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Module 20 Modern Development And Future Trends In Kathak

Kathak though an ancient form, with clear established history, has grown to a massive body of work, making it veer towards what is contemporary and modern.

The words contemporary and modern are two different terms in context of art. Any art form, design, film, fashion, music can be contemporary. Each generation or time cycle brings something to the table of this development in society but modern means a whole new language. It means new structure, new grammar and new form. So, in dance when we speak of a modern Kathak, what does it imply?

Kathak has certain grammar and structure, as with any and most dance forms. Thus, when we say modern Kathak, it doesn’t mean we break the grammar or change costume - that is just innovation or making it more in tune with contemporary desires of a society at any given point of time.

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Many believe that Kumudhini Lakhia’s solo performance entitled Duvidha was a turning point of Kathak as a dance form. She founded the Kadamb School of Dance and Music in Ahmedabad in 1967 and has done more than 70 successful productions all over the world. Her choreographies include Dhabkar / धबकार, Yugal / युगऱ, Atah Kim / अथ: ककम, The Peg, Okha-Haran / ओखा हरण, Sama Samvadan / सम

संवाद, Suverna / सुवण,ण Bhav Krida / भाव क्रीड़ा, Golden Chains, Kolaahal / कोऱाहऱ, Mushti / मुष्टि to name a few. In an interview, Kumudini talks about her work.

“At Bharatiya Kala Kendra (), Shambu Maharaj taught us how Kathak moves in space. Other dancers stood in one place and did all sorts of things looking like acrobatics. What he taught us looked like dance. When is it that you call it dance? Why is it that you call it dance? Two dancers doing same thing will look different because of the space around the dancer which gets the energy from the dancer’s movements. After leaving the Kendra, a lot of us did solo performances. I did not appreciate the way I was dancing because I was just repeating what I was taught, like a photocopy, jumping and spinning. After a performance, I did not have the satisfaction which art is supposed to give you. So, I changed the whole system of teaching at Kadamb. It became a passion for me to give a scientific meaning to the Kathak movements. Maharaj-ji used to give us different meanings like that is ’s peacock feather, the is blessing you, Krishna and are being united and so on. Instead of showing typical bird flying movements or becoming the bird 2

myself, I would become the spectator watching the birds fly in the sky.1

All my first compositions were abstract. We were always doing stories from Indian mythology – on Radha, Krishna, , , …. We could not get away from it. I thought we are imposing our mythology on the dance form. Can’t the dance stand on its own? Is it not an art form which has its own feet? So, no mythology. Let dance be dance. So I did all abstract things. My first production was Dhabkar-pulse, then Kolahal-noise, I’ve done Atah Kim (Now where do I go from here?) three times. My students like Daksha Sheth, Aditi Mangaldas felt encouraged to experiment after the East West Encounter (1984 & 2001).”2

With extensive training under the leading of Kathak, and Pandit , Aditi Mangaldas is today recognized for her artistry, technique, eloquence and characteristic energy that mark every performance. Like her gurus, she has attempted to break new ground by using her knowledge and experience of Kathak as a springboard to evolve a contemporary dance vocabulary, infused with the spirit of the classical. “As I remember, Aditi was never satisfied with just the technique or the kinetics of dance. She wanted to explore - the space around her, the energy as a driving force, the innumerable patterns forming kaleidoscopic extensions, the colours, moods and just about everything. Her concerns were of larger

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images outside her own little frail being,” says Aditi’s guru Kumudini Lakhia.3

The purists, Aditi says, refuse to see her work as Kathak, and the modernists say that she is too traditional. She calls it contemporary Kathak, and continues experimenting, unfazed by either the brickbats or the bouquets which come her way. “I wanted to grow out of Kathak and extend beyond it. But I’ve learnt Kathak for so many years that I want the base, the feel, the spirit, the vitality of it to remain. I want it to stay recognisable as Kathak. I think it always will be."4

Making it modern is difficult without breaking it. Thus, when the form and content is same, what is modern? This is why an established dancer like Aditi Mangaldas did not accept SNA award in 2013 when given for modern work because she said her work was in Kathak. She took a principled stand and SNA had to bow and accept her stand.

So modern dance can be modern but not Kathak! Kathak can look new, with lights and stage and costumes and aesthetics but not still be called modern. However modern developments are many. Costume first. Gone is the fancy and frill, all props like cap even that was very popular in 50s and 60s. See photos of old Kathak stars, Sitara or Birju Maharaj and one sees the Mughal cap. This was important as not covering one’s head in presence of nobleman or 4

ruler was sign of disrespect in north, central and west and especially in Kathak. Thus cap went first when Mughal court influence waned and slow revival of Hindu traditions began.

It is interesting that while wore cap, her father created Shiva and other invoking in Kathak, as he felt that Kathak had become a “durbari dance.”

Next went the veil. Then heavily layered skirt. All this was in mid 80s when new design and aesthetics desired to make it simpler. From where else but the textile capital of west India, Ahmedabad, where Kumudini Lakhia, trained under renowned masters, undertook to reform and redesign Kathak costume aesthetics. So pastel and earth colours replaced pink and purples of yore. She used different shades of a color in her costumes that she designed herself and composed the choreography so colors don’t clash and come together in a way that they themselves create a design. Excessive chunnis also were done away with as new gender equality and feminist concerns made costumes for women neutral and less feminine. Form was important not content.

Music also was simplified. Sarangi was replaced by violin and sitar with flute. It was easy to carry these instruments and if one wished to carry none, then recorded music came to the rescue, although in Kathak lot of talking on stage happens as tradition (and time filler!

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Breath-catching technique after rigorous pirouettes and flexing of footwork), so recorded music limits.

Kumudhini Lakhia has worked with drupad, jazz, African drums, experimented with a lot of music. “With my long time collaborator Atul Desai, we used to have lots of discussions. His music danced by the time we made the production. With drupad, they are not going to change. They will keep it the traditional way, slow in the beginning, a long aalaap…so I had to create a lot of new movement patterns.”5

Pt. Chitresh Das (1944 – 2015), disciple of Pt. , settled in San Francisco area and has collaborated with composer George Ruckert incorporating western violin, banjo and synthesizers. He even incorporated the high kicks of the French Can-Can dance and a Mexican Mariachi waltz. He created innovative choreographies ahead of his time such as Gold Rush, Energy, Class Tech, and Rhythmics. Dancers wore black body suits, short silver kurtas, and he even wore a tank top in one of his choreographies. Some of the music he composed used synthesizers and an electric flute. He is famous for his intense high-energy dancing and Kathak that focuses on the union of breath, voice, dance, footwork and subtle expression, and sometimes playing an instrument simultaneously. This requires super stamina. It was the subject of a doctoral dissertation at Harvard University.6

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While dance dramas were always part of Kathak representation, group works wasn’t. Earlier, a guru would present a student of professional stage only when s/he was totally ready, not just an item ready! This meant a student acquired good and solid foundation and not just half baked one. Thus, on an average it took 7-10 years of minimum training to acquire foundation on which an edifice could be built. Thus, once ready for stage, in presence of peers and important personages a guru would delightfully present his or her ward. Today the scenario is to learn on skype! Foundation in mass class is not so easily attainable unless a student works harder than the guru. Thus, we do not see many soloists emerging but only group dancers.

Group dances has its minuses and pluses. It affords an opportunity for all levels of dancers. It also covers up for weak ones and gives chance to real good ones to stand out, as comparison is immediate and easy. Although comparison belongs to the mind of the odious, still on stage every aspect of dance - costumes, expression, wrong movement - gets highlighted.

Excellent group performances are seen in the works of Kadamb (Kumudini Lakhia) Kathak Kendra, Kalashram (Pt Birju Maharaj), Chitresh Das Dance Company, Abhinava Dance Company (Nirupama- Rajendra), Nadam Dance Company (Murali Mohan Kalva and Nandini Mehta), Drishtikon Dance Company (Aditi Mangaldas), Natya Stem Dance Kampni (Dr. Rao and Nataraj), Anart School of Kathak Dance (Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh) to name a few.

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Among new trends is to seek new themes. In 50s pure technique and some song was enough as the material was vast and training, arduous. In 60s mythology and scriptures dominated and takes from and . In 70s, theme specific ballet (dance drama) productions on one poet say Kalidas, Tulasidas or Ras Khan took precedence in addition to classical stories Malati Madhav or Kumara Sambhava. In the 80s, focus was on group works and razzle dazzle tatkars and todes plus partaking of some local, regional poet or theme. In 90s we saw a growing interest in themes concerning Nature, environment and the like. The 21st century is upon us and we see feminism, gender roles and other such global concerns taking over.

Shovana Narayan has produced international collaborative works with leading dancers of Western classical Ballet, Spanish Flamenco, Tap dance, Buddhist chants with Buddhist monks as well as to the compositions of western classical composers. She has worked on philosophical themes, on the lives of contemporary sages such as Vivekananda, , Paramhansa and Mahatma Gandhi. She has incorporated modern themes such as child abuse and human rights in her performances. Her concern for environment ended in Dishantar way back in 1982 when such themes were not yet common. In the 90s, Shovana presented a traumatic burning issue of incest at a traditional Kathak dance festival through Toota yeh Vishwas Kyon that focused on the psychology of the victim and the mother.

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Shoba Koser is aghast when dancers take up themes like incest in Kathak. She feels, “Let us leave such subjects to cinema. After all, our classical dance forms are about communion with the Almighty.”7

Another trend is to internationalize it with flamenco and tap dance. This has been attempted by many in past like seniors Pratap Pawar in Trinidad and London later and Janaki Patrik in New York, Pandit Chitresh Das in California, whose collaboration with tap star Jason Samuels Smith, India Jazz Suites became an international sensation and was named one of the top ten productions of 2010 by the Boston Globe. Even in India, Shovana Narayan has undertaken this and others, meaningfully.

Arjun Mishra, along with choreographer Anurekha Ghosh from the UK and Dasha Evanova, a Russian contemporary and hip-hop dancer have performed together in a mix of jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance with Kathak.

Ashavari Majumdar has used visual projection and mask in her work on Surpanaka. In Kathak through the ages, the last choreography of Guru Maya Rao in 2014, video projection in the background adds to the dynamism of the choreography.

Daksha Sheth studied with guru Kumudini Lakhia for 18 years before leaving her native Gujarat for Delhi in 1982. She soon decided to experiment outside the dance form’s boundaries and drew from her 9

experience of Kathak from , Chhau from East India, Kalaripayattu from South India and Mallakhamb from West India to combine tradition with contemporary Indian dance. Daksha’s use of hand beat over the body was inspired by Kathak. Each production has radical changes in the context of music costume, staging, themes, music, lighting design etc. Daksha Sheth's choreography along with her composer husband Devissaro’s conceptualization and visual direction has resulted in some visually spectacular productions.

In the last 25 years, Nad Roop headed by Shama Bhate in Pune has presented several collaborations like Naad Bindu with dance choreographed to Sayed Haider Raza's paintings to Nishabd Bhed to dance based on French documentary Exploring Silence on marine lives and the lack of sound. Confluence is based on the life of Kasturba Gandhi. “The new format sees jazz music provided by an Austrian Band, Manfred Weinberger and the music is based on Peer Parayee Jane Re. The band plays the trumpet and it is incorporated in the performance,” says Bhate who feels that experimentation is imperative for art forms.8 Another important development and trend is to combine Kathak with or other forms. Interpolate two matchable Indian styles. Or have Kathak as part of a production, where all other forms are included like Mohiniattam, , Bharatanatyam, Orissi… Generally, each does separate sections, sometimes two or three forms are seen together and all come together for a finale. Here are a few such examples.

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In February 2015, conceptualized and choreographed by Shama Bhate, Nad-Roop concluded its Silver Jubilee celebration with Ateet Ki Parchhaiyan, Mahabharat Ki Punarkhoj, unfolding the many layers of the through a blend of 7 styles featuring Ramli Ibrahim (), Vyjayanthi Kashi (Kuchipudi), Vaibhav Arekar (Bharatanatyam), Gopika Varma (Mohiniattam), Rakesh Sai Babu (Chhau), Dr. Kannan (), Ameera Patankar (Kathak).

In Jai Bharati, one saw Geeta Chandran (Bharatanatyam), Singhajit Singh and Charu Sija Mathur (Manipuri), (Mohiniattam), Jayarama Rao and Vanashri Rao (Kuchipudi), (Odissi) and Shovana Narayan (Kathak). In Sankriti, Geeta’s Bharatanatyam choreography dialogued with Orissi, Kathakali, Manipuri and Kathak.

Throughout his career, Pandit Chitresh Das collaborated with numerous artists of other genres, including tap, jazz, flamenco, Balinese Gamelan, Kathakali, Bharatanatyam, and many more. He created productions that did not fuse the different art forms, but highlighted each form in its purity, while finding a common ground.9

Music also is now multi sourced and no more limited to rhythm intensive one. Nandu Bhide in Pune is one such example where piano is used for Kathak! Only claps and counting have also been attempted making Kathak silent or sans music. All this points to a

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need in artistes to try something new and cater to ever growing desires of sponsors and patrons.

Kathak has diminished from traditional cities like , Ambala, and gone to new cities like Chennai and Trivandrum. It has left its Hindi specific moorings (and many dialects within Hindi) and now partakes freely of other languages, including Marathi and Gujarati, Tamil and Malayalam.

Prerana Shrimali, a disciple of Kundanlal Gangani, is concerned about what ails the Kathak dance form. She feels, “A lot of differences have crept in over the years. Kathak has become more of a performing art than anything else, and the proscenium changes a lot. At the performing level it is difficult to tell the difference between the of Jaipur, Lucknow and Banaras, unless you are aware of the subtle technical differences, such as the bol (rhythmic syllables) used in each. Elements like the costumes, make-up, the lighting, and even in some cases the manner of speaking are the same in almost all presentations. The exceptions are legends like Sunayana Hazarilal, who has maintained the distinctiveness in costuming as well as presentation, and Sitara Devi who is a unique artiste.”10

Rajashree Shirke heads the Centre of Dance Education and Research, which conducts a Diploma in Kathak and Bharatanatyam in , and has been deeply involved in reviving the Kathakar tradition within the traditional format of Kathak, thus innovating by 12

going back to the roots of the style. She has been groomed in Kathak by Madhurita Sarang (from Lucknow, Jaipur and Benaras Gharana) and Pt. Birju Maharaj. Her story telling combining Kathak is very popular and some of her productions include Sant Kanhopatra, Hidimba, Mandodari Samvaad etc. “For quite some time, I felt that the bhava-paksha of Kathak in the present-day performances, was not as widely explored as the nritta-paksha. That’s when I was drawn towards the Kathaakaar paramparaa (the art of storytelling) of Kathak. Kathak was known as kathkaa kare so Kathak. The genesis of the style of Kathak in fact is traced back to this format of presentation which was prevalent in the temples,” says Shirke.11

We also have Kathak dancers like Manjari Chaturvedi, a disciple of Arjun Mishra, who has done research in spiritual music forms. She performs what is called Sufi Kathak, where she uses “mystical traditions” with classical Kathak to communicate the notion of spiritual thought. Rani Khanam in Delhi founded the Sufiana Dance Ensemble in 1989 and performs Sufiana Kathak to Islamic verses, great Sufi masters’ compositions, Qawwalis, Indo-Persian compositions and Sufi folk compositions.

Sunaina is one of the several dancers who have reinvented the profession made famous by Lucknow’s nawabs and now lives in New Delhi but visits Lucknow for special events. She says, “A lot of parties these days want mujra dancers. The only difference is that modern

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mujra dancers perform at weddings, bachelor parties, birthday bashes, engagements and theme parties, for a fairly hefty price. We perform on famous item songs in Umrao Jaan’s 's style.”12

So if one views this canvas, Kathak has grown and addressed all decades of India’s own journey from a colony under British India (nautch) to modernity in thought and content. Thus, while the form may not have become modern, thought and approach have in keeping with the time and society and developments. We see Kathak come out of temples to courts, to proscenium stage to films to stadium! Today, Kathak is synonymous with all ages and stages. It is integral to all society, almost pan Indian.

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