Indian Art & Culture
Kathak
Classical dance form from North India
Overview
Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakaar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics through dance, songs, and music. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word kathaa which means "story", and kathakaar which means "the one who tells a story" or "to do with stories". As time went on the dance-form acquired aspects of technical movement expertise in addition to the story-telling features, so nowadays performers usually give equal emphasis to both. The Art of Kathak is not only performed in India but also in several areas of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Source: Wikipedia — Kathak (CC BY-SA)
Key concepts
How Kathak connects to the ideas, people and events around it.
Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India wherein Indo-Aryans form the prominent majority population, while Tibeto-Burmans form the significant minority population.
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya.
Sanskrit is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age.
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's seventh-largest country by area and its most populous.
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population in the world as of 2023.
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world with a population of almost 175.4 million within an area of 148,461 square kilometres (57,321 sq mi).
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation.
Revise Kathak
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Questions about Kathak
What is Kathak?
Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakaar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics through dance, songs, and music. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word kathaa which means "story", and kathakaar which means "the one who tells a story" or "to do with stories".
What are the key concepts related to Kathak?
The main concepts connected to Kathak include Indian classical dance, North India, Indian epic poetry, Sanskrit, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhakti movement. Each is linked on the map above with its own summary.
Which exams cover Kathak?
Kathak is part of Indian Art & Culture, which appears in the syllabus of UPSC CSE, UPSC CAPF, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and 41 more exams.