra). In subsequent years, the hasta was lowered to the bust level.[31]
The termKathakas in the sense of "storytellers" appears in ancient Hindu texts, such as theMahabharata:[32]
वेदवेदाङ्गविद्वांसस्तथैवाध्यात्मचिन्तकाः।
चौक्षाश्च भगवद्भक्ताः सूताः पौराणिकाश्च ये॥२॥
कथकाश्चापरे राजञ्श्रमणाश्च वनौकसः।
दिव्याख्यानानि ये चापि पठन्ति मधुरं द्विजाः॥३॥
Followed by the scholars of the Vedas and Vedangas, and by those who ponder on their soul,
by persons skilled in music, by the devotees of Bhagavata, (...)
byKathakas (reciters of the sacred lore), by dwellers of forests, (...)
by those who sweetly recite celestial histories.
Bards, actors, dancers, songsters, and musical reciters of legends and stories are mentioned hundreds of times in the Hindu Epics.[33]
Textual studies suggest thatKathak as a classical dance form likely started in Banares (Varanasi) and from there migrated northwest to Lucknow, Jaipur, and other parts of north and northwest India.[34] The Lucknow tradition ofKathak dance attributes the style to aBhakti movement devotee named Ishwari from theHandia village inPrayagraj,Uttar Pradesh, who credited Hindu godKrishna appearing in his dream and asking him to develop "dance as a form of worship".[34] Ishwari taught his descendants, who in turn preserved the learning and developments through an oral tradition over six generations, ultimately yielding the Lucknow version of theKathak dance – a family tree that is acknowledged in both Hindu and Muslim music-related Indian literature.[34]
The evolution inKathak dance theme during the Bhakti movement centered primarily around divine Krishna, his lover Radha, and milkmaids (gopis) – around legends and texts such as theBhagavata Purana found in theVaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.[15] The love between Radha and Krishna became symbolism for the love betweenAtman (soul within) and the supreme source (Cosmic soul everywhere), a theme that dance ballet and mimetic plays ofKathak artists expressed.[15] Although central Asian influence ofKathak rapid whirls has been proposed,Sangitaratnakara, a 13th-century Sanskrit text on Indian classical music and dance in Chapter 4 mentions a dance movement with rapid whirling around like a wheel keeping the arms in the Dola pose and bending the body inwards called 'Cakramandala'. It is employed in worshipping gods and in vigorous movement.[36]
The emergence of Raslila, mainly in the Braj region (Mathura in Western U.P.) was an important development. It combined in itself music, dance, and the narrative. Dance in Raslila, however, was mainly an extension of the basic mime and gestures of theKathakars or story-tellers which blended easily with the existing traditional dance.
With the coming of the Mughals, this dance form received a new impetus. A transition from the temple courtyard to the palace durbar took place which necessitated changes in presentation. In both Hindu and Muslim courts,Kathak became highly stylized and came to be regarded as a sophisticated form of entertainment. Under the Muslims, there was a greater stress on nritya and bhavag - the dance's graceful, expressive, and sensuous dimensions.
The Mughal era courts and nobles acceptedKathak as a form of aristocratic entertainment, which low income families were willing to provide.[37] According to Drid Williams:
It should be remembered that the first Kathak dancers were, after all, Hindus who danced for Moghul overlords. Too much outward expression of religious belief was without doubt undesirable. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the wide use of 'abstract' dancing, intricate bell work (tatkar), dazzling turns and the fleeting, transient, glimpses of Radha and Krishna in Kathak arose both to remind the dancers about their reasons for dancing and (gently, unobtrusively) to deceive their courtly Moghul audiences. Perhapstatkar andtukras formed the bulk of these first dancers' performances. Gradually more and more images, then stories of Krishna and Radha crept in.
— Drid Williams,Anthropology and the Dance[38]
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Over time, theKathak repertoire added Persian and Central Asian themes, such as the whirling of Sufi dance. The dress replacedsari with items that bared midriff and included a transparent veil of the type common with medieval Harem dancers.[39][40] When the colonial European officials began arriving in India, theKathak court entertainment they witnessed was a synthesis of the ancient Indian tradition and Central Asian-Persian dance form, and theKathak dance performers were called the "nautch girls" (ornatch, a derivative of the more difficult to pronounce Sanskritnatya).[15][40]
With the expansion of British colonial rule in 19th-century India,Kathak along with all other classical dance forms were discouraged and it went into decline.[10][41] This was in part the result of the Victorian morality of sexual repressiveness along with Anglican missionaries who criticized Hinduism.[9][42] Reverend James Long, for example, proposed thatKathak dancers should forget ancient Indian tales and Hindu legends, and substitute them with European legends and Christian tales.[9] Missionaries recorded their frustration inChurch Missionary Review when they saw Hindu audiences applaud and shout "Ram, Ram" duringKathak performances.[9]
The seductive gestures and facial expressions duringKathak performances in Temples and family occasions were caricatured inThe Wrongs of Indian Womanhood, published at the start of the 20th century, as evidence of "harlots, debased erotic culture, slavery to idols and priests" tradition, and Christian missionaries demanded that this must be stopped, launching the "anti-dance movement" or "anti-nautch movement" in 1892.[9][12][42] Officials and newspapers dehumanized theKathak dancers and the sources of patronage were pressured to stop supporting the Kathak performing "nautch girls" (also termed asdevadasis andtawa'ifs in mid 20th century literature).[42] Many accused the dance form as a front for prostitution,[15] while revivalists questioned the constructed histories by the colonial writers.[43][44]
Not only did missionaries and colonial officials ridicule theKathak dancers, Indian men who had been educated in British institutions and had adapted to Victorian prudery also joined the criticism, states Margaret Walker, possibly because they had lost their cultural connection, no longer understood the underlying spiritual themes behind the dance, and assumed this was one of the "social ills, immoral and backward elements" in their heritage that they must stamp out.[42] However, the Hindu families continued their private tutoring and kept theKathak art alive as anoral tradition.[9]Kathak teachers also shifted to training boys to preserve the tradition, as most of the 20th-century ridicule had been directed atKathak "nautch girls".[42]
Kathak was brought to the attention of audiences outside India in the early 20th century through Kalkaprasad Maharaj.[45]
The movement to end the colonial era and for an independent India, states Walker, also witnessed a revival ofKathak and more broadly, a cultural ferment and effort to reclaim culture and rediscover history.[46]
TheKathak revival movements co-developed in Hindugharanas, particularly by the Kathak-Misra community.[46] Of these the Jaipur and Lucknow sub-traditions ofKathak have attracted more scholarship.[46]
The oldestKathak department pat a degree college (university) was formed in 1956 at Indira Kala Sangeet University, a public university located in Khairagarh wherePuru Dadheech instated the firstKathak syllabus for degree programs.[47] It was inspired by the diploma syllabus ofMohanrao Kallianpurkar at Bhatkhande College.[48]
According to a BBC Arts article,Kathak is unique in being practiced by theMuslim community of the India, and thus has a "historical link toIslam."[49] Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, a Muslim and a disciple of Pandit Chitresh Das in theLucknow school, considersKathak as a "confluence of Hindu andMuslim cultures", and has presented her performance inPakistan.[50] In contrast, states BBC,Nahid Siddiqui (a legendaryKathak dancer from Pakistan, settled and nurtured in the UK), "has a hard time practising and presenting her [Kathak] art in her birth-country of Pakistan".[49]
While most scholars considerKathak as an ancient art, some such as Margaret Walker suggest the modernKathak is a 20th-century phenomenon, more a form of cultural revival, if one relies on the music-related Indian documents.[51]
A modernKathak, in all three major sub-traditions called Lucknow, Banares, and Jaipur styles (gharana), states Bruno Nettl, consist of three main sections - the invocation, one pure (abstract) dance recital, and one expressive dance.[15]
The invocation (vandana) consists of the dancer coming to stage and offering respect to his or herguru and the musicians on the stage. If the team is from the Hindu tradition, the dancer(s) combine facial expressions and hand gestures (mudra) to invoke Hindu gods and goddesses; while a Muslim performance replaces the devotional expressions with asalami (salutation).[15]
The pure dance is called anritta, while the expressive dance is called anritya.[17] AKathak performance can be solo, duo, or team. In a technical performance, the speed and energy the dancers exchange with the audience increases in multiples, that is, the tempo doubles or quadruples.[52] During the performance, one or more of theKathak artists may come to the microphone, interact with the audience, explain something, tell an anecdote in a particular language, or rhythmically recite a song.[52]
The dresses of the dancer and the facial cosmetics between a Hindu or MuslimKathak dance troupe varies. The stage typically is bare with no distracting background, states Williams, with musicians seated on rugs downstage right (audience's left), and if it is a Hindu performance there is an image of dancingShiva (Nataraja) or aGanesha on the stage's left with flowers and perfumed incense burning.[53][note 2]
Thenritta performance starts off with athàth sequence, which is a slower graceful movement of wrists, neck, and eyebrows.[15][52] Thereafter, the dancer gradually increases speed and energy, while completing a sequence ofbol (mnemonic syllables in Indian tradition).[15] Eachbol has short sections, similar to technical exercises in Western dance traditions, wherein the dancer engages the audience withtora,tukra,parhant,paran, and others stressing footwork, gestures, and turns.[15][54] Each section when completed has a punctuation mark, usually a sharp turn of the head.[15] Each ankle is adorned with small bells (ghungroo), which may have just one bell or hundreds. The dancer's rapid movements and footwork in anritta is perfectly timed to the musical beats (tala) and tempos, and the footwork sequences are calledtatkars.[15][54]
Most of theNritta performance is abstract, fast, and rhythmic.[17] In aKathaknritta, as with all classical Indian dance forms, the viewer is presented with pure movement, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range, and pattern. It aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.[55]
Nritya is a slower and expressive aspect ofKathak that attempts to communicate feelings and storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.[17] In anritya, the dance expands to include words, musical notes, and gestures to articulate a legend or message. It is more than sensory enjoyment; it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.[55]
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The expressiveness ofKathak is also found in other classical dances of India. Its roots are found in theNatyashastra text which defines drama in verse 6.10 as that which aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of actor's art of communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a super sensual inner state of being.[56] TheNatya connects throughabhinaya (literally, "carrying to the spectators"),[57] that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein assertsNatyashastra, the actors communicate to the audience, through song and music.[56] Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, thus, is an art to engage every aspect of life, in order to glorify and gift a state of joyful consciousness.[58] According to Massey, another important ancient text that has influencedKathak is theAbhinaya Darpanam of Nandikeshvara (~2nd century CE).[57]
InKathak,abhinaya is in the form of expressive gestures and pantomime set to music that usually outlines a legend or the plot of a well known story.[52] The gestures and facial expressions convey theras (sentiment, emotional taste) andbhava (mood) of the underlying story.[57] In the Hindu texts on dance, the guru and the artists successfully express the spiritual ideas by paying attention to four aspects of a performance:Angik (gestures and body language),Vachik (song, recitation, music, and rhythm),Aharya (dress, make-up, jewelry), andSatvik (artist's mental disposition and emotional connection with the story and audience, wherein the artist's inner and outer state resonates).[59] AKathak nritya performance, however, grants flexibility to the artists and invites improvisation, and it may not be accompanied with a song or recital about the legend.[60] The stories inKathak performance generally tend to be about the Hindu god Krishna (or in some cases Shiva or Devi), and the stories come from sources such as theBhagavata Purana or the Indian Epics. This form of expressiveness is also found inthumri and Persianghazals.[52]
The dresses vary amongKathak performers and find their sources in either Hindu or Muslim culture.[61]
The Hindu dress for female dancers has two variations.[61] One is based on a sari, but is worn in a style different from the customary style that goes over the left shoulder. AKathak artist generally wraps the sari around the waist and it hangs down from the left.[61] A blouse calledcholi covers the upper body.[61] The artist may wear a scarf (calledorhni in some places). Hair, face, ear, neck, hand, wrist, and ankle jewellery, typically of gold, may adorn the artist. Atika orbindi in the middle of the forehead is common.[61] The second variation of a HinduKathak dancer wears a long, full (just above the ankle), light-weight skirt, usually with an embroidered border that helps highlight the dance motion. The skirt is contrasted with a different colorcholi, and a transparent scarf typically drapes over it and the dancer's head. Jewelry is typically present in the second variation.[61]
The Muslim dress for female dancers also uses a skirt, but includes close fittingchuridar pyjamas and sometimes a long coat covering hands and the upper body. The head has a cover scarf and the jewelry is light.[62][63][64]
The Hindu dress for maleKathak performers is typically a silkdhoti draped around the waist, and covered with a silk scarf tied over the top.[65] The upper body is usually left bare or with only the Hindu thread, but is sometimes covered with a loose sleeveless jacket.Kathak male artists also wear jewellery, but often of stones and much simpler than the female artists.[65]The Mughal dress for maleKathak performers is kurta-churidar. The kurta can be a simple one, or cut as an angarkha. There is also the possibility of adapting the angarkha or kurta for dance to incorporate wider flare in the lower portion. Particularly older variety dress includes the small peaked cap too.[citation needed]
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The ensemble of musical instruments vary with anyKathak performer, ranging from two to twelve classical Indian instruments, or more in versions with synthetic innovations.[52] The most common instruments that go withKathak aretabla (a pair of hand drums) that sync with the dancer's feet rhythms,sarangi, or harmonium withmanjira (hand cymbals) that meters thetal (cycle), and other instruments to add effect, depth, and structure to the expressive stage of a Kathak performance.[52][66]
The ancient music genre of India,Dhrupad, was re-introduced intoKathak for the first time by India's seniorKathak exponent Mahamahopadhyay Dr. PanditPuru Dadheech. He is India's firstKathak dancer to bring back Dhrupad on the formalKathak stage and this composition in 28 matra. Shankar Pralayankar, his Dhrupad composition, has the unique status of regularly being sung in concerts by Dhrupad maestros theGundecha Brothers.[67]
Kathak is a diffuse tradition, of which threegharanas (schools) are most well known and studied –Jaipur,Varanasi, andLucknow.[7] The schools place different relative emphasis between aspects of aKathak performance, such as the acting versus footwork. The Lucknow style, for example, emphasizes acting while Jaipur style emphasizes the dance and footwork.[3] Traditionally, the Jaipurgharana has had a strong spiritual flavor, covering a diverse range of ideas in Vaishnavism and Shaivism.[68]
The Jaipurgharana traces its origins to Bhanuji, a famed Shiva Tandava dancer who upon visitingVrindavan was inspired and taught Natvari Nritya.[69][68] Bhanuji's grandons Laluji and Kanhuji were similarly inspired by Krishna. They returned to Jaipur, and together they began the Jaipurgharana ofKathak.[69] The Jaipur style developed under the sponsorship of Rajput rulers, and they favored theKathak dance with Hindu religious themes.[68] In the modern era, this school has continued their emphasis on dance and footwork with Jai Lal, Janki Prasad, Kundan Lal, Mohan Lal, and Nawal Kishore.[68] This school is best known for its systematic innovations in rhythmic dancing, and the use of dance movement to express a story.[70]
The Lucknowgharana ofKathak dance attributes its origins to a rural Krishna devotee named Ishwari from the village in southeastUttar Pradesh, who aimed to developKathak dance as a form of loving devotion to Krishna.[34] This school thrived after the Mughal Empire collapsed, whenKathak artists moved from Delhi to Lucknow under the sponsorship of Avadhnawabs who favored court dance culture.[71] In the modern era, the Lucknowgharana style influences the dance school in New Delhi with Shambu Maharaj, Birju Maharaj, and Lacchu Maharaj.[72]Kathak choreography there has developed themes beyond Krishna-Radha, such as those based on the drama works ofKalidasa's Shiva-Parvati andBhavabhuti's Malati-Madhav.[72] This school has also attempted a Hindu-MuslimKathak fusion style, highlighting the court dancers' theme.[72]
The Banaresgharana is the third major style, traditionally believed to be the oldest.[34] Its history is unclear. According to Kothari, the school started with Janakiprasad from a village nearBikaner who resettled in Varanasi,[73] but one whose ancestors were famed dancers and musicians.[74] Janakiprasad was a dancer and a Sanskrit scholar, and credited with inventing thebols of Kathak, which are mnemonic syllables within the language of this classical dance of India.[74]
According to Nicole Lehmann, modernKathak dancers show, to varying degrees, a fusion of the styles from all threegharanas.[75]
The north IndianKathak dance differs from the south IndianBharatanatyam in several ways, even though both have roots in the Hindu textNatya Shastra.Kathak expressions – particularly in Hindu devotional styles – are more introverted and withdrawn, whileBharatanatyam is more extroverted and expansive.[53]Kathak is normally performed in a standing form with legs and torso typically straight, whileBharatanatyam extensively utilizes bent knee form (ara mandi, half sitting position that is somewhat similar toDemi Plié ballet move).[53]
Kathak is also different fromKathakali, though both are Indian classical dance traditions of "story play" wherein the stories have been traditionally derived from the Hindu epics and the Puranas.[76]Kathakali emerged in the southwestern region of India (modernKerala) and is distinctive in its elaborate codified colorful makeup, masks, and dress.[77]Kathakali traditionally has been troupes of predominantly male actor-dancers, who dress up as hero, heroines, gods, goddesses, demons, demonesses, priests, animals, and daily life characters.[76] Both dance forms employ elaborate footwork, choreography, and hand gestures, butKathakali integrates south Indian martial arts movements such as leaps and jumps. Both dance forms trace their roots to classical Sanskrit texts, butKathakali has relatively more recent origins, more closely follows theHastha Lakshanadeepika text, and began flourishing in the 16th century.[76][78] While each has a different musical and dance language, both deploy a host of similar traditional Indian musical instruments.[76][78]
According to Miriam Phillips, the IndianKathak and the SpanishFlamenco dance share many visual, rhythmic, and kinesthetic similarities.[79]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Quote: "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan Schwartz, "In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)".
