Kathak

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1 Context Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj passed away recently. About Kathak The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a story. It is one of India’s classical dances. It was mostly a temple or village entertainment in which the dancers told stories from ancient scriptures. The Vaishnavite cult which swept North India in the 15th century and the resultant bhakti movement contributed to a whole new range of lyrics and musical forms, including Kathak. Radha-Krishna tales were portrayed in rasa lila folk plays, which merged folk dance with the basic gestures of kathak story-tellers. Kathak was performed in the court of the Mughal emperors and their....Read More