SaMyoga | Kathak | Semi-Classical | Bharatanatyam

The 3 popular Gharanas of Kathak are:

The Lukcknow Gharana:

The promoter of this Gharana was Shri. Eshwariji. He lived in a small village Chulbula in Handiya Taluka of Allahbad district. He gave practical training of Kathak dance to 3 of his sons. Their names were Adguji, Khadguji and Tularamji. At the age of 100 years on the day of Nagpanchami Shri Eshwariji was bitten by a snake and he passed away. His wife too sacrificed her life by following the Sati system. Due to parent’s unexpected death Tularamji and Khadguji never danced again.Only Adguji carried forward the art and trained the same to his 3 sons Prakashji, Dayalji and Hiralalji. After the death of Adguji Prakashji shifted to Lakshmanpur ( Luckhnow) along with his brothers. That time Luckhnow was ruled by king Asaf ud Daula. When the king watched Prakashji’s dance he appointed Prakashji as the ‘Raj Nartak ‘, dancer of the Royal court. Since then the Luckhnow Gharana came into existence.

Prakashji too had 3 sons Durgaprasadji, Thakurprasadji and Mansinhaji. It is said that Prakashji had written a book named ‘Pothi Prakash’on Kathak dance, but unfortunately it got vanished into flames. All the 3 sons of Prakashji gave a huge contribution in this art. Thakurprasadji was appointed as a Kathak Guru to the next Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. Durgaprasadji too had 3 sons Bindadinji, Kalikaprasadji and Bhairavprasadji (Bhairo). Bindadin Maharajji carried forward the Legacy of Kathak Luckhnow Gharana and earned honour, achievements which has become immortal.  Bindadin maharajji was a great artiste and devotee of Lord Krishna. He used to dance along with his younger brother Kalikaprasadji. He has written more than 1500 ‘Thumaris’ which has been a great treasure in the field of Kathak. Bindadin Maharajji did not marry. Kalikaprasadji had 3 sons Acchan Maharajji, Lacchu Maharajji and Shmabhu Maharajji. All three achieved a good success and took this art at the extreme higher level. Shmabhu Maharajji had 2 sons Shri Krishan Mohan and Shri Ram Mohan. The son of Acchan Maharaj and the most popular Kathk exponent Panit Birju Maharaj is famous throughout the world. Pandit Birju Maharaj has 2 sons Jaikishan Maharaj and Deepak Maharaj. They too carrying the legacy of Luckhnow Gharana through their teaching and performing.

In Luckhnow Gharana dance is performed on the ‘Bol’ and ‘Tukda’the notations which are in small groups. Body movements are extremely elegant and stylish. Importance is given to the whole-body expressions by taking beautiful, graceful postures. Gatanikaas is very beautifully performed.

The Jaipur Gharana:

The Jaipur Gharana was founded by Shri Bhanuji. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva. It is believed that he got an opportunity of learning ‘Tandava’ from a Saint. He carried forward that training to his son Shri Maluji. Maluji further trained his 2 sons Laluji and Kanhuji in ‘Tandava Nritya’. Kanhuji later went to Vrindavan and became a devotee of Lord Krishna. There he also learnt the ‘Laasya’ form of Natawari Nritya and then returned to Rajasthan. Kanhuji had 2 sons Gidhaji and Shejaji. Gidhaji learnt the Tandav form from his Guru and father and took mastery in it. Gidhaji had 5 sons among them Dulhaji also known as Giridhariji earned huge popularity in this field. Dulhaji later came to Jaipur and dedicated himself to the dance here. He had 2 sons Hariharprasadji and Hanumanprasadji. Both the sons achieved tremendous success. They were appointed under the ‘Gunijan’ category in the court of the Jaipur king.  That time period was at the peak of popularity for ‘ Kalika – Bindadin Maharaj ‘of Luckhnow Gharana, at the same time Shri Hariharprasadji and Shri Hanumanprasadji were popular as ‘Dev – Pari ki Jodi’ in Jaipur. Hanumanprsadji had 3 sons Mohanlalji, Chiranjilalji and Narayanprasadji. Shri Narayanprasadji gave constructive contribution to the Jaipur Gharana dance style. Both of his children, Charan Giridharji ( Chand ) and Tejprakashji ( Suraj ) carried forward the legacy of dance.

Chunnilalji, a distant relative of Hanumanprasadji had 2 sons , Jailalji and Sundarprakashji who made invaluable contribution in the promotion of Kathak dance. Along with Jaipur Gharana they also learnt Luckhnow Gharana style from Bindadin Maharaj. Ramgopalji, son of Jailalji and Sushri jaikumari earned a huge success in the field of Kathak.

Jaipur Gharana is majorly associated with Hindu rituals, hence did not come under the influence of Mughal Kings. We can experience the original format of Kathak dance style in this Gharana. There is a vibrancy and energy in the performance. The dancers dance to the difficult beats of Pakhawaj. In rhythmic presentation Ttkaar compositions are very tough. As per the notations  ( Bols) of dance , Kavtta, Primalu, Parans are included in their dance forms. The unique devotional compositions and purity of thoughts are closely related to Hindu culture.

The Banaras Gharana:

This is also known as Janakiprasad Gharana. Pandit Janakiprasadji of this Gharana is believed to be the brother of Ramsahayji who was a renowned Tabla Maestro. Shri Chunnilalji of Rajasthan was the promoter of Banaras Gharana dance style. Chunnilalji , during his childhood used to dress up like a female dancer and perform folk dances in village along with his father Hukumramji.

Once Janakiprasadji watched the dance of chunnilalji. He marked the ability to dance in Chunnilalji and trained religiously for 15 years. Thereafter Chunnilalji appointed as a ‘Rajnartak’ by the king of Bikaner. Chunnilalji trained his brother Dulharamji. Further Dulharamji trained Ganeshprasadji in this dance form. Dulharamji had 3 sons, Shri Biharilalji, Shri Hiralalji and Shri Puranlalji. Ganeshiparasadji also had 3 sons Hanumanprasadji, Shivlalji and Pandit Gopalji. All the 6 artistes were very good dancers. Pandit Gopalji’s son Krishnalalji took forward the legacy of Banaras  Gharana to glorious heights.

In Banaras Gharana the notations of dance used of ‘Tabala’or ‘Pakhawaj’, which is its specialty. The heel is majorly used in dancing and notations are danced clearly and spelt out vividly. The presentation of dance is pure and unchallengeable, which are the 2 specialties of this Gharana.