Kathak The Language Connecting Multiple Cultures

 

Since its period of development Kathak has adapted to different cultural milieus. During the medieval period various factors related to sociopolitical plane gave rise to 

the ganga-jamuni tehzeeb which was a beautiful blend of diverse cultures - Indian and Persian.

The ganga-jamuni tehzeeb seeped in all visual and performing arts including music and dance. Thus, Kathak adapted to new musical genres, and assimilated the vocabulary of new movements, stances and postures. With the versatile approach Kathak continued to please the patrons of diverse cultures. 

The patrons of  Moghul court appreciated the art of Kathak but were unable to comprehend the indigenous stories interpreted through mudras. In order to please the patrons the Kathakas adapted to secular themes from everyday life which were easy to interpret and enjoyed by the patrons. The embellishment of beautiful movements in gat nikas and gat bhav got more emphasis during this period.  

Similarly there were various dance compositions from both cultures which were assimilated and transformed to suit the tradition. For example, it was a regular practice to begin the performance with a vandana. In the Moghul court the vandana was replaced by salami or salutation to the king. Aamad, in Persian means entry. The dancer used to enter the court in a particular dance composition which was thus named as aamad. In course of time the Kathakas created numerous aamad todas and also blend them with the traditional parans, naming them as paran-judi aamad. Today the dancer does not begin or enter with aamad but still the composition retains the name aamad meaning entry. The relevance of aamad today is that it is the first toda from sam to sam which enters the sequence of Kathak performance. 

The blend was indeed beautiful which resulted in the development of various dimensions in Kathak. With a flexible and creative approach the Kathakars sustained their art and the tradition offered multiple  possibilities to communicate with the audience and patrons of diverse cultures. 

In the modern era the society was influenced by the western culture brought in by the British.  Kathak was now presented before the multicultural audience....

To Be Continued...