Kathak

India is rich with culture. Especially when it comes to dance, India bears the history of birth of some greatest Classical Dance forms. Kathak is one of them. "Kathak" actually means "kathakar" or "a story teller". This form had been popularized in India from the era of Mughal dynasty. Mughal emperors had a fine taste of dancing, so they used to invite greatest dancers at their courts to be entertained.

Kathak Dance

So the dance is very much influenced by Persian and Central Asian Dance styles. The style is all about sober body movements and grand postures because in those former days a dancer mainly performed it to show respect towards the emperors and the court members. The dance is chiefly divided into three "gharanas" or styles : Jaipur, Lucknow and Varanasi, born in the courts of the Kachwaha Rajput kings, the Nawab of Oudh, and Varanasi respectively. Later the new Raigarh gharana joined the family and distinctively became famous.

Kathak Expression

This style has its own moves, all total different from any other classical genre in India. Vandana (invocation to the God), Thatt, Aamad (entry), Salaami (greeting the audiences), Kavitta, Paran, Gat, Tihai, Tora, Tukra etc. all these are parts of a performance. Bol or Taal (like : dha dhin dhin dha na tin tin na or tig dha dig dig thei tram thei) is the spoken rhythm pattern on which a dancer has to perform. This rhythmic bols are enhanced with the help of Tabla, a musical instrument. A lot of different bols or taals are there like : Tri or Teen taal , Drupad taal, Dadra taal, Kaharba Taal etc. Taal is mainly performed by a rhythmic sound created by thumping the foot on the ground and the rhythm gradually increases or decreases according to the performance . It is a definite matter of extreme practice.

Kathak with Tabla

Acchan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Birju Maharaj (son of Acchan Maharaj) etc. are the masters of these gharanas, and they took the culture to the peak of success and innovativeness.

Lacchu Maharaj

Birju Maharaj