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KATHAKBYLALITHA SINDHURI

AGENDAIntroduction HistoryTechniqueRepertoireConclusionReferences

INTRODUCTIONKathak is not the name of a dance form.Kathaa kahe so kathak kahaaye Which means The one who narrates a story is a story teller called Kathakaar.Initially, kathak started with little movements around Brindavan and Braj areas.Many songs used to be in Brajboli dialect.Kathak was believed to be started around 12th Century. Present practices can be linked to 15th Century.We can see the historical evidences of Kathakars in Rajasthani miniature paintings etc.

HISTORYInitially, kathaakars used to dance, sing and act the stories of epics in temples.But Mughals after invading India destroyed all the temples.Then evolved Nachunis, dancing girls and Tawaifs in the courts of the Kings.Then slowly Kathak evolved as an entertainment in the courts of Mughals rather than just a religious art.During the time of British rule, only patrons of kathak were Hindu kings like Rajputs etc.In fact present 3 styles were only formed in 19th Century at 3 different places.

Buddhism was propagated through monks and nuns who had taken vows of poverty and chastity and who devoted their life to social service with an almost christian dedication.Religious dancing like that of the kathak was irrelevant to its needs.Neverthless buddhism tried neither to stamp out hinduism nor campaigned actively against the Kathaks who continued to practise their art.It was not until much later,when buddhism became a sect of hinduism and the buddha himself was enthroned in the Hindu pantheon as an avatar of Vishnu, that it used the arts of painting,sculpture,music and dancings.4HISTORYLucknow Gharana had its roots in Avadh kindom ruled by Waajid Ali Shah, the 10th and the last king of Avadh(Present U.P.)Thakur Prasad is the Guru of Waajid Ali shah. Ali shah is not only a dancer, but also a singer, writer,musician .Thakur Prasads sons Kalka Prasad and Binda Din also did great work and were foundation stones of Lucknow Gharana.Binda Din had written around1500 Tumris.Ganesh Paran was written by Thakur Prasad which is the main item in the repertoire of Kathak even today.

Buddhism was propagated through monks and nuns who had taken vows of poverty and chastity and who devoted their life to social service with an almost christian dedication.Religious dancing like that of the kathak was irrelevant to its needs.Neverthless buddhism tried neither to stamp out hinduism nor campaigned actively against the Kathaks who continued to practise their art.It was not until much later,when buddhism became a sect of hinduism and the buddha himself was enthroned in the Hindu pantheon as an avatar of Vishnu, that it used the arts of painting,sculpture,music and dancings.5Birju Maharaj is the direct descendant of Ishwari Prasad ji who was known as the first kathak guru.Shri Ishwari Prasad ji was a Mishra Brahmin in Handia Tehsil of Allahabad.It is said that lord krishna came to his dream and asked him to re-establish Kathak Nritya(Natwari Nritya).He passed on his knowledge to his sons by teaching them till ripe old age of 100yrs. They also devoted their life to pass on this tradition.Aduguji also taught to all his three sons. Prakash ji after his fathers death came to lucknow, along with his 2 brothers and was appointed as a court dancer by Nawab Asafuddaulah.He had 3 sons. It is said that king bestowed the title of Singh upon Maan who became Maan singh ji.Thakur prasad, in the court of waajid ali shah. It was said that he received 4 palkis full of money as Guru dakshina.He gave kathak the name, kathak natwari nritya. His son bindadin started rigorous training at the age of 4 and he used to practice tatkaar for 12 hrs a day for 4 yrs. After them, Acchan maharaj was known to his bhav,laya and taal.He was a very good natured person and hence known as acchan maharaj.Shambhu maharaj was tied the ganda by bindadin at the age of 8.At his death bed, Bindadin maharaj gave shambhu maharajs hand in the hand of acchan maharaj and told him to treat his younger brother like his son and train him well.At the age of 13, his mother sent him to thumri training under Ustaad Rahimuddin Khan and after 1 year, he was brought to Rampur estate where achhan maharaj was the court dancer.Then he got trained under him for 4 years after which he came to lucknow and propagated kathak.

6HISTORYJAIPUR GHARANA- Developed at Rajgarh patroned by Raja Chakradhar Singh(Great Patron of arts of 19th Century).Great devotee of Krishna called Bhanujee developed this art at Rajasthan.Among the contemporary gurus and performeres of Jaipur Gharana, Jailal, the doyen among them was born in 1885.The Maharaja of Jaipur was very fond of dance and gave a place of honour to Jailal in Gunijankhana where 750 aritists were maintained.Later, Jailal spent 8 years in the court of Raja Chakradhar singh.Sunder prasad, the younger brother of Jailal was trained by their father Chunnilal.He was sent to Bindadin to learn Lucknow style and hence proficient in both the styles.Even developed before 19th century but main patron was this fellow. :P :D

7HISTORYLater, Sunder lal established Maharaj Bindadin School of Kathak in bombay where he trained many students like Mohanrao Kalyan purkar, Poovaiah sisters , Sunalini Devi, Madame Menaka,Sohanlal , Hiralal and Roshan Kumari.Then at Bharatiya Kalakendra, he trained Uma Sharma, Durgalal, Kumudini Lakhia, Maya Rao, Urmila Nagar etc.BANARAS GHARANA-Developed by Janki Prasad who was originally from Bikaner of Rajasthan.He created the pure dance bols called Natwari Bols.These bols mark a distinct variation from other bols. There are also differences in dance postures and execution of movements.

Banaras gharana people were from Rajasthan.Chunni lal and this janki prasad were relatives.But since, they migrated to Banaras and developed there, it became banaras gharana.8

VASANT RAGINI PAINTINGS AT PRINCE OF WALES MUSEUM MUMBAIMention Bhakthi movement, Hindustani Sangeet etc.9

TECHNIQUEMost striking feature of Kathak is its extreme subtlety.Being originally a religious dance, it was first performed to vedic chants, and later to the religious songs in Prabhand style.Keertans and Dhrupads were added in 15th Century.Kathak is 2D in nature.Basic foot position is Sama Pada.Body is neither divided into two halves as in Manipuri nor torso is conceived of as a sinle unit as in Bharatnatyam.Since there is no much time, I am not mentioning the movements like Kasak Masak etc.In the basic stance, the dancer holds a variation of Hamsasya hastha above the head.other hastas used are mushti, sikhara,hamsasya,chandrakala,alapadma etc.Characteristic features are the jumps and Pirouettes which in NS terminology are Utplavanas and Bhramanis.In no other dance style are both feet lifted together in a simple jump as they are in Kathak. Use of eyebrows for lasyanga is the basic feature and sundari neck of Abhinaya Darpana is also mostly used.

2D in nature like miniature painting.It conceives of space only in straight lines and does not attempt to give a 3D effect so characteristic of the reliefs in Indian Sculpture.It retains the qualities of grace and courtliness together with an emphasis on speed and close attention to footwork. This is achieved by a contrast of sudden stillness with swift flowing motion. Sometimes it might seem that kathak is entirely devoted to the nirtta aspect of dance to the exclusion of both nritta and natya.Dance training:A students training begins with Tatkar and he has to practice it for hours together individually without tabla and pakhawaj,holding the lehra in his or her mind wearing Ghungroos.Girls usually wear 101 bells and men wear 151 bells.11TECHNIQUEBalance of the body usually will be on both the legs in Sama pada,flat feet since most complex foot work can be executed precisely only through a delicate balance of weight on the flat foot. Kathakar was accompanied by one singer, two musicians using Pakhawaj or Table(Tabla and Banya) for rhythm and Sarangi or Sitar for melody.Footwork in Kathak is known as Tatkar.The student must memorize the bols of rhythmic syllables with the help of claps.

2D in nature like miniature painting.It conceives of space only in straight lines and does not attempt to give a 3D effect so characteristic of the reliefs in Indian Sculpture.It retains the qualities of grace and courtliness together with an emphasis on speed and close attention to footwork. This is achieved by a contrast of sudden stillness with swift flowing motion. Sometimes it might seem that kathak is entirely devoted to the nirtta aspect of dance to the exclusion of both nritta and natya.Dance training:A students training begins with Tatkar and he has to practice it for hours together individually without tabla and pakhawaj,holding the lehra in his or her mind wearing Ghungroos.Girls usually wear 101 bells and men wear 151 bells.12TEEN TAAL :STRESSES1203TABLA BOLSDha dhin dhin dha 1 2 3 4Dha dhin dhin dha 5 6 7 8Dha thin thin tha 9 10 11 12 Tha dhin dhin dha 13 14 15 16DANCE BOLSTha a Thei ee Thei ee that thAa a thei ee Thei ee tha thFor every two tabla beats, there is just one dance beat.4 Divisions, 16 beats.Clapping is called Thaali.5th dance beat or 9th tabla beat is Khaali denoted by 0.While couting, to avoid confusion,generally Khaali is used with which we can easily identify that it is 9th beat.Jaipur gharana Is noted for the brilliance of its Tatkaar.It retains the qualities of grace and courtliness together with an emphasis on speed and close attention to footwork. This is achieved by a contrast of sudden stillness with swift flowing motion. Sometimes it might seem that kathak is entirely devoted to the nirtta aspect of dance to the exclusion of both nritta and natya.Dance training:A students training begins with Tatkar and he has to practice it for hours together individually without tabla and pakhawaj,holding the lehra in his or her mind wearing Ghungroos.Girls usually wear 101 bells and men wear 151 bells.13RepertoireGanesh VandanaGuru VandanaRangmanch Ka TukdaSalamiUthanThataAmadGataGata NikasGata BhavKavittTodaTukda14RepertoireParanaDadaraGhazalThumriTandavaTiravataTarana15repertoireKathak repertoire comprises of both Nritta and Abhinaya.While Nritta part involves Tora,Tukra, Parana, Amad etc, Abhinaya part involves Gat Bhaav, Kavitt, Thumri, Ghazals, Keertans, Bhajans etc.The nritta portions of Kathak are presented to a repetitive melodic line known as Nagma.Items like Vandana fall under the category of Nritya.Dadra is another type of musical composition which is used for abhinaya in Kathak.

LADI

SCINTILLATING CHAKKARS-UNIQUE FEATURE OF KATHAK

UPAJ , AMAD AND CHAKKARSCONCLUSIONKathak,being one of the most appealing dance forms of the world, changed and styled along with the changing society.Initially, it was just abhinaya by Kathakars which later added many interesting elements to it.Kathak is a very toned down style with minimal hastas and very close to the reality since it has influences of Islam.It is no less to any art form in the world sharing similarities with Western dances like Tap dance.Many experiments and new chreographies were done, being done and new age artists are leading it in a very dignified manner.The idea of dance dramas was seeded by Madame Menaka which was materialised by Pt Birju Maharaj.20ReferencesIndias Kathak Dance , Past , Present and Future Book by Reginald Massey.Indian Classical Dance Book By Kapila Vatsayan.Bharatiya Sastriya Nrutyalu Book By Aruna Bhikshu.http://www.birjumaharaj-kalashram.com/pbm/persona/ancestors.htmhttp://www.gaurijog.com/kathak-jaipur-gharana.htmlhttp://www.gaurijog.com/kathak-beneras-gharana.html

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