Meet the women architects of Kathak

From its origins successful royal courts and intimate mehfils, Kathak — known for its intricate footwork, energetic movements and pirouettes — has travelled onto the modern proscenium stage. This modulation was shaped by respective illustrious women dancers and gurus successful Independent India, who introduced innovative methods that gave the accepted signifier a modern edge.

Under Mughal patronage, Kathak evolved further. Beyond palace courtyards, the signifier survived mostly due to the fact that of courtesans, who preserved and transmitted this creator contented crossed generations.

How these women brought Kathak to the modern signifier was the halfway taxable of the sixth variation of the Dr. Maya Rao Kathak and Choreography Conference, organised by the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography successful Bengaluru. The institute is led by elder dancer and choreographer Madhu Nataraj, girl of Kathak exponent Maya Rao. She is besides the laminitis of STEM Dance Kampini, known for its modern productions.

 “Post-Independence, it was women who adapted Kathak from the gharanedars and antheral dancers and carried it to antithetic cities. Today, the cities wherever the gharanas originated are nary longer large Kathak hubs. Many gharanedars near these centres and moved to Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai to enactment successful institutions established by women specified arsenic scholars Kapila Vatsyayan and Nirmala Joshi, and patrons specified arsenic Sumitra Charat Ram,” said dancer-researcher Siddhi Goel successful her talk, Women successful Kathak: Architects of Modernity.

“Maya Rao,” said Chiranjiv Singh, erstwhile director, Information, Culture and Tourism, Government of Karnataka, “was liable for creating the Kathak ecosystem successful Bengaluru. She was not lone a dancer, but a visionary, who brought a caller attack to teaching and choreography.”

It was astatine the behest of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, state combatant and trade revivalist that Maya Rao launched NIKC — said to beryllium the archetypal large instauration of Kathak successful South India, wherever she trained much than 4,000 students during her lifetime. She besides choreographed landmark productions including ‘Amir Khusro’, ‘Venkateshwara Vilasam’, ‘Kathak done the Ages, Art and Life’ and ‘Surdas’. Chiranjiv Singh requested Madhu Nataraj to revive her mother’s ballets. 

Discussing the improvement of the creation signifier aft 1947 successful presumption of choreography, instauration building, pedagogy, Siddhi Goel said that contiguous it has gradually shifted from being a solo creation to radical choreography. In this context, she spoke astir Madam Menaka (Leila Roy-Sokhey), 1 of the archetypal pistillate Kathak dancers to execute connected stage. “She started a creation schoolhouse successful Mumbai and had a graded curriculum. From 1936-1938, she toured Germany and besides choreographed for a German film,” said Siddhi, who is besides the laminitis of ‘All Things Kathak’ that works successful the sphere of probe and community-building successful Kathak. 

Siddhi besides spoke astir Kumudini Lakhia and her pivotal relation successful mainstreaming radical choreography done her experimental works specified arsenic ‘Atah Kim’, ‘Yugal’ and ‘Duvidha’ among others. In a video clip played during the session, Kumudini questioned long‑held conventions: “Earlier generations were ever depicting mythological stories, but does creation person to person a story?”

In 1964, Kumudini Lakhia founded the Kadamb Centre for Dance successful Ahmedabad, wherever she mentored respective noted dancers, including Daksha Sheth and Aditi Mangaldas.

Siddhi further noted that, dissimilar the revered antheral gurus of the gharanas, it was mostly women who embraced modernity successful Kathak. She highlighted however women‑led institutions shaped the form’s modern trajectory: Sumitra Charat Ram established the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra successful the 1950s, portion Nirmala Joshi founded Sangeet Bharati successful 1936. Together, they laid the groundwork for Bharatiya Kala Kendra, 1 of India’s earliest large institutions dedicated to classical euphony and dance.

It’s hard to place Reba Vidyarthi’s publication to Kathak — a teacher who nurtured galore starring dancers, respective of whom aboriginal trained nether renowned antheral gurus. A trained classical dancer and singer, Reba was initially forbidden by her parents from performing publicly. Yet she went connected to go 1 of the finest Kathak teachers of her time. She developed a pioneering methodology to bid physically handicapped children and besides designed the Diploma (Hons) program for Kathak Kendra.

“Reba ji had bonzer extent successful her craft, but precise small is known astir her. There isn’t a azygous video of her successful the nationalist domain due to the fact that she ne'er performed publicly, though a fewer recordings beryllium successful the Sangeet Natak Akademi archives,” said Siddhi.