Indian Classical Dance

Know Your Classical Dances: Locating Kuchipudi’s roots and transformations in traditions of dance-drama

In each recital, Kuchipudi has retained at its core the flavours of the sensual, romantic, and erotic shringara rasa that have shaped its oldest renditions.

Know Your Classical Dances: Mohiniyattam, once thrust into obscurity during British rule, revived in early 20th century

From being categorised as a dance of the vaishya or the prostitute to receiving recognition as a prolific art form and a codification into the realm of the ‘classical,’ Mohiniyattam has perhaps been one of the few dance styles to have undergone such humongous shifts through history.

Know Your Classical Dances: How Kathak has historically served as a medium of storytelling that cuts across classes

Throughout history, quite unlike most classical art forms, Kathak has seldom been performed as an offering to a deity, instead from its earliest stages, it has been a recital directed at an audience comprising its patrons as well as the common people.

Pandit Birju Maharaj's ability to express 'feminine' threw light on the queer possibilities of Kathak

In a world where we use markers to assert gender — the length of hair on the head, facial hair on the face, the existence of breasts, make-up — how do we interpret gender when the same body is producing both the masculine and the feminine?

How Pandit Birju Maharaj always stayed alive to sights, sounds, and sentiments of the present

Birju Maharaj’s artistic oeuvre was defined by this spontaneity. Kathak is richer for the ideas he brought to it.

Pandit Birju Maharaj leaves behind the tradition and legacy of Kathak, a dance form synonymous with his name

“Who can sit for three hours now? You need to be able to make them clap every three minutes. This has ruined the beauty of the dance, the seriousness of it," Birju Maharaj said.

Pandit Birju Maharaj's filmy detours were no short of magical; Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kamal Haasan, Alia Bhatt pay tributes

“I have two idols. You can call them guiding light of my career. Lata Mangeshkar is in hospital. Pandit Birju Maharaj is gone. I can't believe it," says Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has collaborated with the Kathak legend for Devdas and Bajirao Mastani.

Birju Maharaj on living, breathing and dreaming Kathak: 'Art will never betray you'

"Don't do Kathak in haste. Don't go for an item [dance number]. It hurts the complete emotion of doing. Items will happen, applause will come in too; instead, go steady, let the art mature": Pandit Birju Maharaj's parting words from a 2017 exclusive interview.

Ashtanayika of Indian classical dance: On the khandita, a woman who stands up to her unfaithful lover

This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In the last essay, part 8, a look at the khandita.

Ashtanayika of classical dance: On the abhisarika, a woman who embarks on adventures to meet her beloved

This series is an exploration of the ashtanayika of classical dance — the eight types of heroines which depict a woman's many thoughts and emotional states. In part 7, a look at the abhisarika.