1984-07-14 Evening Program, Leysin, Switzerland. The basis of Kathak dance and Indian music Today, we had a very nice session of puja in the morning. And to celebrate that session in an artistic way, we have arranged this beautiful program of Kathak dancing for you. Now, Kathak word, as you know, comes from the word ‘Katha’, Katha means the story. It means the story. [Shri Mataji says something in Hindi, and man bows to her feet] May God bless you [followed by namaskar] And the story is to be told. This is a very ancient type of dancing, which was practised in the northern part of India. And then part of it also went to the south. And they used it in a different way. Now, Kathak is so ancient and so traditional that it has gone various changes and various aspects have been expressed in this style of dancing. To begin with, it was originally done to express the stories about the Gods and Goddesses. And their different way of dealing with human beings. Then gradually it became subtler and subtler. Then they started performing the dances of the Parabramha Shakti and all those things. Later on, when the Muslims came to North India, they introduced their delicate style to this style of dancing. And one of the Nawabs of Lucknow was very much fond of Kathak dancing. And he himself introduced so many ideas in this. So, also the romanticism, not the variety of Western style, but the Read More …