• In Indian dances, in the modern age, mudra is called the gesture of hands. Bharata Muni has divided hand gestures into three categories: asamyukta, samyukta, and nritta hasta. Gestures made with one hand is known as asamyukta hasta, whereas gestures those made with both hands is known as samyukta hasta. The hand gestures used in dance are called nritta hasta.

    According to Bharata's Natyashastra, the total number of hand gestures is 64, out of which 24 are asamukyta, 13 are samyukta, and 27 are nritta hasta, while according to Abhinaya Darpan, there are 32 asamyukta hasta and 23 samyukta hasta with a total of 55 hand gestures.

  • The unit used to measure the speed of time is known as Taal. Similarly, the melody of the syllables in dance is measured using Taal. There are many types of Taal, such as Teen Taal, Jhaptaal, Dhamar Taal, etc. These cycles can be distinguished on the basis of the manner in which the beats have been divided. For example, Teen Taal is a 16-beat time cycle with 4 divisions, where each division has 4 beats each. Sometimes, two cycles have the same number of beats but the total number of beats can be divided. These changes result in major changes in the formation and speed of Taal as well.

  • A long embroidered skirt with a contrasting choli and a transparent urhni is usually worn. The costume is well complimented with traditional jewelry, usually gold, (including the ones adorning her hair, nose, ear, neck and hand.) Hindu male Kathak dancers usually wear a silk dhoti with a silk scarf tied on the upper part of the body (may be covered by a loose jacket.) Jewelry of male dancers is quite simple and are usually made of stone. A ‘juda’ ( hair bun) in the center with ‘gajra’ around it, or plaited hair with paraandi (wrapped with gajra, for decorating the braid). Other ornaments to decorate the ‘bun’ could be used.

  • Musical anklets called ghungroo are made of leather straps with small metallic bells attached to it are wrapped around a dancers ankles to produce a rhythmic sound while the dancer performs footwork.

  • Make-up in all the classical dance forms is a must, that too preferably heavy make-up highlighting the eyes with kajal, darkening the eyebrows, bindi, white kumkum (optional) for surrounding the bindi and making it prominent, lipstick (dark shade), blush, and Aalta ( Red dye) is put on palms and feet. Putting Aalta on both the palms, manifests the mudras (gestures) which makes the dance more graceful.

  • Kathak Dancers tend to start at the age of 5 and go through Parambhik until the age of 11. They are introduced to simple taals and began reciting and performing todas in that category. They also learn theka on their hands.

  • Dancers have to start theory which is history surrounding dance and take an exam on it. They learn the uses of mudras and began assimilating into more and more taals. They also write the notation of certain pieces in taals.

  • Dancers should be well-rounded in both a practical (physical) and theory (written) examinations. They learn many important taals and the notation of each. This examination determines if they are able to acquire a degree or not. Many times at the end of their experience dancers may put on anarangetram where they perform full concert for the first time by themselves.

Below is an interview with Arushi Cumer! She is a fellow Northview student and has been a kathak dancer for years.

1. How long have you been dancing for?

I've been dancing since I was 5 years old! Since I'm 16 now, that would mean that it's been over 11 years!

Given that I've done it pretty much my whole life, Kathak has become a huge part of my life, and I've learned a lot from it. Ik this sounds super cheesy, but learning Kathak taught me the importance of practice, the value of sincerity, and the importance of hard work, especially within the last few years, since I've enrolled in the Visharad program (the bachelor's degree program). It's been a lot of work and a lot more learning, but I've never enjoyed Kathak more. During quarantine especially, Kathak became almost an escape for me, a way for me to enjoy its structure and beauty and get away from online school and the issues of the pandemic; but even now, I think dancing is something that will lift my mood and help me escape from school.

2. How would you describe the significance of Kathak in your life?

I think my favorite part of the dance process is figuring out what I'm doing. When I start learning something, it takes me some times to understand what it is I'm doing and how to do it in such a way that it comes on beat AND is graceful. The moment it clicks, the moment I finally grasp what we learned, is my favorite part of the process.

3. What do you like most about the dance process?

4. How do you feel dance has allowed you to connect to your heritage?

I think dance has been one of the biggest factors in helping me connect to my heritage. It's kind of been a constant Indian presence in my life, something that connects back to my language and my religion that I have to be in touch with at least once a week, if not more, and so dance played a big part in letting me stay in touch with my culture by letting me learn something unique to it.

Arushi Cumer | Photography

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