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The word Kathak is
derived from 'Katha', which literally means
'storyteller'. In ancient times, storytellers used song and
dance to embellish their narration. This took the form of
Kathakalakshepam and Harikatha in southern India, and the form
of Kathak in the north. At first Kathak was very similar to the
Bharatanatyam. Around the 15th century, the dance form underwent
a drastic transition due to the influence of the Mughal
tradition, which gave it a distinct Hindu-Muslim texture. It
gradually got altered from a temple dance to a courtly
entertainment. Traditionally danced by both men and women, what
distinguish Kathak from other dance forms are its spontaneity,
freedom from uniformity and the room for innovation and
improvisations. Thus, it enjoys a fair amount of individuality
and autonomy.
The Kathak recital commences with the
invocation to God, followed by Tatkar or Tukras, which consists
of a series of successive rhythmic designs danced to the drum.
At this stage the dancer performs many Paranas in perfect
combination with the drummer's syllables. Kathak is based on
bhava, raga and tala. Its compositions
are based on the Hindustani Classical music. The dancer usually
does the singing himself. The expressional numbers, which are in
Hindi, Hindustani or Urdu language pertaining to Krishna Leela
legends from the Puranas or a love episode, are retold
and interpreted through abhinaya, facial expressions and
postures. Sometimes a Kathak item called gatbhava may be without
a chant or singing. Here the dancer takes the Radha-Krishna
episode and interprets it through mime only. The excitement in a
typical Kathak performance is the jugalbandi, which is the
interactive and competitive play between the dancer and the
tabla player. Kathak is fundamentally a solo performance with a
strong emphasis on footwork and rhythm. Dancers wear
tight-fitting churidars under angarkhas,
achkans or kurtas, with long strings of bells
wound firmly around the ankles. Jaipur, Lucknow and Benaras are
the famous Gharanas of Kathak.
Famous Exponents:
Kalka Prasad, Binda Din, Shambhu Maharaj, Lachchu Maharaj,
Achchan Maharaj, Birju Maharaj, Munalal Shukla and Reba
Vidhyarthi (all of Lucknow Gharana); Roshan Kumari, Mohan Rao
Kalyanpurkar, Durgalal and Rajendra Gangani (all of Jaipur
Gharana); Gopi Krishna, Sitara Devi, Sunayana Hazarilal, Uma
Sharma, Kumudini Lakhia, Maulik Shah, Ishira Parikh and Neelima
Azeem.
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