Kathak, the beautiful form of Indian classical dances finds its roots in `katha` meaning 'story'. It is essentially a solo dance and has close affinities with the traditional dance-drama form called Bhagvat Mela performed only by men, and folk operettas called Kuruvanji performed only by women. The musicians of the Tanjore court of the 18th and 19th centuries, lent the thematic as well as musical content to the dance. It developed in South India, in its present form, two hundred years ago. Strict about the techniques used in performing, it disallows any kind of innovations except in the repertoire forms of presentation. It is a very traditional and stylized dance form. This dance is the oldest of the Indian classical dance forms, and its origin can be traced to Bharatha`s Natya Shastra. All night dance dramas are popular throughout India and mark all the major festivals. These are performed on festivals, ceremonies, special occasions, etc. Almost every village has its own folk dance, which is performed by the village folk itself. In fact Bharata Natyam one of the most important traditional Indian dances was till the early 20th century, only performed by `devadasis or maids of God`, in temples. The uniqueness of Indian classical dances, is that they are all devotional in content. They are hasya (happiness), shoka (sorrow), krodha (anger), karuna (compassion), bhibasta (disgust), adhbhuta (wonder) bhaya (fear), vikram (courage) and shanta (serenity). All the dance forms are structured around the nine rasas or emotions. Natya speaks in great detail of the different kinds of postures, facial expressions, mudra or hand expressions, including the attire and ornaments to be used. It is believed that Brahma, the supreme Creator, created Natya by taking literature from the Rig Veda, songs from the Sama Veda, abhinaya or expression from the Yajur Veda and rasa or aesthetic experience from the Arthava Veda. Bharatnatyam is one of the most popular dances of India.
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