Some terms

 

Tāl: Rhythmic time-cycle that repeats again and again.

Mātrā: Beat, Unit of measuring duration of a Tāl

Vibhāg: Division or section of a Tāl

Tāli: literally: ‘clap’. Used to show the accented beat in a Tāl.

Khāli: literally: ‘empty’. A blank beat, negative accent in a Tāl.

Bol: A Bol is a sound or syllable. Helps identify and recite rhythms.

Thekā: Thekā is the Tablā bol for a Tāl that repeats again and again

Ᾱvartan: One cycle of a Tāl

Sam: The first beat of a Tāl 

Tatkār: . Basic footwork  for a Tāl.

Lari: A chain of footwork patterns, ends with a tihāi

Laya: Laya means speed/tempo. Duration between beats determines Laya of a Tāl or a Tāl based composition.

1. Vilamvit laya - Meaning of  vilamvit in English is delayed. In Vilamvit laya the music is played at a slower pace hence the speed of dance is very slow.

2. Madhya laya - Meaning of madhya in English is medium. In madhya laya, the music pace is little faster than vilamvit laya, hence the dance is also in a higher pace.Generally madhya laya is double the pace of vilamvit laya. 

3. Drut laya - Meaning of drut in English is fast. In drut laya, the music pace is very fast hence the dance is also in a higher pace. Drut laya is double the pace of madhya laya.

Layakari :Kari means “to do”. Layakari is just the implementation of various Layas. 

Types of Layakaris

Thah Laya :Playing one bol in each matra is the simplest of Layakaris. A certain Laya is fixed by the accomopanying singer or instrumentalist, and one bol is playeed for each matra. 

Dugun Laya: Playing two bols in one matra is called Dugun. Whenever this is written in notation form, the bols are shown as clubbed together by drawing a line under them –  1 2  3 4  5 6  7 8 

Tigun Laya: Playing three bols in one matra is tigun – 1 2 3  4 5 6

Chaugun Laya: Playing four bols in one matra is called chaugun – 1 2 3 4  5 6 7 8 

Aad Laya: Aad is a specific layakari in which 1.5 bols are played in 1 matra – 1S2  S3S – (S means an empty bol.)

Kuaad Laya:  Playing 5 bols in 4 matras – 1SSS2  SSS3S  SS4SS  S5SSS

Aad of Aad is Kuaad, i.e., 3/2 * 3/2 = 9/4. 

 1SSS2SSS3  SSS4SSS5S  SS6SSS7SS  S8SSS9SSS

Biaad Laya :Playing 7 bols in 4 matras is considered to be Biaad 

 1SSS2   S3SSS4S  SS5SSS6  SSS7SSS

Parhant: Recitation of bols of a composition indicating beats of a Tāl.

Tukrā: A short dance composition -a group of bols or syllables. The most common tukra structure begins with an opening section (mukhra) followed by a tihai (a phrase repeated 3 times).

Torā: A longer dance composition -agroup of bols or syllables that starts and ends on sam.

Tihāi: A tihai is any phrase that is played 3 times in a row. In most cases, the phrase will end in dha and finish on sam, the 1 of the cycle.Occasionally they will end just before sam (anagat tihai) or just after sam (atit tihai).

Damdar Tihai :The most common category of tihai refers to whether or not there is a pause (rest) between the three repetitions. When there is a pause, it is called damdar (दमदार). Dam (दम) means "breath" or "moment". 

Damdar Tihai in Teental: 16-beat cycle) with a one-beat pause between each repetition

Bedam Tihai: Where there is no pause between the repetitions, or a very short pause, it is called bedam . Bedam means “without breath”.

Chakradar Tihai : This has a tihai within a tihai.i.e.-a tihai which is played 3 times.

Chakkar:  A spin. The Chakkar in Kathak is performed on the heel. 

Gat Nikas: A composition describing the movement of a bird / animal/a human character/Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Gat Nikas, is commonly called Gat Vab.

Below is a short list of some of the more common bols used in traditional Benaras gharana tukras. 

tirakiṭadhet – तिरकिटधेत्

dheradherakiṭataka – धेरधेरकिटतक

takiṭadha – तकिटधा

dhā-tirakiṭataka – धाऽतिरकिटतक

ghe-tirakiṭataka – घेऽतिरकिटतक

dhāgeteṭe – धागेतेटे

tāgeteṭe – तागेतेटे

nāgeteṭe – नागेतेटे

teṭekata – तेटेकत

gadigana – गदिगन

kiṭataka – किटतक

tirakiṭa – तिरकिट

takkṛān – तक्क्ड़ां

katadhā – कतधा

kradhā – क्रधा

taṛā–na – तड़ाऽन

dhā–nadhā – धाऽनधा

TATKAAR (Teentaal)

 Tatkaar is based on TEENTAAL or TINTAAL. Tintal has sixteen (16) beats in four equal divisions (vibhag). 

The period between every two beats is equal. 

The first beat out of 16 beats is called sam and the 9th beat is called khali ('empty'). 

To count the Teental, the audience claps on the first beat, claps on the 5th beat, then waves on the 9th beat and lastly again claps on the 13th beat; these three claps (Hindi tin 'three' + tāl 'clap') give the rhythm its name.

Taal signs	X				2				0				3
Maatra	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Bols	dha	dhin	dhin	dha	dha	dhin	dhin	dha	dha	tin	tin	ta	ta	dhin	dhin	dha

Basic footwork for Tatkaar:  Ta thei thei tat... Aa thei thei tat...Ta thei thei tat... Aa thei thei tat

Bol	Feet
Ta	Right
Thei	Left
Thei	Right
Tat	Left
Aa	Left
Thei	Right
Thei	Left
Tat	Right
Ta	Right
Thei	Left
Thei	Right
Tat	Left
Aa	Left
Thei	Right
Thei	Left
Tat	Right

Kathak and Flamenco

There are quite a few areas of striking convergence between the two genres of Kathak and Flamenco, flamed primarily due to emotionalism, expression, rhythm, depth and sensitivity. The Flamenco dance of the Spanish gitanos, finds expression in percussive footwork, and rhythmic cycles. The key elements of the dance form include the movements of arms, palms and fingers as well as tapping and are closely connected to the music and rhythm. In flamenco a dancer is accompanied by a guitar, singing, clapping and a cajón. As a dance form Flamenco, is dynamic and bordering on aggressive, and often with an erotic character.

If this interests you, you may check out EU World Dance and Torobaka.

An interesting scholarly comparison of Flamenco with Kathak can be found in KFHistory. 

Kathak and its nuances

Over the years, Kathak has become more refined and stylized, imparting to the dance-form more grace and expression. In this dance-form, both bhava (the expression of moods and emotions) and the layakari (rhythmic virtuosity) are of equal significance--- only the emphasis on each varies between the three established gharanas-- Lucknow/ Jaipur and Benaras.

When you look closely, you can note the major differences in the styles. “Since the Jaipur court was constantly under the threat of border battles, the dancers there incorporated the fierceness of the atmosphere into their style. Hence you can see a lot of speedy movements, intricacies and the ferocity behind the 10, 15 100 chakkars. The dancers in the Mughal court had the abundance of luxury with almost no threat of war, hence their style is more subtle, graceful, with immense nazakat (poise). Their movements are soulful and sensuous,” explained veteran Kathak exponent Shama Bhate, in her interview with the Sakaal Times. (Blending the traditional with the modern)

There is also a science to the dance form with the weight of the body equally distributed with prime importance to footwork. Kathak incorporates an intricate system of footwork.Complex patterns (bol) are created using full flat feet as well as the balls and heels and exerting control over the sound levels of the ankle bells.

Kathak also involves rigorous training in perfecting the pirouettes.

Upper body movements elicit from shoulder variations and care is taken during training to avoid manipulations of the upper chest or lower waist muscles.

In the basic stance, the dancer stands straight, holds both hands folded parallel to the chest line. For posture correction , it is also suggested to  hold one hand at a level higher than the head , while the other is stretched out on  the level of the shoulder.

There is a standard dance sequence in Kathak. The dancer commences with a sequence called Thaat followed by a conventional formal entry known as the Amad (entry) and the Salami (salutation). This is followed by tukra, tora, parana and so on.

The dancer is also trained in the flawless recitation of the of the rhythmic syllables (Bol), corresponding to the metrical cycle / Taal.

In the enacting portions (abhinaya),  gata bhav is performed to a soft, lyrical rhythm. Gata are short narrative pieces which portray a brief episode from Krishna's life. 

A kathak dancer also depicts different bhava/ rasa through gestures set to the thumri, bhajan, dadra and all such all lyrical musical compositions.

During a performance, the dancer also engages in spontaneous exchange with the accompanying musicians, teasing and tempting each other to surpass. This results in enhanced intensity of the performance, as the artists challenge each other through their individual mastery while simultaneously building towards an unparalleled climax-- a joyful explosion of dance and music.--Jugalbandi and Sawal Jawab( footwork competition) with tabla/ pakhawaj/ flute).

Both in nritta (pure dance) and the abhinaya (act) dancers experiment with different styles and techniques and improvise upon the presentations on a theme.

Kathak dance is also promoted by the artistes through various dance dramas, and cross-cultural exploration through blending of the dance-form with others.

Demystified

Haah..I love the way destiny plays truant with me. Just when I thought that I was getting back to the core, I come to know that this boy is nothing short of a fraudster. All his claims about having learnt from Pt. Birju Maharaj at Kalakendra and other stories about his tryst with Kathak right from childhood was a lie.. he had barely started to train in Kathak for 4 months under a pupil of Maharaj ji....And the best part, my ghungroos that I had entrusted to him, had now become ghungroos gifted to him by Maharajji as a token of appreciation!!!
It really is disheartening when someone stoops low in matters related to art...

Anyway I always believe that what happens happens for good...this was a lesson for me that even in the field of arts there has been encroachment of impure minds.

Meanwhile came across this interesting blog that raised my faith again

https://dsarttakes.wordpress.com/category/45-days-of-dance-stories/page/2/

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”

 ~Martha Graham.

Mustering courage to learn again

Despite all the enthusiasm of the last post, things didn't turn out the way I expected.Life took a complicated turn and every hope seemed to be lost.

But again as a ray of hope ,one fine day in beginning of this year,I spotted a young boy lost in Kathak riyaaz at the corner outside college gym....and what a blissful sight...he was oblivious to the rest of the world ...every gesture ,every movement , however basic had a fluid grace. I watched from the side for long and proceeded to work. This began to happen quite often ... and I could feel the same old anticipation and happiness of my good old riyaaz days....

Finally, I mustered the courage to walk upto him and ask if he can spare some time to teach me.Very sweetly he agreed. And then till August we could not work out a mutually suitable time-slot for riyaaz. Suddenly he called to say that he is organizing a workshop in campus by Guru Mamata Maharaj ji(daughter of Guru Birju Maharaj ji)and would like me to sign up for the same ..and that he would teach me the basics before that.He shared that he has trained under none other than the great Maharaj ji himself of Lucknow gharana.

On 11th Aug 2015 I took my very first step back to my love.....but what a disappointment...I realized I have forgotten everything....couldn't recall any bol!Felt like tearing off my Visharad certificate out of shame...but he was very patient and said that it is ok as long as I practice dedicatedly. That night I cried and cried ...by morning I made up my mind that I would give myself a deadline of one month to see if I am making any progress ...else it was not fair wasting anyone's time.I also decided to hand over my most endeared possession---ghungroos (aah what sweet melody they chime out)to him till I start performing well enough to claim them back.He has also introduced me to another profound dancer from Jaipur Gharana...and it is a true privilege to watch and learn.

Though I am very happy to pick up the threads from where I left ...somewhere deep down there also lurks a fear of what if I have to give up all over again...not sure I can withstand the same despair all over again.I can only pray to my lord Krishna to help me ahead.

link back

last month I got to reconnect with my guru all over again..I tell you I now really believe in that dialogue from OSO...when you really want something purely then the whole world conspires to bring it to you.....I have been so badly longing to get in touch with " pishi" so many years( having lost her number and myself shifted abroad).....and suddenly out of nowhere I found her new number listed on one of the sites(which i was revisiting with a faint hope in heart)......

therafter the hour long heart to heart discussion simply swept away the distance of miles.....and years.........not to mention the tears.

This month she should be back from her performance in USA...and hopefully I will be linking back to my dancing passion....

http://www.gurubandanasen.org/