Kathak in Kathmandu

Kathak is a classical Indian dance form from the northern part of India. Kathak comes from the word ‘Katha’ which means story, the one who tells the story is the Kathak. Kathak is an amalgamation of three performing arts: music, dance, and drama.

The evolution of Kathak started as a folk dance, Kathak dancers traveled through villages trying to express to others what they had seen through expressions, movements, and instruments that they carried in their bags. Kathak shifted towards a mythological narrative when the pandits started inviting these storytellers to narrate stories in the temples and it merged stories from the Vedas, Puran, Mahabharata, and Ramayana. After the Mughals came, these storytellers got invited into the Mughal courts, and once again, the narrative of Kathak altered and became a source of entertainment, fashion, value, and technique. 

All the progress of Kathak got flushed away when the British invaders banned these dancers, they lost their income, and many got forced into prostitution. The heritage, thought, style, and evolutionary process of Kathak had become threatened. These storytellers started teaching their family members Kathak because they got prohibited from the public, and that’s how Kathak got classified. The gharanas, the three categorizations of kathak, come from three different northern Indian territories which include Jaipur, Lucknow, and Banaras. All three Kathak forms have their element of style and narration. After independence in India, Kathak flourished all over. 

There is no limit to starting to do what you love, including kathak. Anybody can learn Kathak because the storyteller is completely ageless and genderless. There are several institutions in Kathmandu where you can learn about Kathak. Some include Aesthetic Dance Studio, Nritya Aagan, Sushila Arts Academy, Salsa Nepal, Sadhana Kala Kendra, and many more.

"My work involves me staying in a chair typing all day, sometimes even nights. Due to this, I suffered from cervical radiculopathy. Daily activities like holding a pen or lifting my arm felt impossible then. I joined Kathak after some physiotherapy, and it helped. I still have problems doing hand movements, but Kathak helped me get that stretch and movement I needed. It made me happy mentally too. You feel better when you're mentally sound. Being sick was mentally challenging too. It felt awful to be stagnant and sleep in the same posture the whole day. Kathak kept me close to my feminine side. We are swept away by the notion that masculinity is the stronger persona, but Kathak taught me that femininity is power, and bringing out the best of it is bringing out the best persona," says Apekshya Pandey a Kathak dancer at Aesthetic Dance Studio. 

Kathak is a form of meditation.  It requires you to be mindfully present. The sound of the ghungroo bells tied to your ankle is completely mesmerizing. Some people learn Kathak for improved memory power, and others for art. Kathak is something you should try if you yearn for the techniques of grace and stability.