KATHAK

GHARANA: The word GHARANA literally means HOUSE ...in HINDI ghar also means house.Here it actually implies the house of the teacher .We can conclude it takes us back to the GURU_SISHYA ( teacher_disciple) parampara (system) of the yesterdays with little modifications.Here the name of the gharana was almost derived from a geographical location , ezample city , district or state that the founder lived in. The gharana system commenced only 100_300 years back.The modern gharanas were easily traceable to the period of Mughal collapse.There were gharanas separately for vocal ,dance and instrumental music.In those days the name of the GHARANA and its glory was a prerequisite for obtaining a position in the royal courts.The gharanas had a certain standard which was being scrutinised by the royal courts .In the artistic sense it can be compared to to a certain style or "school" which was more popular or in demand. Later on the lack of royal patronage and the monotony of styles forced the 20th century artists who were more individualistic in their rendering of art put an end to the gharana system.Now it exists only in the vestigial system.