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Dances of India
Ancient Religious
Traditions
in Kathak Dance and Music
by Venus Umesh
All forms of
Indian performing art portray a religious possession. These art forms
being deeply spiritual and devotional are entwined together so intensely
and thus are inseparable. As in the so often stated statement of
Sharangdev from 'Sangget Ratnakar,
"Geetam, Vadyam tatha Nrityam
Trayam sangeet muchyate",
which means
that Music includes all three forms of arts i.e. Vocal music,
Instrumental music and Dance, therefore they are interlinked. One of the
most prominent dance forms of North India, Kathak dance and Hindustani
classical music, both find their origin in old Hindu Mythology.
 Where
origin of music is assigned to Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswati, the
origin of Kathak dance is associated with a number of episodes from the
deeds of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Indian ancient history is full of such
divine episodes of the evolution of art forms. There are innumerable
tales & stories relating dance and music with God.
Brahama the creator of Universe gave birth to art forms and taught other
Gods and Goddesses. Bharata muni is said to have brought music and dance
to the earth and taught the immortals various art forms including Drama,
Music and Dance. Bharata in around 300 A.D. composed a treatise on
Dramaturgy namely 'Natyashastra'. He included several chapters on Dance
and Music. Out of 36 chapters 7 chapters are devoted to dance. In his
treatise, Bharata talks about ‘Rupa’ or ‘Natya’ that was performed by 'Natas'
or actors, mainly men who imitated various aspects of Gods and
Goddesses, that portrays the ancient influence of Hindu mythology on
dance and music. Also in that era, the artists of Kathak, were mostly
men and performed the role of both the male and the female. These dancer
artists preserved this art form along with its traditions even after the
Mughal rule. The idea of men performing dance was mainly wrapped up with
the idea symbolizing the victory of good over evil and power with which
men are generally associated.
Temple Traditions: Devadasis
The religious nature of dance and music expresses intense devotion,
ecstasy and divinity Kathak dance is of a unique origin itself. It is
well known as a dance of story tellers. It was performed in the praise
of Deities in the temples. Its roots can be traced back to the ancient
temple traditions of music and dance. The performance of the dancers
vividly expressed devotion and love of the devotee towards God and was
considered the most appropriate means to be one with God. Women dancers
who used to obey all religious rituals of the temple including its
maintenance, were known as 'Devadasis'. They were primarily dedicated
towards devotion of God and performed dance and music as religious
offerings to the Deities. As the name suggests through conjunction we
can explore its meaning as 'Dev' and 'Dasi' that means slave of God.
They were so dedicated towards their deities that it was considered that
a devadasi is a woman married to God, who is her divine husband. In
ancient times women had less or no opportunity to study and therefore
the profession of a devadasi gave them opportunity to study and to
continue to be married life long. Brahmins who were expert in Music,
Dance, Literature and other streams of study taught them. These dancers
used to express stories and tales from ancient epics like Ramayana,
Mahabharata and Puranas through their dance and song. It was necessary
for a dancer in ancient times to have enough dexterity in singing along
with expressive skills of dance. In Dhrupad, which is an ancient genre
of classical music, the dancers expressed the meaning of its lyrics or
poetry through their 'Nritya'. In his book 'Kathak dance through Ages' Projesh Banerji
states that –
"Dhrupad was not merely a mode for
music to which essentially it belongs, but
as a mode for expressive gestures which
we ender in dancing".
The dancers used to sing while they danced and religious themes were
enacted through abhinaya simultaneously. Dhruvpad, Dhamaar, Bhajan.
Keertan, Hori, Vandana, Pada all were sung and danced upon. This
devotional dance was also given the name of 'Dhrupad Nritya'. In the
words of famous Indian Kathak dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai dance was done
not just to please God but to teach the right way of Living.
Kathaks : The Storytellers
The art of storytelling through expressions brought them their name as 'Kathaks'
that means 'Kathakars' or one who narrates stories. In the temples they
performed dance and music in the praise of Lord as a ritualistic
offering. This art form dominated the temple rituals and was considered
as divine. The clothes, gestures, movements, expression and poses all
reflected the images of God and Goddesses and a devadasi was held with
high esteem, regarded as sacred and chaste in the form of 'Shakti'.
Gradually with the advent of Muslim rule the situation of devadasis
deteriorated. They were employed by kings and other rich men, for the
purpose of entertainment. They became mistresses and queens of the Kings
and were no more associated with religion or piousness.
Religious Aspect: Dance and Music
Hindu mythology so deeply influenced Kathak and music in the ancient
traditions that we find the associations of musical instruments with
Gods and Goddesses such as Vina is divinely associated with Goddess
Saraswati, Expression of rhythm, the Damru is so inseparable with the
image of Lord Shiva. The enchanting flute is symbolic of Lord Krishna
and one cannot forget to associate Ektara with Narad Muni.
The words or bol in Kathak dance form like Ta, Thai, Tat are associated
with Krishna's dance on the hood Kaliya; in music the words Hari Om
Narain that are rendered in the elaboration of alaap mainly in Dhrupad
are associated with the praise of the Almighty. These words with gradual
changes came to be sung as Nom, Tom, Na, Re etc. Tala, the rhythm is
associated with Lord Shiva and Parvati. Through conjunction of the word
tala, we notice that the words 'Ta' signifies 'Tandava' the cosmic dance
of Shiva and 'La' signifies Lasya the dance of Parvati. Vishnu Kalia
Mardan dance is another famous dance that is associated with an incident
from the life of Lord Krishna's victory over the giant demonic snake.
All the literature forms and relics of dances are connected with themes
and ideas underlying the stories of the victory of good over evil, by
Gods and Goddesses; the destruction of demons and the victory of truth
i.e. God.
As stated in Upanishad that - rasa is Brahma, the rasa that is the basic
essence of art forms, is considered to be divine. We also find that
ancient Indian temples were constructed with human images carved on
rocks and stones as the images of God. One of the most famous statue of
"Natraj" Lord Shiva is portrayed with gesture of cosmic dance
Tandava
that very well exemplifies it. Though Indian art forms underwent several
changes during foreign invasions we still find the unchanged traditional
nuances in Dance & Music.
The Unchanged Tradition
Talking of the present scenario, the beginning of a Kathak performance
still commences with a prayer or a devotional tribute to Devi Saraswati,
lord Ganesha or Krishna. This can be traced back to the ritualistic
religious traditions of the temples. Dance and music both are an
intricate weaving of expressions encapsulated with rasa and therefore
are well connected. Hindustani music accompanies Kathak Dance and both
compliment each other with an aura of rasa and emotional
representations; raga and dance through gestures and abhinaya exhibiting
all three essential aspects of Kathak which are namely, 'Nritya', 'Nritta,'
'Natya'.
Kathak is an innovative classical dance style therefore we see that
dancers ornament their expressions with their own capacity and
imagination. In Hindustani classical music ornamentation is carried to
bring out the inherent internal beauty of a raga. A mutual understanding
of the dancer and accompanist is of foremost importance. The lehra (a
musical piece that swings from sum to sum), that accompanies a greater
part of the dance performance is as vital support to the dancer as the
accompanying rhythm.
The traditional divinity merged with sustained pleasure as an inherent
aspect of Indian classical music and dance elevates the artist beyond a
mere experience of a performance. Purely associated with emotions,
Kathak dance and Hindustani Music compliment each other. The purpose of
the aesthetic experience including movements, gestures, emotional
display through abhinaya with rasa in both music and dance altogether is
to attain eternal bliss.
Kathak dance and music went through varied changes and took the form of
Indo-Moghul culture fusion as romanticism crept in almost all art forms.
Though the patronization of Kathak and Hindustani Music by Muslim rulers
changed its religious face, essentially the history of Indian art forms
with religious rituals remain unchanged, thus is still in practice. In
the words of famous Indian Kathak dancer Shovna Narain.
"The basic legacy
of narration and emotional presentation
continues even
today
in Kathak performances”.
June 22,
2008
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