Art and Culture Quiz (5 Questions)

Sangeet Natak Akademi recognises 8 classical dance forms, but Ministry of Culture list of classical dances has 9 dances, which includes Chhau also.

Chhau Dance

Chhau is an Indian dance with martial, tribal and folk traditions, with origins in eastern India.

It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed

1) Purulia Chhau of Bengal
2) Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand
3) Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha

The dance ranges from celebrating martial arts, acrobatics, and athletics performed in festive themes of a folk dance, to a structured dance with religious themes found in Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism.

The costumes vary between the styles, with Purulia and Seraikella using masks to identify the character.

The Chhau mask of Purulia is registered under Geographical Indications.

Sattriya dance (Assam)

It was introduced by the Vaishnava Saint Sankaradeva in the 15th century AD in Assam.

Name Sattriya is derived from Vaishnava monasteries known as ‘Sattras’, where it was primarily practised.

It is inspired from Bhakti Movement.

Characteristic features of Sattriya dance

Amalgamation of various dance forms prevalent in Assam, mainly Ojapali and Devdasi.

The focus of the Sattriya recitals is to own the devotional aspect of dance and narrates mythological stories of Lord Vishnu.

The dance is generally performed in group by male monks known as ‘Bhokots’ as part of their daily rituals or even on festivals.

The songs are composition of Shankaradeva known as ‘Borgeets’.

Khol (drum), Cymbals (Manjira) and Flute form the major accompanying instruments of this dance form.

The Sattriya dance tradition has strictly laid down rules with respect to hand gestures and footwork.

In the modern times, Sattriya dance has evolved into two separate streams – Gayan-Bhayanar Nach and Kharmanar Nach.

Ankia Naat : a type of Sattriya, it involves play or musical-drama.

It was originally written in Assamese-Maithili mix language called Brajavali.

Another similar form is ‘Bhaona’ which is based on stories of Lord Krishna.

Pung Cholom

Pung cholom is a Manipuri dance.

It is the soul of Manipuri Sankirtana music and Manipuri classical dance.

The dancers play the pung (hand beaten drum) while they dance at the same time.

Dancers need to be graceful and acrobatic at the same time.

They use these acrobatic effects without breaking the rhythm or flow of music.

Pung cholom borrows elements from the Manipuri martial arts Thang Ta and Sarit Sarak and also from the traditional Maibi Jagoi dance.

It is traditionally attributed to the travelling bards of ancient northern India known as "Kathakars" or storytellers.

6. Kathak (North India)

Tracing its origins from the Ras Lila of Brajbhoomi, Kathak is the traditional dance form of Uttar Pradesh.

Kathak derived its name from the ‘Kathika’ or the story-tellers who recited verses from the epics, with gestures and music.

During the Mughal era, Kathak was influenced by Persian costumes and styles of dancing and branched off into court dance.

Being the only classical dance of India having links with Muslim culture, it represents a unique synthesis of Hindu and Muslim composite culture-the “Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb”.

Kathak is the only form of classical dance related to Hindustani or the North Indian music.

Gharanas in Kathak

An important feature of Kathak is the development of different gharanas as it is based on Hindustani style of music :

❖ Lucknow Gharana : Reached its peak under the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. It puts more importance on expression and grace.

❖ Jaipur Gharana : Initiated by Bhanuji, it emphasised fluency, speed and long rhythmic patterns.

❖ Raigarh Gharana : It developed under the patronage of Raja Chakradhar Singh. It is unique in its emphasis on percussion music.

❖ Banaras Gharana : It developed under Janakiprasad. It sees a greater use of floor and lays special emphasis on symmetry.

Apart from group performances, there are some popular solo elements in Kuchipudi as well. Some of them are:

❖ Manduk Shabdam – Tells the story of a frog.

❖ Tarangam – The dancer performs with his/her feet on the edges of a brass plate and balancing a pot of water on the head or a set of diyas.

❖ Jala Chitra Nrityam – In this item, the dancer draws pictures on the floor with his or her toes while dancing.

More about Kuchipudi - https://t.me/iaspanti/100

Kathakali is generally performed in open air theatres covered with coarse mats or in temple premises with lush green trees of Kerala providing a backdrop.

📌 Characteristic features of Kathakali dance

• Generally an all-male troupe performance.
• Minimal use of props but very elaborate facial make up along with a head gear.
• Different colours have their own significance:

❖ Green indicates nobility, divinity and virtue.
❖ Red patches beside the nose indicate royalty. Completely Red painted face indicates evil.
❖ Black is used to indicate evil and wickedness.
❖ Yellow is for saints and women.
❖ White beard indicates beings with higher consciousness and divinity.

• Kathakali involves dance + drama.
• It is a grand representation of the eternal conflict between good and evil.
• Themes are from epics and puranas. It is also called as the ‘ballad of the east’.
• The language used for Kathakali songs is Manipravalam, i.e., a mixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit.

• Gestures are perhaps the crown jewel of the entire dance-drama.
• Kathakali is remarkable in the representation of the 9 rasas through movements of eye and eye brows, through which the story is conveyed.

Nine important facial expressions called ‘Navarasas’ convey nine different emotions.

• Traditional Kathakali performance starts at night and continues till dawn. The arrival of dawn, accompanied with a continuous sound of drums, chhenda and maddala marks the end of a Kathakali recital.

What does the unique facial painting of various characters signify?