Eternal India Encyclopedia

DANCE

Eternal India

encyclop

edia

arts of Kerala. Among them, Chakiar Koothu, Kudiyattam (stylised

dramas)

Mutiyattu, Tirayattam

and

Tiyattam

(ritual dances),

Sas-

trakali and Ezhmattakali

(martial dances).

Krishnattam

and

Ramanattam

have had a direct influence on the development of

Kathakali.

Kathakali divides the characters into three categories : Satvik,

Rajas and Tamas. Satvik represents Gods and kings like Bhima

and Arjuna, they are called

Pachai

(Green). Rajas represents

Duryodhana, Ravana etc and are called Katti. Tamas characters

like Dushasana and similar wicked characters are called Tadi (red).

Kari (black) is the make-up for chandalas. Women, brahmins and

sages do not have any elaborate make-up but only

Minuku,

a slight

touch of yellow. Special emphasis is laid on the Aharya aspect of

Abhinaya which can be seen from the gorgeous costumes and

headgear. The dancers wear large skirts and use weapons like

swords and maces during the battle sequences.

The make-up takes more than three hours. The face is painted

elaborately, but no mask is put on. The eyes are drawn out from the

inner side of the eye near the nose to the end of the hairline on

either side in strong black lines. On the forehead is drawn an

elaborate

namam

, a religious marking.

A Kathakali programme which is usually held in the open fields

on moonlit nights begins with the Keli Kottu, an announcement to

the villagers that the dance drama is to be performed. Just before

the play starts, Thodayam and Mangalam are performed behind the

curtain, after which, with the appearance of a character on the

stage, the

purappad

is performed. Then the play starts, ending only

at day break with a

mangalam. Purappad, Ashtakalashams

and

Thodayam

are dance items of the Tandava variety, while

Kummi,

Sari

and

Panthadi

are items of the

Lasya

type.

Every muscle and joint of the body has to be trained to

establish perfect control over movement. Since the actor cannot

speak on the stage, he expresses himself through eye movements

of which there are 8, eyeball movements (9), eyebrow movements

(7), eyelid movements (9), mudras or hand gestures which are

multiplied into over hundreds of hastas. These are coupled with

facial expressions. The Kathakali artiste makes use of an elabo-

rate language of gesture. This is based upon a text entitled

Hasta

Lakshana Deepika,

which elaborates a code of 24 basic

hastas.

Young boys begin their study in a

gurukula

from the early age

of ten. The eyes, the eyebrows, the cheeks, the chin, the mouth, and

the head are all exercised individually and then in combination with

one another.

Unlike the other dance styles, Kathakali has remained a mas-

culine prerogative because of its virile, athletic nature until re-

cently. Women characters were played by men. Mahakavi Val-

lathol Narayana Menon popularised Kathakali by establishing the

Kerala Kalamandalam in Shoranur in 1930. Guru Gopinath, Kunju

Kurup, Chenganoor Raman Pillai, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and

Chatunni Parinicker are some of the prominent exponents of

Kathakali. Guru Gopinath was the first to popularise it outside

Kerala.

KATHAK

: The traditional Kathak style of dancing is a synthesis

of two cultures, the Hindu and Muslim. It had its origin in the

temples of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where the Kathak or story

teller recited stories from the

Bhagvata

and

Puranas

and inter-

spersed the narration with dance movements.

With

the Muslim

invasion,

Kathak suffered a complete eclipse

for sometime, till it was revived by

the Mughal emperors in the seven-

teenth century. In this phase of its

evolution, Kathak took on a secular

character.

The art which was originally

visualised as the dance of Krishna-

Natwari Nritya — lost

its

symbolic

significance and became an enter-

tainment at the court. The Vaishnav

cult which centred around manifes-

tations of the god Vishnu and the

bhakti (devotional) movement that

swept over the north of India in the

15th Century, contributed to the

emergence of a whole range of lyrics that became a base for

dramatic interpretation.

In the later part of the nineteenth century, the Nawabs of Oudh,

especially Nawab Wajid Ali Shah patronised Kathak from which

emerged the Lucknow

Gharana.

It is characterised by graceful

movement, subtle bhava or expression and sophisticated use of

rhythm. Another royal patron of Kathak was Raja Chakradhar

Singh of Raigarh (Madhya Pradesh). He encouraged different

gharanas,

including the Lucknow and Jaipur. The Jaipur

Gharana

noted for its vigorous rendering of nritta with emphasis on. speed

and rhythm. It nurtured an important part or angle of the Kathak

narrative tradition - the

Kavit-toda.

A third school of Kathak was the Banaras

Gharana,

also called

the Jaqaki Prasad

Gharana

after its founder. The Banaras Gharana

uses dance syllables (both oral and played on the tabla) for pure

dance sequences, with emphasis on grace and precision.

Pure dance is a predominant feature in Kathak “

Nritta

” is an

expression of the pure joy of movement and what is immediately

recognised as rhythmic abandon.

The most fascinating aspect of Kathak is the extreme virtuos-

ity displayed in the rendering of the parans, todas and tukadas

(patterns of rhythmic composition), all of which require speed and

control. The

gat nikaas, gat bhava

and

artha bhava

are sequences in

portraying the abhinaya aspect. Hastas are used in Kathak both in

the realistic and codified forms. Artha bhava or Bhav Batana is the

portrayal of a theme in Thumires, Padas etc.

The repertoire of Kathak consists of Rangmanch ki pooja,

Ganesh Vandana, Thaat, Tukda pranam, Ghat nikas, Ghat bhav,

Arth bhav. The aamad or entry of the dancer on the stage is usually

considered a prelude to the more intricate dancing that follows.

Thakur Prasad and his descendants, Kalka Prasad, Bindadin,

Achhan Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj, Shambu Maharaj , Birju Ma-

haraj of Lucknow and Pandit Jailal, Sunder Prasad and Sohan Lai of

Jaipur are some of the Gurus who have handed down the tradition of

Kathak. Menaka Damayanti Joshi, Sitara Devi, Rohini Bhate,

Maya Rao, Kumudini, Durga Lai, Uma Sharma, Chitra Venugopal

and Lakhia are the exponents who have popularised the art. The

Sangeet Natak Akademi has established a national centre for

Kathak-the Kathak Kendra at Delhi — for propagation of the art.