Indianness

Celebrating Indianness through classical Dance, Kathak -

India is unique in cherishing seven classical dance forms of its own, namely ,Kathak,Kathakali, Kuchipuri, Bharatnatyam,Mohiniyattam, Manipuri,Odissi. Odissi is the classical form of the State Orissa, Manipuri is of Manipur, Mohiniyattam is of Kerala, Bharatnatyam is of Tamil Nadu, Kuchipuri is of Andhra Pradesh, Kathakali is of Kerala,these dance forms  originated with the hands of Devdasi System(Devdasi is a group of females who served God),who used to live in temples and used to worship and please God through their dances. Kathak is a North Indian classical dance form.

                                      Coming to Kathak,it has mainly three Gharanas, Lucknow, Jaipur,Benaras, though in recent times Raigar is also accepted as an individual Gharana.In the past,this particular dance form, Kathak, originated at different places of North India and thus depending on the source of origin the dance style differs a little bit from one another. This little changement in style due to the source of origin is said to be Gharana.

                                  Previously,dancers used to wear a long dress (i.e. Kurta) with Pajamas and a cap on the head was must then.Though in recent days there has been certain changes like, wearing a cap is now obsolete. In modern days we can see Kathak dancers wearing Pajamas or leggings with Kurta along with dupatta, females also wear lahengas (i.e. traditional long skirts).Kundan Ornaments are used in this dance form. "Ghungroo" is a must in Kathak. In Benaras Gharana there is a tradition of dancing on a copper plate,as it is believed that copper helps one to get disconnected with mundane and get attached with the spiritual world. 

                                   All classical dance forms, till date follow the tradition of Guru Shishya Parampara.Guru, is the master or teacher who is an epitome of supreme knowledge and shishya is the student who is devoted to the feet of the Guru for the sake of learning the particular subject and is also dedicated to the subject and learning process. In earlier days there as Gurukul System where the shisya (i.e. students) used to stay in the Guru's (i.e teacher's) house in order to learn, their entire lifestyle was under the instruction and nourishment of the guru. Though in modern times in some places Gurus manage to fix a certain period of time,be it a week or few days to give the students an essence of Gurukul training by keeping them at their place for those few days.

                                  While knowing about the origin of Kathak dance form one might come across several facts, based on certain research works or one might inherit the knowledge through Guru Shishya Parampara."Kathak", came from"Katho Katha", which is story telling (mainly mythological stories or the stories of Purana).These story tellers were known as "Kathak Thakur".This is the basic concept of the origin of Kathak dance form as said by many. Now, there are different points of view that how story telling became a form of dance and how this art form survived at different times and became a modern day Kathak.In accordance to a certain point of view it is said that initially Kathak was performed in the Hindu temples, where the theme of the dance related to the mythological stories of gods and goddesses,like the love of Radha and Krishna or the Tandava of Lord Shiva (Shiva or Nataraj is believed to be the creator of dance),or the Lashya of goddess Parvati.Tandava is an expression of heroic,destruction, anger with full of energy, while Lashya relates to the energy in beauty,soberness and affection. It is believed that "Ghungroo"(special kind of ankle ornament that creates rhythmic sound with foot steps,worn by Kathak dancers, which is the predominant element of Kathak), is the miniature form of the bell in the temple.With the emergence of the Mughals, this art form took shelter under the patronage of the Mughal kings. In this particular period Kathak adapted the Darbar style (Darbar, means Mughal court,so the courtly style of Kathak performed in Mughal court,is known as Darbar).So, the style of greeting through dance Change from "Pranam" to "Selam". Benaras being the oldest city in India,it is believed that Benaras Gharana is the oldest Gharana rather Benaras is the region where Kathak originated. Though the Mughal style craved into Kathak,it is believed that Jaipur being ruled by the Rajputs, Jaipur Gharana only portrays Hindu style. In modern days Kathak there is no such rigid differentiation in terms of Gharana.As India became colonised,under the British rule, Kathak took a turn from the main stream society and got nurtured by the prostitutes.Though this particular community is considered to be seperated from the main stream society, for a certain period of time the art form got its shelter there and survived. During the end of the British rule, Kathak became an art of the elites in the society. Children from elite family started learning Kathak.It is also heard that during this period, Guru's used to stay at the place of shishya and provided Talim(giving lesson) and the welfare of the Guru was taken care by the shishya and the shishya's family. It was considered to be the mandatory duty of the Shishya. Gradually, with the modernization Kathak became a presentation of stage and in these days Kathak has already made a sound spread with very possitive acceptance of people at different parts of the globe.

                                        While going back to the days of origin of Kathak form people might relate to another point of view, that is also believed by many.  At different regions Kathak Thakurs used to tell stories or Katho Katha,which included the mythological stories of "Purana",the stories of"Mangal Kabya" and "Vaishnav Padabali". Several regional histories also paved there way to this. These histories included the love of king and queen or prince and princess or the love for nation and many more. Thus, initially, the art form was entirely a regional folk form. Several streams evolved from this particular art form,such as painting which is known as "Pata Katha",song , dance and many more. Though several streams remained primitive in its folk form but certain forms took shelter under the patronage of the kings.One such form is Kathak dance form, which says stories through dance and is based on the rhythms of beats.So,Kathak being adopted in a courtly ambiance shaped itself in a classical form . In this point of view it is believed that "Ghungroo" came as a larger and more sound as well as effective form of the "Nupur"(ankle ornament worn by women) of Radha.

                It is a gathered information based on several views about the origin of the Kathak dance form.

                             This piece of writing is about cherishing and celebrating our Indianness through its rich culture.