Origin of Kathak

Photo by Saksham Gangwar on Unsplash

So Kathak is not just a dance for me, it’s an emotion and nostalgia for me. To be honest, I don’t know Kathak. I just remember the basic footwork and a few hand movements.

So I was exposed to Kathak dance for the first time when I was around five or six. I don’t remember. I had an interest in dance. But more than dance, I loved to get ready for the performances. My mother decided to put me in a dance class. And for a child who is as small as five, who likes to dance for fun and not for passion. Who enjoys mostly the part of getting ready, Kathak was boring. And I even quit it after a year or two.

Then, I stopped dancing too. I don’t know why. Maybe the reason is that my interest got over it. But when I was in my eighth grade, I enjoyed the performances held in my school. And it was purely classical. I myself got interested. I joined from scratch. Because leaving it at the age of five and then picking it up randomly after almost seven to eight years breaks the flow. And I didn’t remember anything. I learnt it for three months. It was sufficient for the performance at school. I got interested in it this time, but I didn’t have time as studies were turning heavier for me. And I had writing with me too. I loved writing more, so I quit Kathak again.

Enough of the backstory. Now I will be getting to the point.

Kathak is one of the eight major classical dances in India. The thing common to these classical dances is that they are not just dances. Every movement made by the body forms an exact angle. They portray stories with just movements and expressions.

The dance is done with rhythmic footsteps. The performer wears a special kind of anklets known as ghunghroo.

It is mainly found in four styles based on the cities or gharanas they belong to. Jaipur gharana focuses on fast spins and footwork. Banaras gharana focuses on the footwork and storytelling of Krishna. Lucknow gharana focuses on grace and elegance. And the Raigarh gharana originated in the court of the King of Raigarh. He invited the teachers of all three gharanas to represent. As a result, the blend created a unique and fourth gharana.

Kathak was initially not performed to show; it was done as a form of worship in the temples. Then slowly, this dance form came out of the temple and acted as a form of storytelling. The performers used to tell mythological stories through their art.

The dance came into the sight of the Mughals, and they decided to bring this dance inside the court for entertainment. The Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, himself was a practitioner of Kathak. He emphasised the steps of it by adding spins and other elements. Even the dressing style was changed after the coming of the Mughals. The performers used to wear lehengas before the coming of the Mughals. The Mughals changed the dress to the Anarkali suit.

The coming of the British flipped the script. They discouraged the dance. They allowed the dancer to dance only if they told the tales of their history. Performing on mythological tales was abandoned.

The post-independence era brought Kathak back among people. Many Hindu institutes for dance started opening.

And if we see today, people who are passionate about dance pursue it as their career. They even do graduation and post-graduation in this.

I admire the dancers a lot. It takes years of experience to master every move. Dances like Kathak are part of our history and should be encouraged among kids. It will keep the legacy of the dance alive.

I’m sure you’ll support not just me but everyone else in this journey too. So, let’s go and be a part of Draft era Publication!

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