Kathak and Miniature Paintings

From time immemorial, culture has been the chain that links us to our forefathers. Culture helps us experience the customs of our ancient civilisations. It’s a way of passing art, communal values, skills and legacies to future generations. It can be passed down in language, dressing style, religious customs, food cuisine, and literature. But what indeed makes a culture special is the various forms of art that it passes down. India is blessed to have a rich and diverse cultural heritage. Kathak and Miniature Paintings are two of our cultural legacies that still help our nation shine in the eyes of the world. 

The Story of Kathak

The world is full of beautiful dance forms that are traced down from one generation to another. Each dance form has some uniqueness that differentiates it from the rest. All of these dance forms have a story behind them. But Kathak is a kind of dance form that originated to tell stories, derived from the word Katha (Sanskrit word for story). Kathak is one of the eight major crowning jewel dance forms in India. It focuses mostly on enacting stories through rapid footwork and elaborate gestures and costumes. Let us now delve into the story of Kathak itself. 

The Birth of Kathak 

The’ Kathak’ first originated from Kathaks, a caste of storytellers from north Indian temples. Kathaks gained popularity for embellishing their performances with beautiful, loud gestures and songs. They were storytellers, and they used these gestures and body movements to tell the story instead of their words. These storytellers began a legacy that we still greatly appreciate and admire. 

The Rise of Kathak & Its Sub-traditions

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Kathak gained nationwide popularity and evolved into a distinct art form. It spread alongside the spread of the bhakti movement. In the era of the bhakti movement, kathak storytellers would enact the legends of Radha-Krishna in the form of ‘Raasleela’. It also found popularity and admiration at the Mughal courts, where it has acquired much of its present features and recognition as a dance form. 

As Kathak spread to different kingdoms around the nation, it was classified into two sub-traditions or gharanas – the first was in the courts of Jaipur, Rajasthan and the second in Lucknow. It developed as a major art form under the reign of Wajid Ali Shah – the last Nawab of Awadh. After which, it continued to grow and evolve throughout the country. 

But with British Raaj in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came the obstruction for the beautiful dance form, much like other ancient Indian cultures. But needless to say, it survived and has bloomed into the modern-day version of Kathak that we see today. 

What are Miniature Paintings?

Miniature paintings are another piece of our country’s cultural legacy. In essence, they are miniature watercolour paintings on fabric or paper. However, the first miniatures were painted on palm leaves or wood in ancient times. Some of the most exquisite Jaina writings were discovered in western India.

Mughal Miniature Paintings

Mughal’s emperors like Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan commissioned highly competent painters to adorn manuscripts, including historical narratives and poetry. Court events, war scenes, hunting scenes, and other aspects of social life were shown in these Mughal miniature paintings, often painted in dazzling colours. They were frequently given as gifts, and only a select few — the emperor and his close associates – were allowed to see them.

Post-Mughal History of Miniature Paintings

Many painters migrated to the courts of the developing regional rulers when the Mughal Empire fell apart. As a result, Mughal artistic preferences inspired the Deccan regional courts and Rajasthan’s Rajput courts. They preserved and developed their individual qualities at the same time. Following the Mughal model, monarch portraits and court sceneries began to be painted. In addition, mythological and poetic themes were depicted in Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota, and Kishangarh.

Some communities from Himalayan foothills around the modern-day state of Himachal Pradesh drew miniature artworks as well. Basohli, a vivid and dramatic style of miniature painting, originated in this region by the late seventeenth century. Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari was the most popular text to be painted here.

Following Nadir Shah’s invasion and takeover of Delhi in 1739, Mughal painters fled to the hills to avoid the dangers of the plains. They found ready clients here, resulting in the establishment of the Kangra school of painting. By the mid-eighteenth century, Kangra artists had evolved a style that gave miniature painting a fresh lease on life. The Vaishnavite traditions served as a source of inspiration. Kangra painting was characterised by soft colours, such as cool blues and greens, and a poetic portrayal of themes. Remember that, unlike the miniatures that were meticulously maintained in palaces for generations, ordinary women and men painted as well on pots, walls, floors, and cloth works of art that have occasionally survived.

Conclusion 

Today’s regional cultures are likely to result from complicated intermixing processes of local traditions with ideas from other subcontinent regions. Culture plays an integral role in creating and preserving societies. It makes people feel like they are part of something bigger than their current life. Understanding one’s cultural heritage is important in understanding the history of a country or a region.