Kathak and Social Communication Essay

Social Science and discourseKathak is one of the most popular jumps of Indian classical dancing. We oblige adult up watching it in movies from UmraoJaanuptoDevdas. Most young girls in India yet st cunning learning kathak right from the tender age of 5 years. provided is kathak just a simple cultural product of the country that kindle be counted among the artistic treasures of this land or is thither a bigger understanding to the uni model? Through this article we shall travel through and through the tour of metre and see how a thing as simple and virginal as an ancient move form can demonstrate us the stories of the cultural, religious, political transformations of the country.The Fifth VedaTraditionally the Hindu connection was divided in five varnas Brahmins (intellectuals), Kshatriya (warriors), vaishya (merchants), shudra (manual labourers), achoot (untouchables). The purpose of this form of division was to have a to a greater extent organized connection by dist ri just nowing it on basis of the quality of work performed. even so with epoch this became a hierarchical division of the ordi rural area which led to oppression of the lower clan (shudra& untouchables) by the upper clique members. In this entire struggle for power the holy hindu scriptures (the Vedas) remained as the sole possession of the Brahmins or the educated class. Any attempt to dismantle touch these holy texts by members of the lower order was considered a crime. even up our holy text of Ramayana secernates an incident where lord Ram (mariyadapurushottam) chops of the head of a person from the lower caste when he attempts to read the Vedas. The shudras were forbidden to listen to these puranas (holy texts). (Massey, 1999)Its believed that looking at this state of the society paragons asked Lord Brahma to devise something which would be accessible to all and vex this society to circumventher. This is how the fifth veda or Natya Veda was born. The Hindu epics hav e stories of brahma command Bharata (the then king of Bharat what we know as India) the Natya Veda and later his 100 sons became the governance of medicinal drug, dance and drama. The Bharat NatyaShashtra has been conglomerately dated from 2nd century BC to tertiary century AD.This Veda was common for all sections of society and all sexual urges. Stories and teaching were told through dance. This is where we saw the birth of Kathak as a dance form.KathakKathak is derived from the root tidings Katha which shopping mall story. Kathak as a dance form was employ to narrate stories mainly mythological stories primarily for the function of educating people. This was the moreover form in which people of all castes and genders could sh atomic number 18 their learning. This dance form was spread furthermost and wide through abhinayawhich meaning a carrying to the spectators.This form of dance contained mingled components(Massey, 1999) KathakAbhinayaSenti ment and MoodPure dance Dramatic ElementVachik poetry, song, recitation, music and rhythmAharya costume, make-up, jewellerySatvik physical manifestation of mental and emotional statesAngik gestures of the remainsNrityaNrittaNatyaCaste PoliticsThe Hindu caste divide that Kathak tried to brush aside last took a nonher form of dominations. The Brahmins saw this movement as a loss of theirsupremacy and power hence they brought in another be given to the same. According to the Brahmins since dance was nothing but another form of worshiping god they had the supreme say in these matters.The social anthropology of Kathak terpsichoreans in history is hence highly fascinating as it got equated to the priestly caste and even the kathak gurus in the northern belt of india represented the Brahmin status.(Booth, 2005) The Brahmins not only(prenominal) uncaring this form of dance from its core purpose of binding people crosswise various castes but also hit the gender angle by bringing in the concept of devdasi . These were women who were dedicated to dance and sing only for god. These women were neither allowed to marry, nor have have any form of physical relationships. thereof the power game was won by the Brahmins by playing their tease of caste and gender politics.Gender PoliticsTraditionally Kathak was meant to be a platform accessible to all. It defamiliarises the ordinary depend onual and social experience of women and men as people. Indian mythology also reveals various stories exemplifying gender ambiguity, androgyny, sex transformations, male pregnancy, and erotica through some of the metaphorical discourses related to gods, goddesses, heavenly nymphs, and demons, as well as sages, ascetics and yogis. There have been innumerable examples of transcending gender in kathak. Men togged up wish well women and performed. The concept of gender in the Natya Veda is highly complex. It believes that gender is past our physical being, it is connected with our soul and souls draw a bead on for the realisation moksha which can only be achieved when one can get free from the shackles of bodily existence.As per the Tantric school of thought the commanding Being is conceptualised as one complex sex, comprises of both male and female person (on the right and left side respectively). In order to attain redemption one must be able to transcend these shackles of ones sex.(Shah, 1998) dismantle in the Pre-Vedic literature Shiva is known as ardhanarishwara, which means containing the polarities of both male and female force in the form of Shiva-Shakti. trip the light fantastic toe is an important means by which cultural ideologies of gender difference are reproduced.Through movement vocabulary, costuming, body image, training, and technique, discourses of dance are often grow in ideas of natural gender difference However as time passed Kathak also came under the purview of the political game of gender and its got labelled with the tag of being a dance form only for the females. Even the stories narrated through kathak like the stories of lord Krishna have got adapted. Earlier it was believed that Radha was Krihnashladini Shakti and not different from him, hence the dance was performed in a semi-circular manner where the same dancer took the roles of both Krishna and Radha. However, now these roles are performed by different actors.(Chatterjee, 1996) changing DIMENSIONS OF WOMENThe birth of Kathak took place with the Benarasgharana of kathak which was then commandd by the Rajputs. This dance form then travelled to Jaipur establishing the Jaipur gharana of kathak. Though both these forms were highly dominated by females they becalm had a great respect in terms of an art of telling stories of god and educating others on the powers of truth , righteousness etc. However when the Mughals invading our country and the marriage of JodhaBai and Akbar took place two urbane merged together. The Mughals got dancers from Persia and captured women form india and got them trained in kathak.Its from this time forth that Kathak got labelled as the courtesans dance what we today call as tawaif or prostitutes.(Massey, 1999) The costumes changed and the new gharana of Kathak was born which is today the most famous one Luckhnowgharana. The dressed changed from the ghaghra (like a long skirt) to chudidar. The dresses were tighter at the bust and presented the women as a sexually desirable object. A lot of change took place in the fundamental hand movements and presentation if the dance and a dance that used to tell the love story of Krishna and Radha at one time became a dance form with movements meant to entice men. In the whole power struggle and caste politics it was the women who suffered the most and were heavily exploited.DURING THE COLONIAL INDIADuring the British colonial rule dance became a tool of rebellion and political resistance. It demonstrated wholeness and power. The dancing womens position changed from pure and pharisaic to fallen and prankish and hence either victims or perpetuators of the evil of dance. Women were encouraged to display their beauty, energy, skill, sensuality and seductiveness in dance. Thus for the fear of saving there girls from the being looked on as an object of desire dance became a tabooed activity for members of society especially the upper caste. This mindset exists even today, as we dont see many girls from the upper class of society taking up dancing. However these mind sets are changing gradually.(Reed, 1998)GURU and SHISHYAAs per Natyashashtra an acharya or teacher should have an intrinsic knowledge of vocal and instrumental music, dance, rhythm and movement. He should further have imagination, intelligence, creative faculty, memory, sharpness and capacity to shape the taught. The shishyas, or the taught, on the other hand should be intelligent, retentive, appreciative, devoted, enthusiastic and must have an innate desire to excel. This form of teaching has been conti nued over time however the essence of the relation has got lost with the loss of the pure and pious status of dance.CULTURAL SYMBOLToday Kathak has been attributed with various new meanings on the global platform like* Traditional heritage of India* Carrier of Indian culture* Indianness* Recounting the significant pastToday kathak has become a cultural commodity that gets sold in form of a a couple of(prenominal) dance shows and performances however it has lost its original purpose and ethos(Royo, 2004)KATHAK AND MOVIESKathak has always been used as an important tool in cinema. In 1955 classic, JhanakJhanakpayalBaje by V. Shantaram the blasts hero, Ghirdar competes for artistic supremacy in Kathak dance against another dancer Ram Prasad. Ghirdars triumph is ensured during the last series of rhythmic domineering turns or chakkras which he performs elegantly, however his opponent is left all dizzy. Ghirdhar here is from Varanasi, the birthplace of kathak and the ultimate hindu city and his opponent is from Agra the Mughal capital which is associated with the more popular kathakgharana of lucknow. Thus kathak was used to demonstrate a state of communal tension in the country.This art form was also reduced to jeering when UstadHalimJaffar Khan, who worked on Kohinoor, and other films, with Naushad Ali (Kohinoors music director), explains that the singing in this guesswork was undertaken by Niyaz Ahmad Naushad spoke to him about this scene. He said, Please forgive me Khan-saheb, but for this scene please sing some tans and things, but in a comic way, in a foolish way. And Nyaz Ahmad agreed to do that Even in later films kathak remained as a dance of the prostitutes through movies like umraojaan.And even today when we have become more liberal in our thinking and claim to have crossed these old regressive practices the choreographers still use kathak in a ovie like devdas only for the character of chandramukhi, who plays a prostitute. Also todays concert stage k athak is more focus of fast, complex, rhythmic footwork and tracing handwork rather than the old ethos of the dance which had its core around freedom, liberalization, unity, storytelling, love and expression of oneself.(Chakravorty, 2006)CONCLUSIONA cultural dance form created to unify everybody and give everyone a freedom to expression eventually got used as a tool for playing out caste and gender politics. Whether it was the sufferings of the women or the link of the dance to the Bhakti movement, Kathak has transformed with all these interactions. The various stakeholders of the society have also used this to their convenience as and when required. initially the Brahmin established their supremacy over this pure and pious form of expression an today they are the ones who have started the movement to label this as a fallen and sinful act. Thus we have seen the journey of nation through one form of dance and the story of Kathak through the nation.BibliographyBooth, G. (2005). Pandi ts in the Movies Contesting the Identity of Hindustani Classical Music and Musicians in. Asian Music, Vol. 36, 60-86. Chakravorty, P. (2006). Dancing into modernity Multiple Narratives of Indias Kathak Dance. Dance Research diary, Vol. 38, 115-136. Chatterjee, A. (1996). Training in Indian Classical Dance A Case Study. Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 13, 68-91. Coorlawala, U. A. (1992). Illustrating Kathak. Dance Chronicle, Vol. 15, 88-93. Lidke, J. S. (2006). Devs Dance The Interweaving of Politics, Mysticism, and Culture in Kathmandu Valley. 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