Gati in classical dance form of Kathak

[Full title: Deśī forms of North-India (1): Gati in classical dance form of Kathak]

Northern-India has a number of styles of dance and theatre forms such as Rāmlīla, swāṅg, bāṅgra, ghummar, kacci-godi (false-horse), cāri dance, etc. Kathak is the classical dance form of North-India especially in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Kathak is a classical dance form. The basic stance of the foot is the samapāda. The complex footwork can be executed only through a delicate balance of weight on the flat foot. The characteristic feature of the dance style is its jumps and pirouettes. Chakkars or bhramarīs are the important elements of this dance form. These are the utplavanas and bhramarīs in the Nāṭyaśāstra. In the bhramarīs, the Kathak dancer maintains the axis of the body, by using one foot as a centre and the other foot to make a circle. The static foot represents the centre and the dynamic foot is the arm of a compass drawing swiftly the circumference of a circle. The cāris such as svastika, ūrdhvajānū, vidyudbhrāntā are all seen in the paintings related to Kṛṣna and Gopis, which are the main thematic elements of Kathak recitals and are widely used in various techniques.^[1]

When the kathak dancer moves in front, the flat foot is put forward lightly carrying the weight of the body along rather than shifting the weight tersely.^[2] The karaṇas such as samapāda and līna (where the movement is in flat foot) and janitā and avahittaka (where the movement is in agratala foot) and svastika (where legs and hands are transposed) are used. The cadences are directly conditioned by the metrical cycles on which rhythmic variations can be executed. Thus, what is known as the tattakāra in Kathak is a variety of rhythmic patterns on a basic metrical cycle.

Thāṭ is an initial stance in which the dancer stands with the body firm and upright the right arm bent at elbow and the hand resting on the waist and the left raised a little over. The dancer stands with his feet crossed with the right slightly bent and only the toes touching the ground. There might be some variations in the thāṭ. The dancer starts with the rhythmic graceful movements of the aṅgas and the upāṅgas such as eyes, eyebrows, neck, chest and shoulders, while the musicians play at a medium tempo in a relaxed mood. It is a sort or warming-up for the full and scintillating dance, which is to follow. That is followed by stylized walk.^[3]

The tukra is a pure dance pattern, which is the simplest variety where the mnemonics are based on the bhols of the tabla. Tora is a formalized pattern that takes only a few types of mnemonics into consideration. Paraṇa is a dance pattern, which is performed to the mnemonics of pakhwaj. Thereafter the performance of tora is that of the tukra which is often presented as the chakkardar tukra. These are like the tīrmānaṃs. The dancer begins with a slow rhythmic pattern in vilambitlaya. This is finally presented in a double or a triple laya. Here there is a successive progression and the relationship of the third laya to the first laya varies significantly. The entire sequence is repeated in multiples of three. The structure is built on an accurate mathematical sense. The dancer's skill lies in building up this structure from the first beat of the rhythmic pattern or from any of the subsequent beats. The rule is that the dancer must end on the last beat of the metrical cycle or the first beat of the new cycle.

The paraṇa is the next variety and it has been identified normally as dance pattern executed to the mnemonics of the pakhawaj. In paraṇa the tempo is very fast, the patterns highly intricate and rhythmic and the control of the feet so great that at times, when desired, the hundreds of ankle-bells produce the sound of one seven or twelve only. The friendly but challenging competition between the danseuse and the percussionist at this stage is extremely thrilling and fantastically brilliant.

Kathak's nṛtta technique can be covered under these divisions. The tukras, the toras and the paraṇas have their subdivisions. The nṛtta portions are presented to a repetitive melodic line known as the nagma. Both the drummer and the dancer make endless variety of rhythmic combinations on this melodic line. The nṛtta patterns end with the chakkars or spiral movements. When the dancer executes a movement, the tabla player repeats all the bols, which had been earlier recited by the dancer. The tattakāra is the second and last aspect, which is another way of presenting the dancer's great mastery over rhythmic patterns. The dancer can execute fractional intervals of the beats of a single cycle. Against a basic pattern of sixteen beats, the dancer may execute a pattern of twelve beats by slowing the fractional count. The skill of the dancer lies in her harmonization with the sama of the original metrical pattern. The end of the tattakāra portion is a challenge, as it requires perfect weight manipulation. The dancer tries to control the sound of the ankle bells restrict it to the jingling of one or two bells on her ankles. While executing these patterns the dancer must be static from the torso upwards. The charm of the dancer lies in apparently a static figure producing dynamic sounds. The nṛtta portions are presented in a sequence beginning with the traditional entry, known as the āmad, the salutation. This is usually composed in the medium tempo of a metrical cycle of 16 beats (tritāl). The āmad ends with a short pirouette movement followed by thāṭ.

The rendering of syllables by the dancer is called padant and this is the unique feature of this dance.^[4] The other features being the chakra, bhramarī, gati or cārī, tatkār (pādacāri).^[5] Gat is taken from the word gait, which means walk showing abstract visually beautiful gaits or scenes from daily life. Kavit is a poem set on a time-cycle in which the dancer will perform movements that echo the meaning of the poem.

The structure of a conventional kathak performance tends to follow a progression in tempo from slow to fast, ending with a dramatic climax. A short danced composition is known as a tukra, a longer one as a tora. There are also compositions consisting solely of footwork. All compositions are performed so that the final step and beat of the composition lands on the sama or first beat of the time-cycle. Most compositions also have bols (rhythmic words), which serve both as mnemonics to the composition and whose recitation forms an integral part of the performance.

A typical Lucknow performance of kathak unfolds gradually through several stages, each stage establishing a tempo and dynamic quicker and more intense than the last. The slow introductory invocations to the gods are followed by expressive pieces that rely on the art of suggestion like gatnikās where the dancer hints at a series of animal or human characters using chals and poses, gatbhāv, storytelling, performed in medium tempo. Technical virtuosity in the form of footwork is usually reserved for the very fastest tempo, and dancers often enter into playful rhythmic competition with their tabla accompanists in the form of a duet (jugalbandi) where one imitates the other.

Cāris like samapāda, bhramarī, vidyudbhrāntā and karaṇas like līna, vṛścika, ghūrṇita and apakrāntā of Nāṭyaśāstra can be identified in this style. However, generally the reeling movements and gaits are in samasthāna in kathak.

Kathak has some traces of kaṭībhrāntam karaṇa of Nāṭyaśāstra.

“Abhinavagupta recommending this karana for tala yati reveals a continuity of thought that exists as seen in the present kathak dances in which the whirls are particularly used in yati patterns.”^[6]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Indian Classical Dance–Kapila Vatsyayan p.49

[2]:

Ibid. p.51

[3]:

Classical Dances and Costumes of India -Kay ambrose.p. 78.

[4]:

Classical dances of India-Saroja Vaidyanathan.p.27.

[5]:

Ibid.p.29.

[6]:

Karaṇas Common Dance Codes of India and Indonesia-Padma Subrahmanyam -Vol.II.p.126.