Write short notes on Kathak Dance and Kalidasa’s Ritusamhara.

Kathak is a classical dance form South Asia, originally from North India and is the national dance of Pakistan. It is a partially narrative dance form characterized by fast footwork, spins and innovative use of behave in abhinaya. It has today a form that has been influenced at various times in the past by mythological narratives by kathakas or ancient bards, temple dances, the bhakti movement, and Persian influence of the Mughal courts in the 16th century onwards; and these elements are readily discernible.

Performers today generally draw their lineage from three major schools of Kathak the Jaipur gharana, the Lucknow gharana and the Banaras gharana (born in the courts of the Kachwaha Raiput kings, the Nawab of Oudh, and Varanasi respectively there is also a less prominent Raigarh gharana which amalgamated technique from all three preceding gharanas but became famous for its own distinctive compositions. The name Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word katha meaning story, and kathaka in Sanskrit means she who tells a story, or to do with stories.

The name of the form is properly kathak, with the geminated dental to show a derived form, but this has since simplified to modern-day kathak. kathaa kahe so kathak is a saying many teachers pass on to their pupils, which is generally translated, ‘she. who tells a story, is a kathak, but which can also be translated, ‘that which tells a story, that is Kathak. It is highly probable that the work, Ritusamhara, is composed by Kalidasa but this fact cannot be established beyond doubt. It portrays, in a lyrical manner, the six Indian seasons.

The Kavya begins with summer and ends with the spring. Even though the poetical artistry in Ritusamhara is not comparable to that of Meghaduta, Kalidasa succeeds here in creating the atmosphere typical of the various seasons, in conveying the pleasures felt in them by human beings, especially by young lovers. Each can to ends with a verse of benediction.