PAPER 4

Detail Study Of Kathak, Nautch Girls, Nritta, Nritya, Different Gharana-s,

Present Status, Institutions, Artists

Module 4 Gharanas (Schools) Of Kathak

Kathak is the classical dance form of North India, with the main centers

being in Jaipur and Lucknow. Others have added and created new

branches but the main river i.e. the Ganges remains. All others are

tributaries. The Ganges or Ganga is about ancient India, where dance was

considered not only a visual feat or intoxicated energy and form of

entertainment but also to represent activity of gods called Leelas. Indian

dancers identified the glory of god with infinite beauty and the way it was

expressed became part of the devotion. Since Hinduism is not strictly a

religion but a philosophy, many additions and diversities became an

inherent part of it.

Temples became important places for performance. The existence of

natya mandapa in many temples meant that dance was an integral part

of temple activity. For this only Brahmins could sing or be allowed inside

while those whom they taught were not necessarily so. Thus, arose, in

North India a class of dancers called Kathaks. The Sanskrit word Kathaka

(male) or Kathika (female) denotes a narrator of stories. The custodian of

this art were called Kathakars, just as custodian in south India of Chakkiar

Koothu were called Chakkiars.

The coming of invaders who settled in India brought Islamic trends and

traditions, especially in the ruling courts. Instead of a clash though a

synthesis of two cultures took place. In changed times thereafter, the

Kathaks completely took charge of responsibility of serving the deity in

temples like Ayodhaya. Their services were sought after by nawabs, kings

and zamindars, as these Kathaks knew scriptures like Ramayana and

Mahabharata by heart. Also, they could recite the poetry, entertain and

regale audiences.

Thus, Kathak found place in courts of Nawab of Oudh/Awadh, modern

Lucknow and the most reputed one to come to such a court was Prakashji

who came during the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. His grandson was

the illustrious Bindadin, who was in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

After demise of Maharaj Bindadin in 1918, the tradition was continued by

his sons Achchan, Lachchu and Shambhu Maharaj as also his devoted

pupil from Jaipur, Pt. Jailal and his brother Pt. Sundar Prasad. At about

the same time, in far away Pune, Madame Menaka, wife of scientist Col.

Sokhey was also propagating Kathak and in Calcutta, it was done by

Sadhona Bose. The court of Raigarh too popularized Kathak. Benaras got

fresh lease of life when Nepal born Sukhdev Parasad, father of Sitara,

Tara, and Alokananda settled there and infused Islamized court Kathak of

Lucknow with Hindu bhajans and tandava pieces. Thus we see, early on

there were no real gharanas. It was one Ganga that ran through many

regions and states.

Gharanas came about with specific need to promote each form or style in

order to access patronage, desire attention from masses and get approval

of classes. If we accept Lucknow to be fountainhead and Jaipur too, it is

interesting to learn many gurus of Jaipur also trained with Lucknow and

vice versa. They took the best from each other and then the issue was not

about gharana. It was about art.

Sitara Devi stating at 1978 seminar on gharanas (Mohan Khokar’s Dance

Collection) is on record saying: “There were no gharanas originally. Each

guru added his own. Students made much out of it. For example, my

father Pt Sukhdev Prasad felt Kathak had become durbari dance (court

nautch) and so infused it with Hindu elements by way of Kali Nritya or

Shiv Tandava compositions.”

At the same seminar held at Kathak Kendra in March of 1978, when

Mohan Khokar was Secretary of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lachchu

Maharaj said: “I am in favor of abolishing the gharanas.”

Pt. Gaurishankar felt stalwarts of both main gharanas, Shambhu Maharaj

and Sundar Prasad represented certain characteristics and these need not

be divisive. He narrated various seminars before that which took place to

discuss gharanas - 1967 at Bombay, 1969 at Jaipur. He said earlier people

were ashamed of calling themselves followers of a particular gharana and

today the gharanas are being paraded proudly!

Mohanrao Kalyanpurkar said his own guru Sundar Prasad had learnt from

both Jaipur and Lucknow. He said his guru never spoke a word against any

of them and taught him pieces culled from Janaki Prasad and Sukhdev

Maharaj too. He added that it was the same with Achchan Maharaj. All

are on record, though later years’ history got distorted by corrupt power

centers in Delhi patronage system and please-all babus and officers of

Kathak Kendra and forces in Delhi as evident from historical data in

Mohan Khokar Dance Collection.

It is natural human progression when the hungry one will eat any food

available. When comfortable, one gets choosy or selective. This is also the

case with gharanas. When India was not independent and under colonial

rule, it was more important to come together and save an art form that

was on decline. Once, good times came after Independence, a young

India settled down, and many demands for exclusivity came about. For

example, although there is no copyright in chakkars or toddas, some poet

and gharana heads inserted their names in the composition for

immortality. Yet others, created artificial boundaries that this Shiv

Tandava piece is Benaras property and this raas is from Braj, whereas the

same raas was performed and encouraged by the Mughal ruler of

Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah.

Overzealous students created camps and boundaries to show supremacy.

As most gurus were not formally educated or much travelled, their egos

could easily be pricked or affected and unscrupulous elements in

government patronage systems and controls made further divisions.

The first generation of star dancers like Madame Menaka, Sadhona Bose,

Damayanti Joshi, and Maya Rao owed allegiance to both schools or

gharanas or none! They danced Kathak. Period. They did not state or

project one style over other.

It was the next generation, post-Independence that started this slow

colouring of clear waters. They wished to control their gurus, their

fiefdoms and patronage so they started criticizing and putting each other

down. What does Jaipur know of abhinaya, they know only footwork!

And Jaipur acolyte would turn and say Lucknow is all namby-pamby

effeminate dance, where is the masculinity!

Gharanas had no real base, except stylistic. Structure and grammar was

same - Kathak. Content and scope was same - Kathak outreach. Teaching

and trending was same - individual to individual, then group classes. The

body stood the same erect way, hastas were minimal and lot of license to

talk on stage, the original katha vachak remained. Thus, gharanas till

post- Independence made little or no sense. All first generation teachers

and gurus, sishyas and staff are on record and reported in important

seminar papers in Mohan Khokar Dance Collection.

One good example is the SNA 1958 Seminar, in which Mohanrao

Kalyanpurkar read and wrote a paper on this aspect. He wrote at length

on the structure of the form. He also analyzed Kathak, with fellow

traveller and philosopher S.K. Saxena.

Gharanas today have become battle grounds. In 1970s this trend started

in Delhi basically due to coming up of national teaching institute, the

Kathak Kendra. In the beginning, both Jaipur and Lucknow had equal

representation. Slowly, leading lights of Jaipur like Narayan Prasad,

Kundanlal Gangani, then stars like Devi and Durga Lal died, thus a vacuum

was created wherein Lucknow filled much. The larger than life personality

of genius and complete artiste like Birju Maharaj there also did not help

the cause of other gharanas and soon Lucknow came to Delhi. There was

hardly anyone left in Lucknow! It was only in 1990s that Arjun Mishra was

sent there and he established Lucknow gharana in a big way. He has

trained his daughters Smriti and Kantika and his son Anuj is now a star

dancer.

Jaipur’s fortunes have been fluctuating post-Independence, even if it is

geographically closer to Delhi. Almost all senior gurus came to Delhi to

work and teach at Bharatiya Kala Kendra, which hosted all Kathakars of

the period from 1940s to 60s until SNA created its own Kathak Kendra,

which originally was being run at Bharatiya Kala Kendra itself.

Today, gharanas have no base as each city boasts its own. Pune gharana,

Baroda gharana, even Bangalore gharana! Anywhere a guru goes and

stays; it is reason enough for a gharana to come up. Maya Rao learnt in

Delhi, and then came to Bangalore to teach many. Sohanlal went from

Bangalore to Baroda. Sundarlal Gangani came from Meerut to Baroda.

Kundanlal went from Bombay to Baroda to Delhi.

The three main gharanas or schools of Kathak named according to the

geographical areas in which they developed are the Jaipur, Lucknow, and

Benaras gharanas. Each has a slight difference in interpretation and

repertoire.

Lucknow Gharana came into being in Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s court

(1847-1856) in early 19th century. It has more of Muslim influence and is

famous for its bhava (expression) and nazakkat (elegance). The fast spins

using the foot is of shorter duration compared to other schools. The

hallmarks of this style are artistically composed dance compositions,

soulful music compositions like thumris, dadras, horis along with

abhinaya, and creative improvisations. The costume is a chudidar, a

kameez that flares out during the spinning and a dupatta that covers the

head, shoulders and the torso. Kalka Bindadin was the architect of the

present form also known as Kalka-Bindadin gharana. Thakur Prasad of the

Lucknow gharana was the court dancer of Wajid Ali Shah who was

himself a dancer, musician and poet. Thakur Prasad’s two sons, Bindadin

and Kalka Prasad, were also court dancers and are credited with

recreating the expressional form of Kathak. They continued their scholar

father’s great work under the patronage of the Nawab and their

compositions were many. The sons of Kalka Prasad were Achchan,

Shambu Maharaj and Lachchu Maharaj who continued their father’s

tradition. Birju Maharaj is the son of Achchan Maharaj.

Nothing is historically known about the elementary form of Kathak

though traditions connect it to a dance style which was known as Braj

bhumi ka nritya. It was performed in the temples of Ayodhya on the

occasion of Ram Navami and Jhula celebration by the Kathaks who

rendered stuti with dance accompaniment. They associated themselves

with Awadh court and developed their style on classical lines.1

Thakur Prasad’s innovations are not on record. However, it is held by one

of his great grandsons, Birju Maharaj, that his innovations were

numerous. For example: 1. The use of mridang is attributed to him 2. He

introduced those bols (mnemonics) of mridang which existed in the form

of parmelu. 3. The use of bandish (rhythmical patterns) and parans

(rhythmical phrases compatible with the bols of a particular tala or theka)

were also his contribution. These observations are in support of the view

that Kathak till then existed in an elementary form. Traditionally, the

Kathaks used dhol and not mridang as dance accompaniment.2

Kathak as a dance style was further codified by Kalka-Bindadin team. It

was Bindadin who enriched the lyrical side of Kathak by composing

numerous thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajans. He imparted both vitality

and variety to this dance form. Bindadin is also credited with creating the

expressional form of Kathak which is technically known as batana / बताना. Various aspects of bhav-abhinaya were developed, such as sabha-bhav / सभा-भाव, ang-bhav / अंग-भाव, artha-bhav / अर्थ-भाव, nayan-bhav / नयन-भाव,

bol-bhav / बोऱ-भाव, nritya-bhav / नतृ्य-भाव, etc. Almost all the dances of

Lucknow specialized in nayan-bhav considered to be most difficult part of

dance. Bindadin also encouraged the dramatic content of Kathak known

as natyang / नाट्यान्ग, which gave way to the performance of nayika bhed

(the heroine types). All the angs and bhed of lasya were developed.

Bindadin could dance in all the tals and forms of music – drupad, thumri,

dadra and ghazal. Thumri dancing was his special forte and he developed

the ang of thumri in Kathak which became extremely popular among the

courtesans of Lucknow and Banaras.3

Kalka Prasad showed exceptional skill in the technique of pure dance. He

was the master of layakari / ऱयकारी. He developed a more elaborate form

of whirling movements and pauses which he borrowed from raas and

North Indian folk dances. Use of gardish o bhanvari and such other

difficult whirling movements in Kathak were his innovation. The two

brothers thus pooled their talents to develop a mature and perfect dance

style under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah. Kathak developed as a

chamber dance (darbari Nritya / दरबारी नतृ्य) and absorbed some of the

court etiquettes under amad / आमद and mujra. The costume was also

designed in contemporary fashion. Kalka and Bindadin trained numerous

male and female dancers in Kathak. Thus, Kathak did not remain exclusive

to any dancing community.4

Wajid Ali Shah (1822-1887), the last Nawab of Oudh, is famous for his

rahas / रहास performances, wherein he blended Kathak and raas. His

choreography can be put under two categories. In the first category came

36 compositions which may be characterized as corresponding to ballet

and were performed in a group. The dance contained a sustained theme

depicted through various mudra and bhav. This could be regarded as an

elaborate form of Kathak gat developed into a composite form of group

dancing. It was performed by going about in circles and semicircles in

consonance with the original concept of raas and not in to and fro

movement. His rahas-i mujra / रहास-ए मुजरा was a composite chamber

dance.5

Bhand naach / भांड नाच was influenced by Kathak as most of the bhands

of the 19th century mastered the techniques of Kathak. To folk dance,

Kaharwa / कहरवा, Wajid Ali Shah imparted a near classical status. He

choreographed 5 gats for this dance style which were associated with the

professional activities of the Kahar community. Thus, the period was not

of decline. There was no dearth of artistic skill and talent. Patrons too

were dynamic and encouraged experimentations, which resulted in the

fashioning and strengthening of musical styles which are popular, even

today.6

Jaipur gharana developed in the courts of the Kachchwaha / कच्छवाहा kings of Jaipur in Rajasthan. It evolved from temple Kathak and is known for its layakari (rhythmic excellence). Bhanuji, a Shiva devotee, learnt the dance from a holy man and imparted his knowledge to his son Maluji. Grandsons Laluji and Kanhuji went to Brindhavan and became Krishna devotees. Kanhuji’s grandson Ghindaji settled in Jaipur and thus was born the Jaipur gharana. In this style of Kathak, Ghindaji combined the tandava of Shiva and lasya of Krishna.

This school places more importance on the technical aspect of the dance with elaborate and complex footwork, multiple spins, complicated compositions in different talas and a grand tarana. There is more emphasis on fluency, taiyari (speed), virility and greater use of long intricate rhythmic patterns. The dance is mainly composed on parmelu bols. There is a greater incorporation of compositions from the pakhawaj, such as parans. The costume is long skirt and blouse instead of the chudidar-kameez, and a dupatta covers the shoulders and torso.

Some of the great dancers and gurus instrumental in developing the gharana include Hanuman Prasad, Durga Prasad, Shyamlal, Jailal, Devi Lal, Hari Prasad, Narayan Prasad, Sundar Prasad, Roshan Kumari and Durgalal. Current prominent artists of this gharana are Rajendra Gangani (son of Kundanlal Gangani), Geetanjali Lal (wife of Devi Lal), Prerana Shrimali and so on.

The Benaras Gharana was an offshoot of Jaipur gharana developed by Janaki Prasad but its adherents settled in Varanasi and Lahore. Since the roots of the Benaras gharana are engrained deeply into the soil of the holy city of Benaras, the Kathak dancers following this gharana dance for

bhajans and kavit parans which are based on god. It is characterized by the exclusive use of natawari or dance bols, which are different from the tabla and the pakhawaj bols. In Natawari compositions, rhythmic syllables correspond to the sound created by the feet striking the ground. There is no Mughal influence in the Benaras gharana because its dancers were never employed by Mughal courts. They worked for Hindu kings and so you see a lot of bhajans, padas and thumris in it. It is said that Janaki Prasad picked up the syllables from Samaveda. There

are totally 12 natwari bol compositions. There are differences in

the thaat and tatkaar, and chakkars are kept at a minimum but are often

taken clockwise and anti-clockwise with equal confidence. There is also a

greater use of the floor, for example, in the taking of sam or first beat of

the time-cycle.7

The major difference between this branch of Kathak and the two major

gharanas are that it stresses clarity of line and execution even if this

means sacrificing speed. For footwork, the Lucknow and Jaipur gharanas

allow the use of percussion instruments, but here the dance syllables are

only permitted.8

The three chief disciples of Janaki Prasad were Chunilal, Ganeshilal and

Dularam. Pt Sukhdev Maharaj (father of Sitara Devi and maternal

grandfather of Gopikrishna) was a Sanskrit scholar and teacher of this

gharana. Some famous exponents of this style include Sitara Devi,

Gopikrishna, Jitendra Maharaj, Onkar Prasad, Kundanlal, Naval Kishore,

brothers Sohanlal and Mohanlal.

Raigarh Gharana was established by King Chakradhar Singh in the princely

state of Raigarh in present Chhatisgarh in the early 20th century. Bhup

Deo Singh, the King of Raigarh was a great lover of art and literature. His

son Chakradhar Singh was also well versed in art, music and literature. He

revived Indian classical dance and music, way back in the 1930’s when

World War II was going on and artists lost patronage. While the people

were braving the consequences of war, the royal palace of Raigarh was

busy promoting the glorious tradition of art and literature. King

Chakradhar Singh was a dramatist, poet, tabla artiste and Kathak dancer.

The Raigarh form of Kathak originated here. It is a combination of Jaipur

and Lucknow forms of Kathak and was the creation of the King himself,

who used to honor artists and donate villages to them to help them and

keep their art alive. Chakradhar Singh penned the voluminous

Nartansarvasvam / नतथन सवथस्वम, a comprehensive documentation of

emotions and movements of a dancer, a musician or any other artiste,

apart from other masterpieces of Indian literature. This priceless work is

still in the possession of the royal family.9

The Maharaja invited many luminaries of Kathak and percussion to his

court, from both Jaipur (Jailal) and Lucknow (Achchan Maharaj, Shambhu

Maharaj) gharanas. He sought to create a new style synthesizing the

speed of Jaipur gharana with the delicate grace of the Lucknow gharana,

the ‘saatvik purity of tandav”, the grace of lasya, the appeal of bhava and

the robustness of folk dances.10 The confluence of different styles and

artists created a unique environment for the development of new Kathak

and tabla compositions drawn from various backgrounds. Some of

renowned dancers of this gharana are Kartik Ram, Phirtu Maharaj,

Kalyandas Mahant, Pt. Barmanlak, Pt. Ramlal, Yasmin Singh, V. Anuradha

Singh, Alpana Vajpeyi, Suchitra Harmalkar, Monica Pandey Bohre, Mohini

Moghe, Bhagwandas Manik, Bhupendra Bareth, Vaasanti Vaishnav,

Annapurna Sharma, etc.11