PAPER 4 Detail Study Of Kathak, Nautch Girls, Nritta, Nritya, Different Gharana-s, Present Status, Institutions, Artists Module 23 Scholarship And Literature Produced On Kathak Dance has been a part of the Indian civilization since time immemorial. Ancient references are found in the rock art in the caves of Bhimbetka. There are several references to dance in the Vedic literature. Panini has referred to the ‘natasutra/नटसुत्र’ of Silalin/शिराशरन and Krisasva/कृ षश्व, in the “Ashtadyayi/अष्टाध्मामी”. There is a strong possibility that some of these texts on dance, some even go to the extent of saying that the “Natyashastra” attributed to Bharat Muni, predated Vedic writings as otherwise we would not have such sentences in the Vedic literature as “Nritaaysutam /न्रि配तामसुतभ, Gitayshailoosham/गीतामिैरूिभ”. Regrettably the original works are lost to us, but these treatises are regarded as the first codifiers of the principles of dance. Kalidas’ literary works, of 3rd-4th century AD, and Kalhana’s Rajtarangini/याजतयंगगणी refer to dancers and their dance. Kalidasa makes a reference to dancers being part of the rituals at the Mahakala temple of Ujjain at the time of ‘sandhya pooja’ (evening worship) in his ‘Meghdoot’. Hiuen Tsang makes a reference to the number of dancing girls he saw attached to the Sun temple at Multan while the ‘Rajatarangini” of Kalhana also indicates to the prevalence of this custom in Kashmir from about the 7th century AD onwards. Subsequent treatises include the “Abhinav Bharati” by Abhinavgupta, the “Abhinaya Darpana” and “Sangeet Ratnakar” by Sharangdev, refer to dance and describe its position in the social and cultural life of the people. It is popularly believed that the etymology of the term Kathak lays in the root of the word Katha, the art of telling a story. The most commonly used adage cited says “Katha Kahe so Kathakkehlaye”. But the journey is not such a straight forward one. Commonly it has been cited that the grammarian Panini in “Siddhant Kaumudi/शस饍ांत कौभुदी” wrote the sutra ‘Kathadibhyashthak/कथादीभ्माष्ठक’, from which we get the word kathaka. Kathadibhyashthak means the one who is adept at the art of storytelling. “Manusmriti” includes Kathakas among communities of artistes. There is also reference to Kathak in the “Harshacharita” of Bana. This view has been supported by the citing of several Sanskrit Lexicons that give us the term Kathaka, describing the Kathaka variously as a story teller, a narrator of a drama and as a solo performer. Chief among these lexicons are the “Shabdarthachintamani/िब्दाथथग ंताभणण”, the “Vachaspatyakosha/ वा स्प्त配माकोष” and the “Shabdakalpadrumakosha/िब्दक쥍ऩद्रभु कोष”. Jain lexicons, “Abhidhanarajendra/अशबधानयाजेन्द्द्र” and “Kalpadrikosha/क쥍ऩद्रीकोष” mention the word ‘kahug/कहुग’ as being identical in meaning to the Kathaka, as do certain other Jain works like “aupapatikasutra/औऩ-ऩन्रतकासूत्र” and “Kalpasutra/क쥍ऩसूत्र”. Pali and Nepali dictionaries also use the word ‘kathiko/कगथको’ to mean preacher, narrator or reciter. Several sources of literary evidence suggest that there were professional story tellers who used abhinaya, song and dance while enacting and reciting. They were called by various names like Kathakas, Granthikas/ग्रंगथका, Gathikas/गगथका and Pathaks/ऩाठक. Kathaks are also mentioned in the 11th century “Kathasaritasagar/कथासरयतसागय” This text tells about a king called Sahasratika, who whiled away his time listening to a long tale told in a fascinating but convoluted narrative by the Kathaka called Sangataka. In the seventh chapter of the “Sangita Ratnakara”, Sharangdeva refers to the status of the Kathakas in the court and their praiseworthy skill in the arts of singing and acting. But by the 14th century, while writing about the Kathaks, Acharya Sudhakalasha in the “Sangitaopnishatsarodhara/संगीतोऩन्रनषतसायोधय” referred to their decadence and hence despicability in society. Actually the frequent references to the word Kathak that we have encountered so far and which are listed in this section hitherto, do not give any clear proof of the fact that dance was at this time a part of the Kathak’s repertoire of storytelling. Natyashastra scholar and theatre and literary personality, Dr. Braj Vallabh Mishra claims that the reference in the Mahabharata as well as the “Sangitarantnakar” suffers from this inadequacy. As far as “Siddhant Kaumudi/शस饍ांत कौभुदी” is concerned, he makes an even more dramatic argument, claiming that not only is it ascribed to the wrong author as its author is Bhattoji Dikshit, but also that the reference here too, even though oblique, to dancing being part of the talents of the Kathak, is misplaced. The Kolkata-based scholar Nagendranath Basu in his “Hindi Shabdakosh” and Radhakant Dev in “Shabdakalpadruma/िब्दक쥍ऩद्रभु ” mention specifically that Kathak refers to a story teller and not a dancer. However, eminent Kathak dancer and scholar, Shovana Narayan begs to differ. She is of the opinion that there are two streams of Kathaks: (a) the ‘pathaks’ who are the ones that recount tales in a narrative manner, and (b) the ‘dharaks/धायक’ who are the ones that recount stories through dance and mime. Hence Kathak dancers are from the ‘dharaka’ stream of Kathak. She cites two excerpts from the Mahabharata, in which we come across the term Kathak in the context of dance. In the Adi Parva in the Arjunavanvasa section there is a description of the profession of the Kathaks. Kathakscaparerajansravanascavanaukasahadivyakhyanani ye ca'pipathantimadhuramdvijah.(Mahabharata, verse 1.206.2-4, Adiparva) “KathakashchpareRajanSravanashchvanauksahaDivyaakhyanani ye chaapipathantimadhuramdvijah” Translation: With the king on the way to the forest were the Kathakas pleasing to the eyes and ears as they sang and narrated sweetly. Here the emphasis on ‘pleasing to the eyes’ is indication of the performing aspect of the ‘Kathaks’ The second verse is as follows: The third verse from the Anushashanika Parv refers to kathaks as a caste of Brahmins and indicates their social status within the Brahmanical caste. It goes as follows: Further Shovana Narayan draws our attention to two literary references from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC which refer to kathakas. The two texts are in the archives of Kameshwar library at Mithila. The first text, in Prakrit, in Brahmi script, dating to the fourth century BC runs as follows: maggasirasuddhapakkhenakkhhatevaranaseeye nayareeyeuttarpuratthimediseebhage gangayemahanadeeyetatesavvokathako bhingarnatenamteesestutikayam yehirayaadinahobhavenampassayi This translated a follows: in the month of margashirsha, in the shukla-pakshanakshatra, to the north west of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, the shringar dance of the kathaks in praise of God pleased Lord Adinatha. The 3rd century BCE Sanskrit shloka dating to the late Mauryan period runs as follows: ...anahat...nrityadharmam kathakachadevalokam... This translates as follows: sound...and the Kathaks whose duty is dance for the divine peoples Further Shovana refers to sculptural evidence to suggest that Kathak dance was an ancient practice. The sculptures of dancers from Maurya period show the ‘mudras’, poses including ‘chakkars’ (pirouettes) and costumes that are seen in Kathak even today. All these sculptures and references are from the period before the Natyashastra. She reiterates that all elements of movements codified in the Natyashastra are practiced in Kathak to justify the absence of the name of the dance in the Natyashastra, she argues that the Natyashastra does not mention any of the dance form by name because it is a treatise in which all possible movements have been codified. Dr. Braj Vallabh Mishra is of the opinion that the word Kathak comes from a community of Rajasthan called Chaarans/ ायण who were famed for their artistic skills -- of singing, music and dancing, and possibly relocated themselves in different parts of the northern region as a result of natural disasters like famine and plague. This aspect of its mobility was captured by the census of 1825 that revealed that Benares boasted of 100 and Ayodhya of 50 Kathak families. In fact even earlier, during the 1807 census of Bihar, it was discovered that 58 Kathak families had made it their home. Even today there are 3 villages near Gaya that are still known as Kathak villages (Kathak Bigha, Kathak Jagirand Kathak Gram). In fact, the Kathaks as a community showed remarkable capacities of mobility and the census figures of 1891 reveal large number of Kathaks in places like Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh. How does one explain the transformation of the Charans to Kathaks? It was in the Bhaktmala of Nabhadasji that e encounter the word ‘Chaaran’ in the Chhand that starts of thus- “Charansharan Chaaran Bhakt Hari gayak eta hua यनियन ायण ब啍त हरय गामक एता हुआ Chaumukhachaurajandjagat Ishwar Mu Jane…” ौभुख ौयाजनजगत ईश्वय भु जान े This refers to the Chaaran community of the temples of Rajasthan who were leading singers of devotional songs. They can be traced back to the 9th century in Rajasthan. Among other temple performers and singers of devotional songs, ballads and narratives, but who lived a nomadic life are Dhandha – Dhandhis/ढानढा-ढाढ़ी, Bhopa Bhopis/ बोऩ-बोऩी, Mangniars/भांगणणआय, Langas/रंघा, Kalbeliya/करफेशरमा and Dominis/डोशभन्रन. In the commentary on the Amrakosha, it is mentioned be the commentator Maheshwar that the word Chaaran and Kushilava, are synonymous with Kathak. The Chaarans used footwork in their performance. Their basic mnemonic or bol was ‘ta’ and ‘thai’. ‘Ta’ was short for tatkaar and ‘thai’ was shortened to ‘tha’. Thus to their katha telling abilities they added these shortened forms which gave them the title of Kathak- a title that they evidently employed in the course of their migrations. The first reference to the word Kathak comes in literary texts with the ‘Amarkosh’ edition from 1836 onwards.