Kathak..."the art of storytelling."

Kathak is one of the most well known classical dance forms of India.

Kathak is said to be derived from the word katha, meaning "the art of storytelling."

The Kathak dance form originated in north India and was very similar to the Bharatnatyam dance form. In ancient India, there were Kathakars or bards who used to recite religious and mythological tales to the accompaniment music, mime and dance.

Kathak dances are performed straight-legged and the ankle bells (ghunghroos) worn by the dancers are skillfully controlled. In Kathak dance the emphasis is more on footwork as against hasta mudras or hand formations in Bharatnatyam dance. Kathak dance can be performed by both men a

nd women. A Kathak dancer is not required strictly to stick to fixed steps and stages in.

Traditionally, there are between a hundred and two hundred Ghunghroos tied around the ankles that act as the dancer's instruments to convey the sound patterns. A unique feature performed by some dancers is to maintain a steady balance and produce sound of a single ghunghroo.

Nritta means pure Dance. It is not interpretative or expressional dance. Nritta is dependent on two basic ingredients, Tala and Laya . The tala denotes a time cycle and the laya denotes the speed or tempo. The rhythm being cyclic, it rises from the first beat and reflows to the first beat, completing a round. The ‘sum’ is the beginning of first beat of any tala and piece to be danced has to end on the same beat in the same tala.

Some commonly used terms are as follows.

Tatkar:- It offers scintillating patterns of sound imagery which is produced by dexterously manipulating the pace of footwork and the cadence of the ankle bells. The dancer uses feet to perform various complicated talas and its fractions. In a way, it is the aesthetic demonstration of the infinite divisibility of time.

The basic bols of tatkar are: -

Ta Thei Thei tat

Tihai: - A rhythmic pattern three times in succession.

Thaat: - Thaat in general means, decoration or a graceful attitudes. In thaat, dancer uses gentle and delicate

movements of the wrists and the neck with eye glances in most effective and arrested manner. It is done to develop the mood of artist.

Aamad: - It is said that with aamad, a dancer used to make an entry on the stage and offer a salutation or greetings.

Toda: - In a Toda, a dancer performs to the composition of the time beats in rhythmic cycle arriving on the sum. Generally a tihai is also interwoven at the end of toda. A small toda is known as Tukda. A variety of todas and tukdas are complex in its nature and rich in its arrangement of beats.

Paran: - A variety of compositions having bolo played exclusively on Pakhavaj are called parans. Pakhavaj is a percussion instrument on which heavier bols are played.

Paremelu: - The compositions based on bolos of variety of percussion instruments are called paremelu. Such compositions are also influenced with scenic beauty of nature, chirping of birds an

d sounds of small creatures.

Padhant: -The recitation of the bolos known as padhant itself is an art and is a communication with percussionist.

There is enough scope for improvisation and spontaneity in this rich classical art form. Nritta is meant to convey a sense of pure joy of movement and rhythm. In Nritta the beauty lies in correct rendering of the rhythmic patterns by the feet and graceful movements of the limbs.

Today, Kathak is characterized by the flowing lyrical movements, fast rhythmic footwork set to complex time cycles and an in-depth interpretive aspect that is brought forth in abhinaya or expressive pieces.

Waterways Of Paradise

The backwaters of Kerala are ecologically significant wetlands that not only support a phenomenal variety of living beings but also provide the human population with a physical environment that is enriching. According to the dictionary the word ‘backwater’ is – ‘water held back by a dam or other obstruction’.

This would mean then that the storm water from rivers held back by strips of land form the backwaters of Kerala. Located on the south-west coast of India, the state of Kerala has 41 west flowing rivers, originating as brooks and creeks in the hilly highlands of the east. The rivulets flow fast, then slow down and ultimately flush into the Lakshadweep, (Arabian) sea through openings (river mouths) of the land-strips. Before discharging into the sea they, however, form long and large irregular stretches of lakes, lagoons and canals parallel to the almost entire 590 km long coastline of the state.

Geologically speaking, the backwaters were the first to evolve, followed by the formation of a sand barrier which separated them from the sea. Since these water bodies have the levels of their beds at depths lower than the mean sea level, storm water stagnates at least for a while as backwaters. But through the river-mouths the landward flow of seawater also takes place during high tide, holding back storm water from discharging into the sea. Though not always, during summer when the seaward flow from the river diminishes, a barrier beach develops across the mouth and the backwaters remain completely cut off from the sea till the advent of the next monsoon rains. Kerala receives both south-west (June-Aug) and north-east (Sept-Nov) monsoon rains, averaging at 3000 mm a year.

To Read More.. Grab a Copy of Heritage India Today ( available at all bookstores. Crossword, landmark.)

Log onto:- www. heritage-india.com to subscribe.

DHANGAR...Shepherds of Maharashtra !

DHANGARS...

This rhobst caste-cluster once survived and flourished as shepherds, buffalo, cattle and horse keepers and weavers, the pastoralists among them mapping immense and intricate patterns of movement in search of pasturelands.

History, myth and legand apart, today, though the dhangar caste-clusters are still spread throughout Maharashtra and parts of adjoining states, much of their traditional way of life and occupation has been altered.

Read more... Log on to:- www.heritage-india.com

"KATPUTLIS" the show must go on...

Not only with strings attached... Puppets!

There are as many as seventeen or eighteen distinct traditional forms of PUPPETRY in India which use glove puppets, rod puppets, string puppets and shadow puppets. More over, modern and contemporary puppeteers have widened the frontiers of this art.
The word 'Puppet' is derived from the words like pupi or putli which means doll. But puppets are not quite dolls because they are moved by the puppeteer to stimulate life! So, movement is essential to the puppets.

There are glove puppets (woven on the hand like mitten), Rod puppets (moved by little sticks or rods attached to the puppet's body), string puppets (moved by threads attached to the puppet's body) and shadow puppets (cut-outs used to project shadows).

Read more... Log on to:- www.heritage-india.com