BURRA KATHA

BURRA KATHA:

Burrakatha started as devotional songs of nomadic people and became a popular art form and is played on Radio and TV regularly in Andhra Pradesh. It is a new name (twentieth century) for the theater show known as Jangam Katha. The jangams were wandering minstrels who worshiped and sang of Siva. Two performers participated in these plays: the storyteller and his wife. With societal and cultural changes, the secular aspect was incorporated into this form.

Modern form has three performers of any gender.

The main story teller(called as Kathakudu) narrates the story. He plays Tambura and dances to music. He also wears a metal ring called as andelu on his right thumb, holds another ring in his other hand and adds more music by colliding them frequently. The co-performers plays gummeta(also called as dakki or budike), earthen drums with two heads. All three or only kathakadu will be wearing anklets(also called as gajjelu), which add even more music when they dance.

Significance:Burra katha was a pastime event in villages. It is seen even now during Dussehra or Sankranti festival seasons to describe events in epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat and also some of best and moral kingdom stories like kambojaraju katha,chinnamma katha,muggurumoratila katha etc.

It played effective role in conveying message to people and awakening them during Indian Independence Movement. Burrakatha was banned in Madras by the British government and in Hyderabadkingdom by Nizam government, because it was the medium to enlighten the people of the current political situation in various political meetingS.

ODISSI

ODISSI:

In Orrisa Odissi is the traditional dance and probably owes its origin to the temple dances of the 'Devadasis'. The Odissi dancers use their head, bust and torso in soft flowing movements to express specific moods and emotions.

The history of Odissi dates back to somewhere between the 8th and the 11th century, when the kings took great pride in excelling in the arts of dance and music.Jayadeva's "Geeta-Govinda", the Bible of an Odissi dancer, written in the 12th century, has stupendous influence on the arts of Orissa.

Odissi performances are replete with lores of the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, Lord Krishna. It is a soft, lyrical classical dance which depicts the ambience of Orissa and the philosophy of its most popular deity, Lord Jagannath, whose temple is in Puri.

Odissi technique is based on the "Chowka", a manly posture, and the weight of the body is distributed equally on both the sides. About Odissi interesting is that body position is not merely a part of the vocabulary or framework.

Odissi dancer costume is a silk saree draped in a practical and comfortable style. Wears on the head ornament called the "Mathami", on ears "Kapa", on wrists "Kankana"

Today Odissi is a well established and codified classical dance form of India.

kathak

kathak:

Kathak dances is basically from Uttar Pradesh.

This north Indian dance form is inextricably bound with classical Hindustani music, and the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is accompanied by the table or pakhawaj.

Traditionally the stories were of Radha and Krishna, in the Natwari style (as it was then called) but the Moghul invasion of North India had a serious impact on the dance. The dance was taken to Muslim courts and thus it became more entertaining and less religious in content. More emphasis was laid on nritta, the pure dance aspect and less on abhinaya

These rahapsodists and minstrels were associated with temples and shrines. Their particular dance-forms, which had its origin in simple story-telling, later came to be known as Kathak. Kathak is danced by both men and women. A Kathak dancer is not required strictly to adhere to fixed steps and stages in a fixed order. He or she can change the sequence of stages to suit his or her aptitude and style of dancing.

kathakali

kathakali:
Kathakali classical dance of Kerala owes its transnational fame to the nearly 300-year-old.

Kathakali literally means story-play and is an elaborate dance depicting the victory of truth over falsehood. Themes revolve around the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha.

A Striking feature of Kathakali is the use of elaborate make-up and colourful costumes. This is to emphasize that the characters are superbeings from another world.

The spectators can feel his invisible presence when the heroine or her maid details dreams and ambitions through circular movements, delicate footsteps and subtle expressions. Through slow and medium tempos, the dancer is able to find adequate space for improvisations and suggestive bhavas or emotions.

Costume is designed with lots of paint applied on the face of the artist. The pomp and magnificence of Kathakali is partly due to its decor, part of which include the 'Kireetam' or huge head gear, the 'Kanchukam' or the over sized jacket, and the long skirt worn over a thick padding of cushions.

Make-up which is of five types- Pacha, Kathi, Thadi, Kari and Minukku.