Vageesh Express

September 2006 Edition

Samarpanam

Samarpanam: Dances in Detail

The last in the series of classical Indian dance forms is Kathak, performed in North India.

Kathak

Kathak literally means `to tell a story'. The dance form originated in the stories that were told by the nomadic bards of ancient northern India known as Kathaks. These bards were Vaishnava devotees and recounted tales from the life of lord Krishna in temples and village squares. The recital was embellished with hand gestures and facial expressions.

The advent of Mughal rule completely transformed Kathak. From being a devotional practice it became a mode of royal entertainment. During this period Kathak enriched itself by borrowing ideas from the Persian culture. In this process of fusion, Kathak distanced itself from the traditional Indian classical dance forms and developed a distinct style of its own. The straight leg stance and the signature `chakkars' (spins) were introduced during this period. Kathak enjoyed great patronage and prospered under Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow.

There are three main Gharanas or schools of Kathak - Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras Gharana - named after the geographical region in which they developed. There are subtle differences between them. While the Lucknow Gharana emphasised on the sensuous expressive emotions, the Jaipur Gharana focused on highly intricate and complex footwork.

Today Kathak includes elements of both devotional moods and complex footwork. Expressive emotions, rhythmic accuracy, graceful turning, poised stances, technical clarity, hand gestures and subtle expressions are the important components of modern day Kathak.

Folk Dances

Apart from the tradionally studied and systematically learnt classical dance, the Indian subcontinent also boasts of a rich tradition of folk dances. Technically, there is no such genre as folk dance.  Rather, there is a large body of unrelated non-classical dance forms. 

Many folk dances are performed by the common man and have their origin in rural Indian culture.  Traditionally, on special occasions, the villagers would gather to sing and dance, accompanied by a variety of folk instruments.  Such special occasions included harvesting, planting, marriages and religious holidays. This mode of joyous celebration evolved into what we call folk dances today.

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