Tuesday, 1 November 2016

A brief introduction to Kathak






Native to northern India, Kathak is one of the six classical Indian dance forms.The word Kathak is derived from katha , meaning "a story", and hence the word Kathak means a storyteller who recounted mythological tales in the temples and danced them in a state of ecstasy. An ancient storytelling device, Kathak originated within the Hindu temples as a means of portraying the epic tales contained within the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Hindu scriptures. Poetry combined with rhythmic movement to aid in the worshipful storytelling.

However, the stories didn’t stay within the temple walls for long. Nomadic Kathaks, or wandering storytellers, soon began carrying the dances throughout the country. They added emotional facial expressions to their performances, further developing the dance to include elements of mime. In this way, Kathak transitioned from its secluded, devotional origins to a more accessible, multi-disciplined, entertainment tradition.



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 the Kathakars or story-tellers which blended easily with the existing traditional dance.



The Vaishnavite cult which swept North India in the 15th century. and the resultant bhakti movement contributed to a whole new range of lyrics and musical forms. The Radha-Krishna theme proved immensely popular alongwith the works of Mirabai, Surdas, Nandadas and Krishnadas.

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