CLASSICAL DANCES OF INDIA (KATHAKALI)

(I)             KATHAKALI

Kathakali is the classical dance of Kerala, with its origins in remote antiquity, and has been developed through an admixture of Dravidian and Aryan dance concepts. The Nairs of Kerala, who formed a warrior caste, practiced dance concepts. The Nairs of Kerala, who formed a warrior caste, practiced martial dances in order to perpetuate in society the memory of their raiar martial dances or order to perpetuate in society the memory of their racial equalities,. In the evolution of the Kathakali dance, the Nairs had a good eal to do. They developed its modes and techniques and made it a robust form of dance, at once masculine and skilful. The epic and the mythology supplied to themes for the dance in great abundance. Malayalam, with many Sanskrit words, became the language of the Kathakali songs. Vaishnavite devotional dance influences gradually expanded the scope and character of the Kathakali dance. There were several names applied to it according to the nature of the dance, it came to be styled as kathakali, meaning an story-play. When the deline of Kathakali was almost complete, it was the famous Malayalam poet vallathol Mahayana Menon who struggled on to revive the art at all costs. With much difficulty he procured money and finally in 1930 established an institute named Kerala Kala Mandalam. There he collected the experienced gurus of the Kathakali art, who were living in abject negligence and in oblivion, and gave them the opportunity to train up young disciples. Kathakali takes epic Mythological the opportunity to train up young disciples. Kathakali takes epic Mythological the inopportunity to train up young disciples. Kathakali takes epic mythological themes as its content and portrays them through an elaborate dramatic spectacle which is characterized by an other – worldly quality, supernatural grandeur, stylized large-sized costumes to give the impression of enlarging human proportions, and mask- like facial make – up which is governed by a complex symbolism of color, line and design, character types, such as heroes, anti-heroes, villains, demons, snags

and kings, all have a prescribed make-up and costume governed by the association of treen with good, red with valor and ferocity, black with evil and primitiveness, and white with purity, combinations of these colors suggest the exact character type and his particular mood in the play. Katrhakali, however, is dance – drama and not drama because the actors do not speak their lines. The dramatic story is carried forward through a highly evolved vocabulary of body movements, hand gestures and eye  movements. The vocalist recites and signs the lines of the dramatic piece. The actor on stage portrays the meaning with the freedom to improvise an interpret. While, therefore, he follows the broad framework of the written dramatic script which is being sung, the makes departures and deviations like dancers in any of the other styles. Similarly, mimesis interspersed with pure and sequences. During the last one hundred years, many poets have written kathakali plays which represent as much a literary genre as a theatrical spectacle. In technique, kathakali follows the basic motif on a rectangular position reminiscent of a full grant – pile with the important difference that the weight of the body rests on the outer soles of the feet and not on the flat feel.

Kathakali is spectacular as regards the costume and make  up. There are trained artists who specialize in the art of make – up. Different characters of the play are painted in different coolers or styles, to represent the satwik, rajasik, and takes roles. The head- dress in Kathakali is again of a gorgeous and artistically decorative style. Ornaments, also are lavishly used.

(II)            Kathak

Kathak means ‘the story of teller’. Finally, with the coming of Islam in the middle ages, mystic traits slowly entered into the fold of kathak. The medieval Bhakti movement among the Hindus and the Sufi movement among the Muslims gave poetry an emotional touch. The devotional feeling of the medieval Vaishnavites towards Krishna found expression in the Kathak dance which depicted the Krishna Lila in its manifold aspects. Kathak became partly secular to meet the needs of the Muslim counts which did not like the Hindu religious themes. Thus, Kathak incorporated into itself certain Islamic features notably in its costumes.

Kathak from northern India is an urban sophisticated style full of virtuosity and incticate craftsmanship. Commonly identified with the court traditions of the later. Nawabs of t\northern India, it is an amalgam of several folk – trations, the traditional dance – drama forms prevalent in the preciancts of the temples of Mathura and vridaban known as the Krishna and Radha Lilas, the the sophisticated court milieu of Mughal and Indian princes. While its origins re old, its present format is attributed to the genius of Nawab vajid Ali shab (died 1887) of awadh and the hereditary musician – dancer Pandit Thakar Prasadji. Its contemporary repertoire was evolved by a few families of traditional dancers over the past hundred years. In technique, kathak is two dimensional, always following a vertical line with no breaks and deflections. The footwork is the most important part of the dancers ‘ training. They are taught numbeous rhythmic patterns with varying emphasis so that the hundred old ankle bells can produce a fantastic range of sound and rhythnm. Straight walks, gliding movements, fst pinoucttes changing tempos and metrical patterns constitute the beauty and dexterity of the style. As in other dance forms, the kathak performer begins with an invocation ( amad) and entry (salam) followed by an exposition of slow delicate movements of the eyebrows, eyes, lateral neck and shoulders. Next comes to presentation of rhythmic patterns known as turkras a tra. Time cycles can be repeated, adding complexity to the presentation, pirouettes, arranged in groups of h\three, six, nine, twelve and so on, normally mark the finale, the pure dance sections are followed by short interpretative pieces performed to a repetitive melodic line.

There were already two styles of Kathak prevailing in the north – the Jaipur style and the Luck now style. Both the Jaipur and Luck now styles lingered on though the latter half of the nineteenth and the first quarter of the twentieth century till they were revived again. The revival of Kathak in modern times began with the zeal of an individual the famous Menaka who wanted to establish an institute for training the dancers in classical Kathak style. She keeself received training from the experienced gurus available,and in 1938 established a school for training others at a place called Khandala.

The fame of kathak spread far and wide as the dance wasperformed at different places. Gurus like Lachhu Maharaj, shambhu maharaj and Birju Maharajestablished kathak as a dance art of great merit. Kathak has a number of advantages. It has a simpler and at the same time appealing style. Its costumes are diverse and varied, but changeable, and they are far from being complicated and difficult. It is easy to follow the bhava expressed in the dance, as it is attractive to follow the melodies. The grace and majesty of the dance, coupled with its aesthetic refinements, make it pleasant from beginning to end.

The kathak music, developed from the styles of religious chants presents melody and rhythm is a nice combination. The dance dances to the tala according to madras. His or her footwork, known as the tatkar, is the distinctive feature of the dance performed at slow, medium and fast speeds.