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PAPER 4

Detail Study Of Kathak, Nautch Girls, Nritta, Nritya, Different

Gharana-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists

Module 7 Lukhnow Gharana Part 2

In Kathak, each syllable is designed not merely to represent the

sounds of feet and bells but also to be in harmony with the strokes of

the accompanying percussion instruments. During a performance

pieces of abstract dance may be recited before their execution, and

the dancer may employ variation in intonation in order to sketch out

in sound the approximate contours of the movements s/he will use.

This padhant / पढंत, or recitation, is also a medium of communication with the percussionist(s) who must match stroke for syllable, what

the dancer recites. Furthermore, the padhant enables the audience

to visualize and appreciate the rhythmic patterns before they are

revealed in dance movements.

Different gharanas (i.e. schools) of dance not only demonstrate

general technical differences, but significant stylistic preferences. For

instance, the rival Jaipur style is said to emphasize the abstract

rhythmic element of dance far more than its expressive content, and

to such ends places footwork prominently at the beginning of the

performance. Nevertheless, so powerful has the influence of

Lucknow been, and in particular the artistic dominance of Birju

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Maharaj and his family, that nowadays there is a great deal more

homogeneity in Indian Kathak dance styles than in former days.

The Kathak Kendra in New Delhi where Birju Maharaj teaches is a

perennial hive of activity from which many of the new generations of

dancers have emerged over the past few decades. Guru Munna Lal

Shukla, a close relative of Birju Maharaj, also teaches at the Kathak

Kendra; he has for some years been the subject of important new

research into the Lucknow school of Kathak by his Canadian student

Deepti Gupta.[6] Besides dancers of the Lucknow tradition, the

Kathak Kendra's policy has been to employ dancers of the Jaipur

tradition also. Of course, although Lucknow has its own Kathak

Kendra where excellent dancers such as Kapila Raj (student of Lacchu

Maharaj) and Ram Mohan (son of Shambhu Maharaj) have taught in

recent years, and a programme in dance at the famous Bhatkhande

Music College under Professor Purnima Pande, Kathak has become

popular throughout India and abroad.

Although it is not possible to mention all the talented dancers of the

modern era, some of the most notable are Sitara Devi (Bombay),

who has performed in many films; Rohini Bhate (Pune); Kumudini

Lakhia (Ahmedabad); Maya Rao (Bangalore); Uma Sharma (Delhi);

Rani Karna (Calcutta); Rina Singha (Toronto); Chitresh Das

(California); Joanna Das (Toronto); Vijai Shankar (Calcutta and Japan);

Saswati Sen (Delhi), arguably Birju Maharaj's most famous disciple,

who danced in Satyajit Ray's celebrated film based in Lucknow,

Shatranj Ke Khiladi or The Chess Players; and Veronique Azan, a

Delhi-based French dancer who also studied under Birju Maharaj.

Other students have taken Kathak far beyond India's borders: for

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instance it is taught at the Peking Opera and in many schools in

Europe and North America.

As with any living tradition, Kathak has always continued to evolve:

amad and parmelu were not always part of the dance tradition,

particularly in the pre-Muslim era; and the temple and the village

square have given way to the court and theatre and different styles

of dance presentation. Soloists still dominate the genre, as always,

but increasingly common are elaborately choreographed productions

involving Kathak dance troupes, for instance, Krishnayan, and Katha

Raghunath Ki (presented in Delhi in 1978 by Birju Maharaj). Perhaps

the most important of all, the themes on which dance items are

based have evolved with the times, especially during the 1970s and

1980s: these include abstract ideas as well as topical issues such as

the different rhythms in nature and social life (Talatmika,

choreographed by Birju Maharaj in 1988), life and death (Udgaar,

choreographed by Rohini Bhate in 1987), and physical and mental

handicaps (Setu, choreographed by Kumudini Lakhia in 1987).

Although Bindadin had no male offspring, Kalka Prasad had three

sons who, in turn, became the dominant forces in kathak during the

early to mid-twentieth century: Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj,

and Shambhu Maharaj. Acchan Maharaj (1883-1947), "though of a

heavy and unwieldy build was extremely gifted and while performing

transformed into a different person, the very model of agility and

grace" (Kothari 1989: 32). He specialized in bhava, the expressional

aspect of dance that deals with the depiction or characterization of

mood. Acchan Maharaj was responsible for the training of his

younger brothers, and he was also engaged to dance in several North

Indian courts before being invited to teach in the Delhi School of

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Hindustani Music and Dance from 1936 onwards. Lacchu Maharaj

(1901-78) spent much of his life in Bombay creating and directing

dance-dramas and choreographing for films. He was noted for bringing to Kathak "a fragile elegance and beauty. His chals or walks

were a treat to watch. The micro movements of the eyes, eyebrows,

wrists, fingers and the movements of the torso and the chest were

superb. The delicacy that he brought to his movements put him in a

class by himself" (Kothari 1989: 33). Shambhu Maharaj (1910-70)

was a charismatic and flamboyant character who danced with great

power and energy but who could also bring to a thumri / ठुमरी an inexhaustible variety of interpretations which he performed with the

subtlest of movements from the sitting position. He enjoyed a

glittering stage career, and in 1952 was invited to join the Bharatiya

Kala Kendra in Delhi where he became head of the department of

Kathak (Misra 1991: 21).

Arguably the most important function of a description such as this is

to encourage readers to attend a performance and see for

themselves Kathak's elegant swirling movements, lightning quick

pirouettes, its sudden poses, the rapid stamping of feet, and the

subtle gestures capable of expressing the fullest possible range of

emotions.

The word Kathak derives from katha, a story. A Kathak is therefore

one who tells a story, and from ancient times traditional classes, and

later castes, of story-tellers specialized in conveying through dance

and music tales from the great Indian epics and scenes from the lives

of the gods. Their role was therefore to teach as well as to entertain

with the aid of an extremely rich and highly sophisticated poetic

literature in Sanskrit and Brajbhasha.

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Durga Prasadji was in the service of the King, from whom he received

a pension to help with the upbringing of his children. Also in the

King's service was a great pakhawaj drummer, Kodau Singh, who was

jealous since his family did not share this privilege. When Kodau

Singh made his complaint known to Wajid Ali Shah, it was decided

that the matter should be settled by a contest between the dancer

and the pakhawaji. If the latter were to win he would, as requested,

receive the dancer's pension; if not he would forfeit his hands! Durga

Prasadji became worried since he was getting old, and he feared that

his failure to win the contest would ultimately bring about the end of

his family tradition. At this point Durga Prasadji's gifted seven-year-

old son Bindadin Maharaj stepped in to beg his father to allow him to

compete instead, saying "Since all this is happening because of me, it

should therefore be me who dances in the contest". Durga Prasadji

finally agreed, and in preparation for the contest Bindadin

immediately embarked on the rigorous practice of rhythmic

footwork to the exclusion of all else.

A month later everyone gathered in the court in an atmosphere of

tremendous excitement. The young Bindadin began dancing in quick

tempo, and Kodau Singh accompanied him accordingly. Neck to neck

they danced and played for twelve hours. Neither had gained the

upper hand. The King had become restless and hungry but the court

insisted that he not leave his throne even for a second. Bindadin

suddenly doubled his tempo and continued relentlessly for a further

four hours. He ultimately danced so quickly that his feet became a

blur to the eye. Exhausted and confused, the pakhawaji / पखावज lost track of the rhythm for a split second and committed an error.

Bindadin had won. The line of Durga Prasadji had been saved!

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The King summoned Durga Prasadji and asked him to name his

reward. Durga Prasadji merely said "I want nothing but that you

spare the hands of the Kodau Singh". His wish was granted, but the

embarrassed pakhawaji disappeared from public view for quite some

time thereafter, remaining in isolation and refusing all food until he

nearly starved. Such was the fierce pride of a musician in those

times! (Kothari 1989: 24). The following anecdote illustrates

Bindadin's imaginative approach:

Wajid Ali Shah was holding court to a gathering of poets. One

common diversion was for the King to suggest a particular scenario

to which the poets would supply the reason it had come about. On

this occasion, Wajid Ali Shah's tale was of a young woman who was

found the day after her wedding to have the palm of her hand

severely burnt. One poet suggested that, inexperienced, she had

burnt her hand while preparing a light meal for her husband.

Another said that she had burnt herself while lighting an oil lamp. All

the other suggestions focused on the woman's practical inexperience

in some way or other.

The young Bindadin Maharaj was then called upon for his

interpretation, and he began to improvise a verse and to dance it.

The young woman is sitting expectantly on her bed awaiting her

husband. She is prepared for a night of love, and yet she is

experiencing the mixed emotions of joy, fear, and curiosity. At one

and the same time her body experiences both desire and shame. The

husband arrives: he begins to undress her, and out of a sense of

modesty she quickly extinguishes the oil lamp by pressing her palm

over the flame.

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The story goes that Bindadin was rewarded handsomely for his

performance with precious jewels from an often excessively

extravagant Wajid Ali who was himself an accomplished dancer.

Indeed, it is said that the King's toes twitched rhythmically in his

sleep (Sharar 1975: 138), and that as a boy he would tap his feet

incessantly: he was apparently partly deaf in one ear because his

exasperated Urdu tutor once slapped him for tapping (Kippen 1988:

20). Wajid Ali choreographed many dance productions inside and

outside the court (see Kothari 1989: 25), and strongly promoted the

thumri vocal form which, when incorporated into Kathak dance,

called for elaborate interpretations of the poetic content in order to

highlight the multifarious meanings that could at one and the same

time be spiritual and erotic. In this way, the abhinaya, or expressive

element, in Kathak was encouraged and developed, and the

acknowledged master of the thumri in dance was Bindadin Maharaj.

Birju Maharaj (b. 1937), the son of Acchan Maharaj, studied with his

father until the latter's death in 1947. Thereafter he continued his

training with his uncles, and not surprisingly he draws together in his

own dance style the strengths of each: from his father he claims to

have inherited the suppleness of the torso and chest, the play of the

neck, head, and face, the precision of the footwork, and the fullness

of movement; from Lacchu Maharaj he learned the stylized chals of

the gat and the fluidity of movement; from Shambhu Maharaj he

adopted the power of movement and the force needed to dance

paran. In his own words, Birju Maharaj has likened Lacchu Maharaj

and Shambhu Maharaj to the moon and the sun, and Acchan

Maharaj the sky. Combined they form his universe. Modern Kathak

has become an extremely popular art form, and a great many young

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dancers from India and beyond have been drawn to it both for its

purely aesthetic qualities as well as for its ability to combine abstract

rhythmic elements (nritta / न्रित्ता) and the expressive and narrative aspects of movement (nritya / न्रित्य). A typical Lucknow performance of Kathak unfolds gradually through several stages, each stage

establishing a tempo and dynamic quicker and more intense than the

last. The slow introductory invocations to the gods (vandana / वंदना, pranam / प्रणाम) are followed by several sections of abstract pieces (thath, amad, and then in much faster tempo tukra / टुकरा, tora / तोरा, and paran / परन) that emphasize technique and variety of movement. In medium tempo come more expressive pieces that rely

on the art of suggestion: gat nikas / गत न्रनकास, where the dancer hints at a series of animal or human characters using chals and

poses; gat bhav / गत भाव, storytelling; thumri, dadra, or ghazal, where the dancer brings to life a song in that style; and tarana, a

recent choreographic genre in which both technical and expressive

aspects of dance are emphasized. Technical virtuosity in the form of

footwork is usually reserved for the very fastest tempo, and dancers

often enter into playful rhythmic competition with their tabla

accompanists in the form of a duet (jugalbandi) where one imitates

the other, trying constantly to outguess one's opponent. The

ultimate aim of the dancer is to develop creative improvisation with

the accompanists thereby directing the flow of energy so that it

uplifts and involves the spellbound audience before passing back to

the performers in the form of warm appreciation.

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To the untrained ear or eye, footwork is often an exhilarating but

nonetheless bewildering experience like the story of Bindadin

Maharaj and the pakhavaji, a veritable blur to the eye. Yet footwork

is not simply a succession of flat slaps on the ground, rather it

comprises at least a dozen steps for each foot that in combination

with the ghunghrus / घुघरू, or ankle bells, produce quite different sounds. For instance, a flat step (represented with the quasi-

onomatopoeic syllables ta, tig, di, etc. / ता, न्रतग, दद); a flat step pushed from back to front (thei / थेई); the heel pushed from back to front (tat / तत); heel down (ki, gi, etc. / कक, गी, ); striking with the outer portion of the foot (ghi / घी); toes striking the ground behind (na / ना); a synchronous combination of ta with the left foot and tat with the right (khran); and so on.[5] All are present in the following

tisra jati (i.e. triple time) parmelu paran, though some of the steps

change depending on their position in the rhythmic phrase or as a

result of the addition of upper-body movements:

X tat tat tat trika dhan dhan

0 jhiji kita jhiji kita ||: jhiji kita

X tho thoran -ga taka thunga tak

0 tigda digdig thei Ð tigda digdig

X thei tigda digdig thei tigda digdig

0 thei :|| x3

The designation parmelu indicates that a variety of sounds, some

imitating nature, are being used: for example, jhijhi depicts the jingle

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of the ankle bells; thorang is the rumble of thunder; tigda digdig thei

is the strut of a peacock. Other designations signify different

qualities: for instance natwari always includes Khe step khran, and is

a composition linked to the god Krishna. In Kathak, each syllable is

designed not merely to represent the sounds of feet and bells but

also to be in harmony with the strokes of the accompanying

percussion instruments. During a performance pieces of abstract

dance may be recited before their execution, and the dancer may

employ variation in intonation in order to sketch out in sound the

approximate contours of the movements s/he will use. This parhant,

or recitation, is also a medium of communication with the

percussionist(s) who must match stroke for syllable, what the dancer

recites. Furthermore, the parhant enables the audience to visualize

and appreciate the rhythmic patterns before they are revealed in

dance movements.

To conclude, the Kathak dancer is a story-teller. He describes the

strut of a peacock, but he neither mimics nor becomes the peacock;

he reproduces the essence of the movement of a character or

animal. He takes from each being or situation that which

characterizes or symbolizes it, and puts that into dance. Throughout,

it is the dancer's intention to suggest rather than to make explicit

and there is always room for the active participation of the

imagination of the audience. The Kathak dance tradition of Lucknow

is undoubtedly one of India's finest cultural achievements, and with

so many outstanding exponents nationally and internationally it will

continue to tell its stories for generations to come.

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