History of Kathak

"Katha Kahe So Kathak Kahave"

Historically, Kathak dates back to Vedic times, when the epics of the Ramayana &

Mahabharata were composed but many mythological episodes are associated with its origin. It is believed that kathak is linked with the story of kaliya daman, when ‘Krishna’ danced on the head of the serpent kaliya. It is said that from this dance, bols of dance, i.e., ‘ta, thai, thai, tat’ came out and kathak came into existence.

The word kathak comes from the root ‘katha’ which means a story & the kathakars were

originally a cast of story tellers who were attached to the temples of North India. The origin

of kathak dance is traced in ancient literature to the story tellers who recited stories from

sacred puranas &epics with gestures and dance.

The next stage in the evolution of kathak came in the 15th century AD. The popularization of

the Radha-Krishna legends, during the Bhakti cult, a form known as Ras-Leela came into

existence. The dances of Vrindavan and Mathura were a refined folk form of ‘Radha-Krishna’

dances accompanied by kirtanas, basic mime & gestures of the kathak story tellers, combined with elements of contemporary folk dancing and gradually classical kathak form came into existence.

During Mughal Era (15th century to 18th century), Kathak had a transformation due to

impact of Mughal Emperors in India. Dancers were asked to dance in Courts rather than

Temples or Arts platforms. Instead of singing bhajans or stutis for Indian deities, they

were asked to sing praises for the Mughal emperors. Some refused to do so, but some agreed to attain better living. This attitude of the new rulers of India destroyed the piousness and religious value of Indian dance. The dancing in the royal courts of the Muslim kings gave rise to the existence of the “Nautch girls” and these nautch girls danced according to the wishes of the kings to please them. Not all Mughal emperors were demanding kathak dancers to perform for their entertainment, some were true admirers of Kathak dance style as well, such as, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

This situation resulted into many changes in kathak dance. The language, music, costume,

presentation, etc all underwent a dramatic change. The Mughal era gave this dance its new

costume. The female dancers of this time started wearing churidar, Anarkali frock, Turkish

cap, Chunni, jacket, moon shaped ornament called the ZAPAKA on the head instead of Chania