Kathak Repertoire
The Ganesa Vandana and the Kavita are two types of poetic compositions to
which the dancer performs both nritta and elementary abhinaya. The principle on
which this particular type composition works is the matrika or the varnika
chhanda or poetry. The discussion of the nritta portions of Kathak would not be
complete without
mentioning the parhant and the tattakara.
The Kathak dancer invariably recites the bols of the dance cadences. Bols has
been considered an essential part of the Kathak dancer's demonstration. The
recitation or the parhant becomes important on account of the great emphasis
laid on the accented and unaccented parts of the mnemonics. It is important also
because the dancer, through recitations, almost rehearses the exact time
intervals in the dance before actually executing them through her feet. The
mnemonics of the tabla or the pakhavaj player may will repeat all the bols which
had been earlier recited by the dancer.
The tattakara is another way of presenting the dancer's great mastery over
rhythmic patterns. The dancer can on a given metrical cycle, execute fractional,
intervals of the beats of a single cycle. This is done by a cross time scanning
or by acceleratingor slowing this scanning by fractional count.
Thus, against a basic pattern of 16 beats, the dancer may execute a pattern of
12 beats by slowing the fractional count or a pattern of 24 beats by
increasing the count or making it double to 32 or trible to 48. Normally,
the dancer is taught to improvise on a 16 beat pattern in such a
manner that all the other talas can be set to the basic 16 beat pattern.
The dexterity and the precision of the
dancer lies in her absolute
synchronization with the sama of the original metrical pattern. The end
of the tattakara portion of the demonstration is a challenge also
from the point of view of perfect manipulation of weight. In the very
process of executing these rhythmic patterns, the dancer tries
to control the sound of the ankle bells and restrict the sound
to the jingling of one or two bells on her ankles or the jingling of the
entire hundred to two hundred bells. This is indeed a challenging
part of the dancer's training, because while executing these patterns and
maintaining the right axis of the body and giving various emphasis on the round
of the bells, the dancer must be absolutely static from the torso upwards. This is a difficult discipline for the dancer, because the feet, when tired
have a tendency of seeking relief through a free use of the pelvic region. The
charm of the dancer is in the seemingly static figure producing dynamic sounds.
Traditionally, the accompanying instruments were the pakhavaj (drum), small
cymbals (manjira) and the flute but they were replaced with the tabla, harmonium
and sarangi. The costumes of the dancers also underwent a change, and ghaghara
(long skirt ), choli (blouse) and a veil gave way to churidar pyjama and angarkha.
Besides many ornaments in gold and silver for head, neck, arms, hands fingers,
waist and feet, the small ankle bells are an essential part of adornment..These sweet sounding and tinkling bells
not only accentuate the movement of the dancing foot but also help in dancing
many complex patterns and designs which are hall marks of Kathak
Kathak is based on Bhava (mood ),
raga (melody) and Tal (rhythmic beat). Its composition
is based on North Indian classical music which include Dhrupad, Hori, Dhamar,
Pad and Bhajan on the one hand and thumari Ghazal and Dadra on the other hand
.The first category reflects the religious and devotional sentiment while
the second one a clear-cut erotic taste and tang. The singing is done by the
dancer himself which by implication means that a dancer should be an adept both
in dancing and singing. He is to be an expert in Abhinaya (acting )
Some times Kathak item may be without a chant or singing. Then it is
known as Gat Bhava under which the dancer takes a Radha -Krishna episode
and interprets it simply through mine only. The dancer plays various roles. His
change of character from one to the other is marked by a pirouette from one side
to the other. True to life, a Kathak recital includes sculpturesque postures,
pirouettes singing by the dancer abhinaya (mine) a lot of
innovation and both the sacred and the secular flavour.
Kathak makes a great use of a number of Hindustani musical compositions.
These have been entirely composed for the purpose of dance. Tarana a pure
musical item is used for Nritta. The Dhamar, Bhajan Thumri, Tappa, Dadra Kavitha
etc are the Hindustani musical compositions which provide a vast scope for the
presentation of sancharibhava on the part of the Kathak-dancer. The Dhamar and
Hori composition are related to Radha-Krishna legend and Rasa Lila with
the gopis, the cow girls of the Braja -mandala. The Bhajan and the Pada
are strictly devotional composition set to ragas. The Thumari is a short musical
composition of four five lines. The dancer repeats
each lines to bring out its varied meanings and richness of interpretation. As a
lyric, thumri consists only of one sthayi and one antra. The Dadra and the
Ghazal are love lyrics and are danced at relaxed pace and smooth tempo.
Kathak's unique layakari, intricate footwork, dizzying pirouettes, the
brilliant adayagi of parana combined with scintillating rhythmic syllables and
instrumental music make it a thing of transcendental
experience, aesthetic perfection and great inner beauty. It is one of the
classical Indian dance -forms destined to live for ever with its
various characteristic highlights getting richer and still richer with the
passage of time and further deep studies done in its creative and aesthetic
aspects.
