The Story of Kathak PDF
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PAPER 4 Detail Study Of Kathak, Nautch Girls, Nritta, Nritya, Different Gharana-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists Module 31 Kathak, Tap And Flamenco Dance audiences the world over have been stunned by the similarities between forms like Kathak and Tap, and Kathak and Flamenco. This has resulted in some scholars trying to research these forms to trace similarities of form, commonalities, and possibly shared histories, and to answer the question of why these forms bear such resemblance to one another. Let us take the question first -- of Flamenco and Kathak. In a review of a New York performance of Pt. Birju Maharaj, dated th 11 April, 1974, Jowitt, the Dance Critic of the New York based The Village Voice, likened his performance to a Spanish Zapateado, as Maharajji’s bearing, vigor, the stamping feet and the arm gestures directed out attention to the pulsating rhythm, “Except”, wrote Jowitt, “that Maharaj was not booted but barefooted”. Kathak was born in the Northern plains of India and Flamenco grew out of the gypsy and Andalusian culture of Spain. Similarities between the two can be seen immediately, on both a dance motivic level and on a structural level. By the dance motivic level is meant how the body is used in space with specific movements and techniques, and how the body parts of hands, legs, feet, arms, torso and even the whole body is held or turned. On the structural level, the similarities observed are of how smaller motifs and structures are linked and interwoven into a larger section, like carriage, footwork and full bodily movements. The Story of Kathak To understand possible imbrications and influences we need to go back to the histories of the two forms. In its long history, Kathak has responded to its patronage patterns. When the patrons were Hindu temples or temple going populations, the dance of the Kathak community had a strong religious and Hindu content. Despite the strongly held Hindu philosophy, the syncretic nature of early Islam in India reflected itself in a creative blend of the two, articulated in painting, poetry, music, architecture and dance. As the original work spaces of the Kathak community, the temple complexes grew weaker, compared to the lavishness of the courts, that were the new patrons, the Kathaks adapted their art to the new demands. Strict Islam’s ideology rejected the depiction of human forms, preferring the decorative elements of abstraction. These included abstract body extensions, abstracting the body to the musical line and the abstract play of numbers in the complex rhythmic percussions. Thus in the courts, the Kathaks and the descendants of the Persian dancers, especially those that came with Emperor Humayun, built beautiful intra-forms, around melody and rhythms. The love poetry moved from its religious and spiritual mood to the profane and erotic. So Radha and Krishna became more lovers than divinity and the dancers more entertainers than devotees. With the coming of the British, even these work places were lost. Unaware of the complexity of their art, the British painted all dancers with the same brush. The patronage afforded to them shrunk drastically, and they often needed to move on to the harsh competition of the streets to survive. As a result, newer and more complex footwork patterns were created, delivered with flamboyance and drama, bringing it in this stage close to Tap and Flamenco, especially the Café Cant ante stage of Flamenco, which also shared a synchronicity with Kathak. The Story of Flamenc o/फ्ऱामेन्को-फ्ऱेमेन्को Flamenco on the other hand is a heritage of Spain, especially the Andalusian South, and the gypsy lineage. Many ethnic groups and communities contributed to making such a strong economic and th cultural center in the world under the moors from the 8 century onwards. The Moorish civilization in Spain was a little bit like the Mughals in India and subscribed to a high quotient of refinement and aesthetics, which was reflected in architecture, poetry and music, as th well as what many hold to be true, dance. Between the 8 and the th 15 centuries, the Moorish culture saw its heyday. The wealth of the Moors , drew many communities towards its /मूर prosperity. Andalusia became one of the most important cultural capitals of the western world. For the same reason the gypsies were drawn to Andalusia. The gypsies came to Spain from India in many waves. Gypsies are believed to be nomads, who hail from India and some claim that they are from the highest social orders of Indian society while others claim that they are from the lowest strata of society. Among gypsologists there is no final agreement on when the migrations may have started. Some say the first migration was to flee Alexander’s invading armies. Amongst other reasons that are given is that they were hired out as entertainers to a Persian kingdom, or that they were tribes desirous of freeing themselves from the shackles of the caste system. Some say they were communities from Rajasthan avoiding confrontation with the invading Muslim armies. All these theories would suggest that the migrations happened th between 350 BC to 15 century AD, with most happening between th th 5 to 10 centuries thereby suggesting that there was definitely more than one wave of migration. The gypsies who came to Spain brought in the cultures of the lands that they passed through, along with their own already unique cultural forms. Also as they had met with persecution in so many places and in so many ways, they had learnt to be strong and survive, even under adverse conditions. The short respite that they experienced in Andalusia came to an end when the Spanish inquisition attacked this heterogeneous area, forcing out the gypsies and even pushing for their extermination. Andalusia became poverty ridden. In their defiance against this treatment and persecution, and in the interaction between the gypsy and the non gypsy who now had a shared experience of disenfranchisement, emerged Flamenco. Flamenco was a dance and music expression that came out of the imbrications of gypsy and Andalusian folk forms. But the initial impulse were the intensely painful moments that the gypsies would remember in private, in family gatherings in Gypsy homes, isolated bars and family living rooms. The most primary expression was the “Cante” which vocalized their anguish over the centuries. This would be accompanied, as if instinctively and spontaneously, or in response to the Cante, by some basic hand movements, starting from the wrist rotations to uplifted arms and fluid hips. Some link these movements with Moorish influences. th The word flamenco, which only came into use in the 18 century, and referred to the community of Fugitive peasants, the Arabic of which was “Felag Menju . Thus like Kathak, the term is used later and ” then also to refer to the people and not the dance. Some ascribe another origin to Flamenco claiming that it came from the word ‘falamencia ’, and pointed to the fieriness that came from /पऱामेनसिआ the brashness of the gypsies in particular and the Andalusians in general. Initially looked down upon as all of Andalusian cultural life, it was the th 18 century romanticizing of the gypsies and the topographical and cultural landscape of Andalusia that resulted in the revival of the form. Café Cantantes were formed and the art of the Flamenco people was available in the public domain. The Café Cantante setting changed the performance content. The short, personal, intimate ritual was replaced by longer, more elaborate choreographies, with elements of virtuosity footwork, a more definitive body line, evocative syllables and an entertainment driven public spectacle. The twentieth century saw flamenco move onto the most impressive international festivals and stages. Even as it accepted the terms of modernity and adapted extensively, it never lost its traditional core and did not stylistic integrity as well as its content. Comparative Study of Kathak and Flamenco Kathak and Flamenco have many specific aspects in common. Kathak was the dance of a unique community that flowered with influences of others. The community in both cases was called by the name, by which their art is known today- Kathak in Indian and Flamenco in Spain. If we believe some of the dance scholars, the point of origin of both Chaarans who later became Kathaks and the migrating /चारण gypsies was Rajasthan. Kathak grew out of the spiritual expression of a particular community, while Flamenco or rather Cante grew out of the outcry of human suffering of an oppressed and depressed community. Both were intensely emotional experiences that produced instinctively a rasa or sentiment. Kathak and Flamenco share a similar history of changes in dance performance contexts, in changes of form and in the function and agenda of the practice. From intimate settings that were personally significant, using the same art that was an intensely personal one, both Kathak and Flamenco moved to bigger and more challenging and impersonal spaces. They had to realign the content to the context through inbuilt creativity as neither really let go the essential elements of the form. They were both very proud of this cultural inheritance for while the Kathak proudly carried his community name as part of his name, as did Pannalal Kathak of Delhi AIR and Doordarshan, the Gypsies saw their dance as a signifier of their gypsy and Andalusian identity. The interesting aspect of both arts is that they did not adopt a victim attitude and either freeze or flee. Instead they fought by not remaining fixed, and adapting successfully to all challenges. With this approach they won over not just traditional but also nontraditional and unfamiliar international artistes. Both forms have created a very
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