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PAPER 5
DANCE, POETS AND POETRY,
RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 25 KAVITTS OF THE DIFFERENT GHARANA-S OF KATHAK
The evolution and development of Kathak is very deeply linked with the trajectory that its gharanas have followed. Each having its own unique and nonlinear journey, the aesthetics of the different gharanas have infused a quality of multi-faceted ethos into this dance form that has evolved a new consciousness experientially. This new consciousness is based on a diversity of style and aesthetics, that at various historical points mingle into and move away from each other, thereby establishing their own ideological institution of dancing, and also influencing each other’s dancing styles. Scholars and academicians have broadly categorised four different gharanas of Kathak:
1) Lucknow Gharana 2) Jaipur Gharana 3) Benaras Gharana 4) Raigarh Gharana
Now we follow a brief history and development of each of these gharanas and also look at some of their kavitts / कवित्त, examining which will hopefully lead to an insight on their socio-cultural background.
2 A. RAIGARH GHARANA
We begin our journey into the exploration of this Gharana at the crucial historical juncture of the death of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the ruler of Awadh and arguably one of the most important patrons of artists. He was the tenth and last Nawab of the state of Oudh or Awadh, which roughly corresponds to the present state of Uttar Pradesh. He ascended the throne of Awadh in 1847 and ruled for nine years losing his kingdom barely two days before the ninth anniversary of his coronation. Not only was Nawab Wajid Ali Shah a supporter of arts, he himself was a very well known “rasika / यससक” and art enthusiast who has hundreds of thumris, gat, and technical compositions to his name. Kathak dance attained new heights of popularity and glory under his guidance and generous patronage. Thakur Prasadji was his Kathak guru, and the unforgettable Kalka-Binda brothers performed in his court. The two are said to be founders of the Kalka-Bindandin or Lucknow gharana of Kathak. His court saw modern Kathak taking its initial form and also housed hundreds of artists who became active contributors to this historical process of evolution. The pageantry of the Rahas / यहास, Jogiya Jashan / जोगगमा
जशन, Dance dramas, and Kathak performances, contributed to this.
Lucknow became the magnetic cultural center where the most reputed musicians, dancers and poets of the time flourished. The greatest musicians, dancers and instrumentalists of the time enjoyed his munificent patronage and hospitality.
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With his death, Kathak saw a period of stagnation as the dancers were left without a roof on their heads. Largely, the Gurus had no option but to align themselves with courtesans or ‘tawaifs / तिामफ़’ and start giving them tuitions. This happened for two reasons. Firstly, Kathak dance owing to its shringaric element, and renditions of love songs of Radha and Krishna, became a space that could easily appropriated by the courtesan tradition and converted into a form that accommodated enticing looks, seductive costumes, and visibly flirtatious glances within its dancing framework. This moral and sexual promiscuity was not acceptable to the
‘sophisticated’ British mannerisms that were getting inflicted by the Victorian anxiety.
The problematic and antagonistic relation of the Victorian ethos with courtesans led to a public degradation of Kathak and reduced it to a mere seductive practice that became a breeding ground for sexual promiscuity.
This rather unfair reduction of this diverse and layered dance form into one feature also generated a public discourse that largely disfavoured any kind of personal engagement with this dance. Hence, ‘respectable families’ did not allow their women and children to learn this dance form.
It was considered disrespectful and inappropriate for members of upper caste/class families to let their women dance a form that began to be largely identified by the courtesans. Secondly, owing to lack of patronage and business in teaching dance to families, the dancers were forced to migrate in search of greener pastures.
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The void that the death of Wajid Ali Shah created was filled at a critical point in history, with the patronage offered to Kathak by Raja Chakradhar Singh, of the Raigarh Principality. Regarded by historians, both as a child prodigy, he is also seen as a great patron of artists and musicians, as he invited artists and dancers from all over the country to stay in his court.
Having ascended the throne in 1924, he acquired a reputation for himself within three-four years of ascendancy.
He is credited with establishing a ‘guni-jan khana / गुणी जन खाना’ or a chamber of experts in his court, where artists were housed free without being charged of anything. This is an important point to consider. When an artist does not have to bother with financial issues, he or she can freely concentrate on the development of his /her artistic practice. Thus, freed with the pressure of providing for themselves and their family, the artists, along with Raja Chakradhar Singh created thousands of compositions that contributed greatly to the repertoire of Kathak and gave it a definable form. Several new vocal and technical compositions, steeped in the nav-rasas / नियस gave an eclectic and rich ethos to Kathak.
Raja Chakradhar made two very significant additions to the yearly calendar of Kathak. They were-
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1) The Annual Ganesa Festival
Raja Chakradhar organizes an annual festival where he invited musicians and artists from all over the country to assemble in his court and showcase their art. This kind of large scale gathering of artists from various musical and performative idioms in one place is unheard of in other historical accounts of this period. This assemblage created an ideal breeding ground for art to flourish as all artists put their best forward.
This healthy competition space also made the artists strive to create the best of their compositions. They also interacted with artists from other genres and this exchange must have been undoubtedly important in the larger journey of evolution of art.
Raja Chakradhar extensively studied the different art forms and also examined the way time is treated differently in each discipline. According to Dr. P.D. Ashirwadam, it also made him more observant, and he was able to discern the great potential of Kathak.
2) 1st All India Conference of Artists, Allahabad, 1933
In 1933, Raja Chakradhar asked the Gurus in the Guni-jan khana to train their best students extensively, and send them to perform in All India Conference in Allahabad. Sri Kartik Ram and Sri Firtu Das were sent from his court to represent the state of Raigarh. A one of its kind conference, this event finds a space in history as one of the first steps in establishing Kathak as a performance art and marks the entry of kathak from courts to
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the proscenium stage. Largely a colonial invention, the proscenium arch created a stage that became the performance space for several artistic forms. Indeed, the entry of Kathak into the exhibitionist space of stage that commands an audience is a very important occurrence, as it shifted the locus of performance from Kings and courts, and from the kothas where the ‘mehfils / भहफ़फ़र’ of courtesans played out often to a degenerate and feudal audience. The new audience that came to such proscenium performances was the new bourgeoisie audience that sought affinity with the arts. The culture of evening performances is also a crucial middle class bourgeoisie affair that encouraged leisurely evening activity, and also cultivated a sophisticated class of people who engaged in classical knowledge.
Mahraja Chakradhar Singh was not only interested in music and dance, but he was also interested with Literature. He had good knowledge of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Oriya. He wrote many books related to dance/music and Literature. After studying the ancient shastras and texts, Raja Chakradhar embarked upon a journey to create treatises of his own.
Some among them were ‘Taal Bal Pushpakar / तार फार ऩुष्ऩकाय’ which was related to the art of playing the tabla. Another was ‘Taal Tayonidhi / तार तमोननगध’ a collection of tabla bandishes, that used talas from a count of 1 to380 matras. Interestingly the first of these texts weighed 3.5 kgs, while the other more than ten times at, tipping the scale at 36 kgs.
‘Raag Ratna Manjusha / याग यत्न भॊजुषा’ related to traditional Indian Raags and Raagini. Though he was all-rounder but he was much more
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interested in Kathak dance. He textualised the basics of Kathak and also wrote out the thousands of compositions that Raja Saheb himself composed and extracted from the Gurus of several disciplines, and the various gharanas of Kathak. These Parans and other principles are recorded in his two extensive treatises, “Muraj Paran Pushpakar / भुयज ऩयन ऩुष्ऩकाय” about the pakhawaj and its parans (muraj means pakhawaj and paran is a type of rhythmic composition), and “Nartansarvaswam / नततनसितस्िभ” on dance. The latter was related to banishes and bols of dance, while the former was such a large compilation weighing 6.5 kgs.
Maharaja Chakradhar Singh organized and participated in the famous music conferences of the decade of the thirties. In 1938 an all India music conference was held in Allahabad (U.P.). It is from this conference onwards that he became famous all over India. In 1939, at the all India level Music conference held to welcome the Viceroy, saw Maharaja Chakradhar Singh himself playing on the Tabla for the Kathak dance presentation of Kartik and Kalyan, two of the best dancers of the Raigarh Durbar. It was after this that the very impressed Viceroy awarded Maharaja Chakradhar Singh the title of "Sangeet Samrat / संगीत सम्राट".
Chakradhar Maharaj, was both, a good tabla and a good pakhawaj player.
During the music conference held at Khairagarh in Chhattisgarh in 1943, in which Kartik Kalyan presented Kathak dance, again Maharaja Chakradhar Singh played on Tabla for the dance.
Now let us analyze some compositions from Raigarh Gharana-
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1) Krishna Lasya, a ‘joda’. Composed by Raja Chakradhar Singh Kunu Kita kara gida| Kita tata kuku dhidhi|
कुणु फ़कत कय गगद | फ़कत तत कुकु गधगध | x 2
Phira tachu -ma to-| din chik chan chan ||
फ़पय तछु भा तो | ददन गिक छन छन ||
0 3
chana naga tata thei-| Chuma kucha -ma ta-|
छन नग तत थई | छुभ कूि भा त | x 2
thun thun thuma kuthei | -ya thei jhin jhin ||
थून थून ठुभ् कुथेई | मा थेई झझन झझन ||
0 3
Sunu kita tak chum | trik thei china kachi | सुनु फ़कत तक छुभ | त्रिक थेई नछन किी | x 2
naka thei jhin jhin | jhina kita chana nana ||
नक थेई झझन झझन | झझन फ़कट छन नन ||
0 3
nana nana china ghina | thei - -runu jhunu | नन नन नछन नघन | थेई रुनु झुनू |
x 2
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thei tata thei runu | jhunu thei tata thei ||
थेई तत थेई रुनु | झुनू थेई तत थेई ||
0 3
runu jhunu thei tata | thei - -kunu kita | रुनु झुनू थेई तत | थेई कुणु फ़कट | x 2
kara gida kita tata | kuku dhidhi phira tachu||
कय गगद फ़कट तत | कुकु गधगध फ़पय तछु ||
0 3
-ma to- din chik| chan chan chana naga | भा तो ददन गिक | छन छन छना नग | x 2
tata thei- chuma kucha |-ma ta- thun thun||
तत थेई छुभ कूि | भा त थून थून ||
0 3
thuma kuthei -ya thei| jhin jhin sunu kita|
ठुभ कुठई मा थेई | झझन झझन सुनु फ़कट | x 2
tak chum trik thei| china lachi naka thei||
तक छुभ त्रिक थेई | नछन रिी नक थेई ||
0 3
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jhin jhin jhina kita | chana nana nana nana | झझन झझन झीना फ़कट | छन नन नन नन | x 2
china ghina thei- -| runu jhunu tei tata||
नछन नघन थेई | रुनु झुनू तेई तत ||
0 3
thei runu jhunu thei| tata thei runu jhunu | थेई रुनु झुनू थेई | तत थेई रुनु झुनू |
x 2
thei tata thei- -| kunu kita kara gida||
थेई तत थेई | कुणु फ़कत कय गगद ||
0 3
kita tata kuku dhidhi | phira tachu -ma to- | फ़कट तत कुकु धीधी | फ़पय तछु भा तो | x 2
din chik chan chan | chana naga tata thei||
ददन गिक छन छन | छन नग तत थेई ||
0 3
chuma kucha -ma ta-| thun thun thuma kuthei|
छुभ कुछ भा ता | थून थून ठुभ कुथेई | x 2
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-ya tehi jhin jhin| sunu kit tak chum||
मा तेही झझन झझन | सुनु फ़कट तक छुभ ||
0 3
trik thei china kachi| naka thei jhin jhin | त्रिक थेई नछन किी | नक थेई झझन झझन | x 2
jhina kita chana nana| nana nana china ghina||
झीना फ़कत छन नन | नन नन नछन नघन ||
0 3
thei - -runu jhunu| thei tata thei runu|
थेई रुनु झुनू | थेई तत थेई रुनु | x 2
jhunu thei tata thei | runu jhunu thei tata||
झुनू थेई तत थेई | रुनु झुनू थेई तत ||
0 3 thei||
थेई ||
x
This particular composition, titled “Krishna Lasya / कृष्ण रास्म” reveals nothing characteristic of Krishna in its first, overt reading. However, it is noteworthy that the composition uses very few words taken from Tabla
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and Pakhavaj and rests the composition primarily on the bols of dance.
The exclusion of tabla and pakhavaj bols lessens the presence of Tandava and the highlights Lasya through the Nritya. Thus in the hands of a well- trained dancer this composition could successfully depict the delicate beauty of Krishna’s dance.
The Raigarh gharana, and particularly Raja Chakradhar insisted on maintaining the story telling tradition or katha vachan / कथा िािन element of Kathak. He felt that even if a dancer is dancing a technical composition, it should not be ‘arthheen / अथतहीन’ or devoid of meaning.
He desired that even such a composition should also be emotive and tell a story, and moving beyond niras nritta /नीयस नृत्त, aim at having the “ang / अॊग” of “nrittya / नृत्म” in it. Therefore, in this composition, he has highlighted the Lasya ang / रास्म अॊग of shri Krishna through softer bols of dance to generate the shringar rasa in krishna-raas.
2) Another Nritya composition by Raja Chakradhar Kiki kuku| kan- ga ka| dam tale| dina nate||
फ़ककी कुकु | कण गा का | दभ तरे | ददन नाते ||
x 2 0 3
dat va -| ka- - nte| giri vara | taru nata ||
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दत ि | का न्ते | गगयी िय | तरु नट ||
x 2 0 3
runa priya -| kan te -| ra- dha |- - - - ||
रुण विम | कान ते - | या – धा | - - - - ||
x 2 0 3
dhidhi kaka| naka dha | dhrika -na| dha dhrika||
गधगध कक | नक धा | गिक न | धा गिक ||
x 2 0 3 -na dha | dhrika- na| dha -| dha -||
-न धा | गिक न | धा - | धा - ||
x 2 0 3
dha dhrika | -na dha| dhrika - na| dha -||
धा गिक | ना धा | गिक - न | धा - ||
x 2 0 3
dhrika -na | dha dhrika | -na dha| dhrika -na||
गिक - न | धा गिक | - ना धा | गिक - ना ||
x 2 0 3 dha||
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धा ||
x
This is indeed one of the most beautiful compositions to come out of the repertoire of Raigarh Gharana. Here, through metaphors and symbolism, Radha is explaining to Krishna that without love, life loses its meaning.
The life of those who are after gold and riches is cursed, as love is the purest wealth.
We also have been fortunate enough to obtain the meanings of the bols of this composition, to understand and be able to deconstruct its larger meaning linguistically.
Kiki- Radha Kuku - Krishna
Kang - suggestive of “sang”
Kadam Tale - beneath the Kadamb tree Dina Nathe - Lord of the humble
Datwa Kant - Krishna said to the lady or Kanta Tarunu Tarunu - In the context of Love
Priya Kante - Beloved Radha
Dhidhik Kanak Dha - Those who love gold or riches out of the two Dhikrandha - Useless (dhikkar)
-Taken from “Raigarh Darbar”, By Dr. P.D. Ashirwadam
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These meanings indeed help us in locating the origin of the bols of the compositions and also enhance our understanding of Kathak as a form of storytelling, where even the apparently assumed “technical” dance is as and probably even more emotive than the vocal or worded compositions.
The Raigarh gharana and one of its key figures, Raja Chakradhar Singh played a very iimportant role in giving modern Kathak its contemporary shape, drawing out the best of every gharana, drawing form the best in every gharana. But it was not just a mixing of styles: he added his inputs too. Since many brilliant artistes were working together, the trend of creating ‘jodas / जोड़ा’ or bols in complementary patterns, gained credence here. Chakradhar read up in ancient books on percussion and discussed with vidwans to revive the practice of jodas. He also created the tala chakra, a circular diagrammatic form of the tala avartan / तार आिततन.
An important feature of the Raigarh gharana is the fact that there are many compositions about natural phenomena and elements. It must be understood that the kingdom of Raigah was in the forest rich Chhatisgarh region of modern India. There were few urban centres but many rural and forested areas, with no distractions but enjoying the beauty of nature.
Therefore, there were beautiful lush landscapes with heavy monsoons, providing the grist for the creative mill. Thus a distinctive feature of the Raigarha Gharana was that rhythmic patterns that were created were given thematic names, such as Megh Pushp / भेघ ऩुष्ऩ, Chamak Bijli /
िभक त्रफजरी, Brahma Beej / ब्रह्भफीज, Dal Badal Paran / दर फादर
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ऩयन... These are all bandishes / फॊददश (compositions) of tabla, pakhawaj and dance. The bols / फोर themselves don’t have a meaning but he selected those with the appropriate sound to bring out the theme. Thus was born the “Dal Baadal Paran” which is an abstract composition evoking the imagery of the thickening clouds of the rainy season. Then there is the “Kadak Bijli Paran’ which as its name suggests is about the flash of lightening in dark skies. The sharp bols allowed for a chamak /
िभक to come through both on the aural and the visual axis. To reproduce the bols faithfully, the Raigarh dancers of yore did riyaaz / रयमाज़ wearing iron ghunguroos, on river sand. This made movement so difficult that when you danced normally on stage, your feet could produce the sounds very clearly.
Another speciality of this gharana was that the dances were taught to execute movements from ati vilambit laya / अती विरॊत्रफत रम (very slow) to ati drut laya / अती द्रुत रम (very fast). It is very difficult to dance in such a slow laya. Bandishes were created for these rare layas / रम too. These things used to be done in other gharanas too but slowly died out. In Raigarh they were revived and then built upon.
Another distinctive feature was the elaboration of abhinaya. First, the vidwans would do abhinaya on a line of song in the sitting position. It is considered tough since there is limitation of movement, but this would go on for a long time. Thereafter, they would stand up and continue the
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elaboration. The Maharaj was a well-known poet as well, and composed thumris. One amongst them is “Chandra badani / िन्द्र फदनी, Mrigalochani / भृगरोिनी…” Abhinaya was not always very stylized as the people around were rustic and rural folk. Thus in Raigarh gharana one comes across several gats / गत and chaals / िार based on a folk background.
One other unique feature of the Gharana were poems and nritta compositions which when danced on gulal and create an image on the floor with the footwork. Thus, thanks to the efforts of Maharaja Chakradhar Singh, the gharana has provided the future generations with limitless bandishes to explore and perform.
B. LUCKNOW GHARANA
Located in the capital city of the kingdom of Awadh, this Gharana began developing with the reign of Asaf-Ud-Daula (1775-1798 AD) and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (1847-1856 AD). The name Awadh comes from the ancient city of Ayodhya, the hometown of Lord Rama. During the Mughal Rule, the name got altered from Ayodhya to Awadh. Historical surveys and accounts find that there was a separate caste of Kathaks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and these Kathak establishments and sophisticated and mature traditional dancers or Kathaks. It is widely known and accepted that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was a devoted rasika of Kathak, and also contributed to this form by writing several thumris, dadras, bhajans, and technical compositions, a lot of which are still in practise today.
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The founders of Lucknow Gharana, Bindadin Maharaj and Kalka Prasad were great masters of abhinaya, and laykaari / रमकायी respectively.
Bindadin Maharaj was a gifted writer and composer and composed several thousand verses in praise of Lord Krishna, of whom he was a devotee. Kalka Prasad was an expert in playing the Tabla and Pakhavaj and ornamented Kathak with his mastery over lay and rhythm.
The concept of Sanchari Bhava found more space owing to the introduction of thumris. As each line could be repeated several times, the dancer found innovative ways to represent and emotion in many different ways. Keeping in with the opulent taste of the courts of Lucknow and also the larger ethos of the city, the compositions acquired an amorous and sensuous character.
The figure of Lord Krishna and his Raas leela provided the space for this sensuous love to be fleshed out and elaborated in its full shringarik form, and even several nritta kavitts become highly emotive of this.
Here are some Kavitts from Lucknow Gharana-
1) Sheesh Mukut Bansi Mukh Baaje / शीश भुकुट फॊसी भुख फाजे
Chapal nayan Kundal Khanke / िऩर नमन कुॊडर खनके
Mor mukut peetambar sohe / भोय भुकुट ऩीताम्फय सोहे
mand mand madhuri muske / भॊद भॊद भधुयी भुस्के
mand mand madhuri muske / भॊद भॊद भधुयी भुस्के
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mand mand madhuri muske / भॊद भॊद भधुयी भुस्के
Here, the poet describes Lord Krishna as having a peacock feather crown on his head, and a flute on his lips that he is playing. His eyes have a mischievous spark and the ears are adorned with beautiful ear rings. He is wearing his characteristic yellow coloured garment and looking at him, Radha smiles to herself. The last three lines constituted a tihai a rhythmic flourish within the poetic structure!
3) Aap hi kul purvajon ki mukti आऩ ही कुर ऩूितजो की भुक्तत hetu kiyo bhagirath bhakti हेतु फ़कमो बगीयथ बक्तत bhagirath tap dhyaan lagayo बगीयथ तऩ ध्मान रगामो
prasanna brahma hue darshan paayo
िसन्न ब्रह्भा हुए दशतन ऩामो
gangdhaar kul moksha hi payin hain गॊगाधय कुर भोऺ ही ऩामीॊ है
dhaar gang kou rok na payin hain धाय गॊग कोउ योक ना ऩामीॊ है
Shiv ki jata ekmatra sahara
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सशि की जटा एकभाि सहाया
jo rok sake veg gang dhara जो योक सके िेग गॊग धया
tab keen kripa shiv bhagirath par तफ कीन कृऩा सशि बगीयथ ऩय baandhyo gang veg gang sir jata par फाॊध्मो गॊग िेग गॊग ससय जटा ऩय
dhanya hue bhagirath brahma gyaan ko paaye धन्म हुए बगीयथ ब्रह्भ ऻान को ऩामे
dhanya hue bhagirath bhol kripa ko paayo धन्म हुए बगीयथ बोर कृऩा को ऩामो
dhanya hue bhagirath kul ko moksha dilaye धन्म हुए बगीयथ कुर को भोऺ ददरामे
Here, the poet has sought to capture the enigmatic story of ganga's incarnation upon Earth. Rishi Bhagirath observed grueling and demanding
"dhyana and tapasya / ध्मान – तऩस्मा" to bring Ganga upon earth.
Brahma, impressed with his will power, obliges him by granting his wish.
However, he warns Bhagirath that the impact of the flow of Ganga's waters will surpass the endurance of Prithvi. Bhagirath then pleads Shiva for help. Lord Shiva, contains the powerful flow of Ganga in his "jata / जटा" or strands of hair and thereby controls the intensity and the magnitude of Ganga. In this process, Bhagirath redeems his ancestors,
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taking them to the doors of heaven and Shiva showers his blessings upon the earth. Here again the tijhai / नतझाई is at play but playfully creates three different endings to the common prefix.
This Gharana shows a variety of moods and rasas and is heavily influenced by the metaphor of spiritual love of Radha and Krishna. Not only did this era produce a large body of works on abhinaya as base, it also expanded the nritta and its technical bols that highlighted the eclectic virtuosity of this form.
C. JAIPUR GHARANA
Nadi ke tat tit kadam drum tale नदी के तट नतट कदभ द्रुभ तरे
Nachat natvar takat radha नाित नटिय तकत याधा
umang jhijhikat lachak thirkan उभॊग झझझझकत रिक गथयकन tang jhingan tadit nagdhit तॊग झझॊगन तडडत नक्धधत ghin ta dha ghin dha नघन ता धा नघन धा
ghitak ghin dha (3) नघतक नघन धा (3)
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pujikat jhijhik chitak kachu hole hole chandra chaundh chapla chali aj pal atak atak drig matak matak
mukh mandra hanse
man mohan man madho (3) dhatuna kat
ऩुक्जकत झझझझक गितक कछु होरे होरे
िन्द्र िौंध िऩरा िरी आज ऩर अटक अटक दद्रग भटक भटक भुख भॊद्र हॉसे
भन भोहन भन भाधो (3) धातुन कट
As we sense in the above two kavitts, the characteristic of bols of the kavitts in Jaipur gharana, are short, and cut to sharp. They very often include alliterations and the words are conjoined in a manner that they project active and sharp movements which are combined with the fierce and energetic movements of the performer.
The clan of kathaks from Jaipur come from the warrior clan and performed for warrior jajmans / जजभान and patrons, and hence there is an inherent aggression and ferocity in their native dance, which has relatively softened over time owing to interactions with other gharanas of Kathak. The movements and bols often allude to warrior like ethos where
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the projection is grand and awe-inspiring. This includes excellent command over footwork which turns into a fierce display of the “taiyyari / तैमायी” of a dancer and multiple spins taken in continuation.
The gunijan khana of Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh (1699-1743) provided the much needed momentum to the arts in this region. Some well-known stalwarts of the Jaipur Gharana are Narayam Prasad Ji, Jai Lal Ji, Hanuman Prasad Ji, Sunder Prasad Ji. Sunder Prasad Ji and Jailal Ji were the sons of Chunni Lal ji, and became household names owing to their skills.
D. BANARAS GHARANA OR JANAKI PRASAD GHARANA
The creation of a category of this gharana has often caused confusion and it has not been accepted entirely whether this is a proper school of thought or no. It is better known by Jankiprasad ji, who hailed from Bikaner in Rajasthan. He created natwari bols / नटियी फोर which were different from the bols of other gharanas and hence cannot be comfortably put into any other gharana too. The gharana was consolidated by Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj, father of Alaknnda Devi, Chaube Maharaj and Sitara devi.
Some well-known names of this Gharana are Hazarilal, Sunaina Hazarilal, and their guru, the late Ashiq Hussain Khan.
It is difficult to pin point to specific and unique characteristics of this gharana, as it takes from different genres and has no fixed entity of its own.
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Here is a kavitt from the Janki Prasad Gharana- Chandra tapal kare aarti shiv ji
िन्द्र तऩर कये आयती सशिजी
jhijhikat hul hul gang thalak kar झझझझकत हुर हुर गॊग थरक कय nachat Shankar dhaddhan kirtak dha नाित शॊकय धड्धन फ़कयतक धा
kirtak thun thun dha (3) फ़कततक थून थून धा (3)
Characterised by the exclusive use of natwari (dance bols), they are different from the tabla and the pakhawaj bols. One of the most distinctive features of this gharana are the pieces dedicated to Gods and Goddesses. Shivastuti / सशिस्तुनत in raga Shankara, reinforces the fact that Benares, the city that gives this gharanas its name is Shiva’s city.
Banaras is considered to be the Shivnigari / सशिनगयी, the city of Shiva, and the supreme god is uniquely known for Shivatandavas / सशिताॊडि. Execution of the virile tandava, therefore, remains the hallmark of this gharana. That is why when Vishal Krishna dances the Shiv Vandhana / सशि
िॊदना he starts with one legged stances and includes squatting, and finally concluding it with a full split on the Sama / सभ. But at the same time, the gharana also includes Kishnaraas in its repertoire, reinforcing the fact that Kathak is deeply associated with the art of Kathak.
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Pt. Sukhdev Maharaj created many Kavits that are being revived nowadays by dancers of the gharana like Vishal Krishna, who is also his descendant- his great grandson to be precise. Vishal dances many of them, even including dancing them while standing on the rim of a brass plate, and old Kuchipudi tarangam like almost forgotten tradition of Kathak. Some of them are Durga parans / दुगात ऩयन, Kali parans / कारी
ऩयन, Shiva parans / सशि ऩयन, Vishnu parans / विष्णु ऩयन, Hanumana parans / हनुभान ऩयन and their ilk. They could be pure or mixed verses
— with or without tabla bols and pakhawaj bols.
At the end it is safe to say that there is no Kathak, but Kathaks. Different forms coming under the same umbrella called Kathak, each containing its unique flavour, and adding richness to this dance form. Each gharana has followed its own trajectory of evolution and development, and has in many ways gone astray and away, only to come back to the same ever flowing and enriching stream of Katha vachan / कथक ििन.
