In post-independent era Kathak has come a long way in its adaptation of aesthetics, presentations, categories of students, performers and teachers. The most visible, effective and legendary contribution has been that of the great living maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj (better known as Maharajji).
However, since the 1920s a league of women – some from professional families of artistes and others from non-professional families – entered the arena of transmission and performance and created an unimaginable contribution.
In the last five years the world of Kathak dance has lost some women artistes.
All of them were trained by one or the other guru from the family of Maharajji and hence were in a network called the kula guru behen a sociological concept which creates a transmission lineage.
Disciples of the same gurus or family get linked as siblings of the same transmission genetic pool. In this unique link, it is expected that each of member would care for the guru, be honest to their artistic tradition, recall gurus in reverence while evolving as independent artistes, and be there for each other.
Bharti Gupta, who passed away a few weeks ago, was trained by doyen Shambhu Maharaj and later by his nephew Birju Maharaj. She emerged as a principal performer in the genre of Kathak dance dramas, choreographed, and directed by Maharajji.
Not only did she reign in avant-garde productions of the likes of “Roopmati Bazbahadur”, she also performed as the central danseuse with Maharajji. One of her central contribution to the aesthetics was her ability to create a magical illusion of ruling the stage with her petite form through imaginative, well-balanced extensions of the body.
Her training with the late Shambhu Maharaj, claimed as master of abhinaya made her one of the few performers from Kathak Kendra who was known for mimetic art. From centerstage Bharati moved to teaching at the Kathak Kendra, National Centre for Kathak Dance in New Delhi. After retirement she moved back to her home in Agra and gradually faded in oblivion.
Feminine grace In contrast, there was Kapila Raj (died in 2014) who did not leave her home in Lucknow and died being celebrated as a ‘legendary’ artiste.
Trained by the Lachchu Maharaj, she embodied her style of celebrating the matrix of minor limbs, subtle movements to chart in space the eminence of feminine grace. Unlike Sitara Devi, Kapila did not hail from a traditional family of performers, and yet her in-depth proficiency and command of the essential grammar of the dance led her to contribute to the vocabulary of the dance without tampering with the inherent character and to bestow a dignity to the nritt and nrittya of the art form.
Reba Vidyarthi (died in 2011) and Maya Rao (died in2014) as guru behens created a niche for themselves where they asserted the idea of respectability, education and deep intellectual thought in their tools of teaching.
Reba was adept in the art of stillness, multilayered emotions communicated through controlled breath and attenuated movements. As a faculty of Kathak Kendra, Delhi, she trained Saswati Sen, Baswati Misra, Ram Mohan Mishra, Rani Khanam, MaltiShyam,the author herself among many others.
Reba comprehended the psychological art of training the young which made her one of the most successful teachers in the recent history of Kathak. Maya Rao who left Delhi and settled in Bangalore, was selected in 1960 to learn choreography in Moscow.
Her catholic learning made her combine the best of East and West in choreography both conceptually and technically. She also contributed greatly to the musical and literary content of the dance.
Last but not the least was legendary Sitara Devi. Asserting herself as a signature female performer from a traditional family she defied time and space. Her commitment, energy and power enabled her to transcend and liberate the body of the female.
These women were pioneers of courageously taking the baton from a patriarchal dominated space into their gentle, firm courageous feminine hands.
Even as their soul left their temporal bodies, their energies will remain imprinted on the map of Kathak and their spirit will motivate dancers to “let (their) silence take (them) to the core of life…” Rumi.
