Ta Thei Thei Tat: How Kathak is making its way in the land of Bharatanatyam

The sounds of Ta Thei Thei Tat accompanying the tinkling of salangai (anklet bells) take one by surprise at Jigyasa Giri’s dance school. Giri’s dance school is, after all, in the land of Bharatanatyam.

Sixty-year-old Giri not only teaches Kathak, one of the eight major dance forms of India, in Tamil Nadu’s capital city Chennai, but a Tamiliased version of Kathak.

Having taught Kathak for over two decades, Jigyasa Giri, founder of Devaniya Kathak Dance School, has staged performances blending Kathak with Tamil poems. She has engaged Tamil audiences in three recent performances, including as recently as May.

Although Kathak incorporates many terms in Urdu and Hindi, Giri mixes Tamil poems and dialogues in just the right proportion, which she terms as 'southern garnish' for Kathak dance.

Giri, who founded the first Kathak school in Chennai, gained confidence to experiment with Tamil performances when she had the opportunity to participate in a programme celebrating Chennai's diversity.

“Instead of using a Hindi song, I decided to try a Tamil song to illustrate the connection between the residents and the city where Tamil is the spoken language,” Jigyasa said talking about her motivation for the experiment.

“This programme taught me that language is not a barrier, and blending art and language actually enhance its beauty.”

Kathak’s origin can be traced to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as kathakar (storyteller). The kathakars narrated stories from Hindu mythological texts through dance, songs and music.

Giri, who learned from the traditional Lucknow and Benares Gharanas (different schools of Kathak), has now developed the Dakshin Gharana. She has devised a teaching methodology where Kathak's nuances are tailored to suit the southern regions of India and the body language of local people.

Blending language and art

Giri’s students recently performed two songs by renowned Tamil poet Bharathiyar and a segment from the Indian epic Mahabharatham. 

“The performance was very well received. The dance movements retained their essence, with dancers wearing half-saris instead of lehenga-cholis for the song based on the theme of Chennai city. Kathak maintained its identity while incorporating a southern flair. The audience connected deeply with the performance—the grace of the dance, the movements, and the dialogues worked wonders,” she said.

Giri writes her pieces in English and gets them translated into Tamil with the help of her Tamil friends. Her students, including both Tamil and non-Tamil speakers, practice delivering dance performances to Tamil songs while adhering to Kathak’s grammar. Some students immerse themselves deeply in character roles.

Priya George Laxman has been learning Kathak for nearly a decade in Chennai. She portrayed the character of Dushasana in Mahabharata in the dance drama.

“It was quite challenging, playing a male role, especially a negative character who goes against everything we stand for. I had to study a lot, internalise the character, and practice extensively. As a non-Tamil speaker, I initially had some hesitations, but the confidence of the team gave me hope,” Priya said.

Giri and her students spend a good time designing costumes and jewellery for every performance. Till a decade ago, there were not many fancy stores in Chennai selling jewellery and clothes needed for Kathak.

Priya remembers the trips Giri made to Lucknow to buy costumes and jewellery.

“These days we get everything online and there are many shops in Chennai to buy jewellery and costumes. There are hundreds of stores selling lehenga-choli and you can customise your dress. Often we design our dress based on the theme of the performance and alter jewellery which should align with the role we play in the performance,” said Priya, who took much care in dressing up as Dushasana in Mahabharata for the recent performance.

When asked about role-play by women artists, Giri said not many male students are interested in performing in the Tamil capital city. Some male students who enrolled and took classes were content only with learning. “When it comes to performance, our female students who are trained with body language of men play out the roles. Though initially it looked like a hurdle, but I realised, this too was an opportunity. Our girls shed all inhibitions and bring out a colourful performance on stage,” said Giri exuding confidence.

Growing with the school

Several students like S Swetha, have grown with the school and now teach beginners. Their experience with Kathak and Tamil allows beginners to overcome their fears of using Hindi in dance.

“I started learning Kathak in Class 12. I wanted to learn dance, but not Bharatanatyam. Kathak appealed to me. Initially, I attended a few classes, liked it, and fell in love with it. It’s been almost 14 years now. I learned the body language, nuances of dance movements, and gradually became a teacher. I encourage students by showing them that language barriers cannot stop us from embracing an art form,” Swetha shared.

She explained that since Kathak itself is an amalgamation of Persian and Indian dance styles from the Mughal period, incorporating Tamil language adds another dimension to enjoying this dance form. She pointed out how Kathak includes namaskar and salam poses.

Famous Kollywood actor Kamal Haasan was seen performing Kathak for a Tamil song in the 2013 blockbuster Vishwaroopam. Many students from Devaniya School danced for the model song, and the real dancers replicated the same movements in the movie.

“Our students performed the Kathak steps for the ‘Unnai Kaandha naan’ song. Pandit Birju Maharaj himself came to Chennai. Our students felt the two-week session as blessed opportunity to learn from Maharaj. Our students performed based on his advice. The steps and dance style followed by our team really captivated him and he suggested couple of additions to match the theme of the song. The dance steps were recorded and the same were replicated in the film by artists,” said Swetha.

Interestingly, Vishwaroopam actor Andrea Jeremiah was an alumna of Jigyasa Giri’s Kathak school during her childhood days. Swetha pointed out many young women joined the school after being influenced by the movie.

“It was a big surprise for many that they could perform Kathak on a Tamil song. We even had a couple of sessions teaching the same movements to students who were keen to practice the same song,” Swetha said reminiscing about the experience of working for a film song and its impact.

Dance to defy age

Many working and elderly women longing to fulfil their dream of dancing have enrolled in Giri's dance school. Latha Sambamoorthi, in her 70s, energetically dances alongside young Kathak students.

From Tatkar, the basic footwork steps, to Chakkars, the fast spins of Kathak, Latha feels liberated through these movements, finding joy in the class as it serves as an ‘anti-ageing’ technique for her body and mind.

“I have been learning various dance forms since childhood. I lived abroad for a long time and wanted to reclaim what I learned. Here, I interact with people of all age groups, which keeps my mind healthy and happy,” Latha told The Federal.

Unlike many dances that require bending and working with knee joints, Latha maintains a straight posture and focuses on expressive dance. “I feel joy when I spin for fast movements and stop and show expression for slow movements. I attend three classes a week and that keeps me active throughout the week. When young teachers help me shape my performance, I go back to my younger years. The dance, interaction, and learning changed and improved my thinking over the years. Actually, ageing gives you opportunities to relive your life the way you wanted,” Latha said smiling.