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| Raas Dhari portraying Krishna |
Krishna and various Krishna legends
have set the foundation for the flourishing of many art forms. The ancient
Indian folk theatre is one of them. ‘Raas’ or ‘Raas-Leela’ is a form of folk
theatre that flourished in the ambiance of Krishna stories and Krishna-bhakti.
Today the folk theatre form known as Raas spans across Saurashtra to Manipur, extending
till Tamil Nadu in the South. Raas-leela has taken various names and forms in
these different regions; however one can trace interconnections between them.
Here, we are discussing, in particular, the famous “Braj ki Raas-leela”, the
folk-theatre form that is rooted and prospered in Vrindavan and its connection
with Kathak.
Raas: Origin
The word Raas literally means a dance
form filled with रस or emotions (रसानां समूहो रास:।). Scholars believe that the word Raas is not a Sanskrit word,
but the word and the form have desi roots. There is also a desi-taal named Raas
and also a desi-metre named Raas. (तेत्तिगिध इति शब्देन नर्तनं रासतालतः।- भरतकोश).
As far as the dance form Raas is
concerned, we can find the reference for this dance-form in the Natya-Shastra. After the primary ten types of dramas, Dasharupaka;
Bharata discusses a number of Uparupaka’s. These are the sub-genres of drama with a small duration, featuring a blend of dance and drama. Raas or Raasak is one of
them. In the post-Bharata period, this upa-rupak called Raasak further
developed into Nritya-Raasak (the form with emphasis on non-emotive rhythmic dance
patterns) and Natya-Raasak (the form with emphasis on the emotive part). Today’s Raas-leela
can be called as a combination of both these sub-types.
Another such sub-genre of drama
namely, Hallisaka is also considered close to Raas-Leela.
Bhagavata’s story of the origin of Raas-leela
:
Shree Bhagavat Purana has described
the story of the birth of the Vrindavan Raas-leela. On the full moon night of
Sharad Ritu, Shree Krishna invited gopis for Raas-leela on the beautiful banks
of Yamuna. But Shri Krishna disappeared abruptly during the Raas. The gopis
were agonized by his absence but they recollected all their moments with
Krishna and in a way experienced him through enacting his stories. Thus the
tradition of Raas-leela commenced, with the purpose of experiencing Krishna
himself through emoting and dramatizing his Leela’s.
The legend also implies the two
distinct parts of Raas-leela, the first one established by Krishna, implying
the dance-form and act in his presence and the second being, the ‘Leela’ established
by gopi’s implying devotees. Current day Raas reflects these two parts namely
Nitya-raas (or maybe Nritya raas) which is the older part and the second, Leela
being added later, during the rejuvenation period of Raas.
Raas: Deterioration and Rejuvenation,
with the Kathak-Support
Raas or Raasak, the dance-drama saw a
downfall with Islamic invasions. The devotional dance form was modified with the
erotic elements to suit the audience's demand. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, in the 19th
Century choreographed dance dramas on the line of Raas which were then called Rahas. Rahas were actually modified versions of Raas-leela emphasizing the
Shringara element.
The Raas or Raas-leela that we see
today is the one revived in 15th Century. This was the period when northern
India saw the overwhelming wave of Bhakti movement and when every art form took
a devotional turn. Braj ki Raas-leela was then refurbished by the various
Vaishnav Acharyas in Vrindavan including Vallabhacharya, Swami Haridas, Hit
Harivamshi, Gahmandacharya, Shree Narayan Bhatt.
Raas-leela underwent many changes in
this period. The content of Raas was further enhanced with the rich literature
of Ashtachhap poets, utilized beautifully in Raas-Leela. Hence, post rejuvenation,
Raas-Leela was no more limited to folk-theatre but was a drama form, with evolved
and philosophical content. Its music underwent refinement and variety. The Dhrupad-style
singing of Raas-leela was also added with various Padas, Dohas, Vishnupadas, Kavitta,
Chhandas.
The Acharyas’ invited contemporary
dancers from the renowned temples and courts (who probably were practicing the
Kathak style, or to be specific precursor style of Kathak) to guide the
raas-dharis for the dance portion. This is evident when for example in
Gocharan-Leela, when Krishna is undergoing training in dance, the trainer, a
Gop named Tosh, starts with a very basic composition in Kathak; तत् तत् थुं थुं.
Vallabh, who is credited with the
Nritta part of Raas-leela, was believed to be a dancer himself from the Rajasthan
court. The name Vallabh is also associated with many compositions in Kathak
with the name Natuva-Vallabh. Also, various ‘paramelus’ composed by Vallabh in Raas-leela
are to date performed by Jaipur Gharana of Kathak.
Raas was previously a Nritta or
Nritya form which emphasized greatly on dance. In this revival period, the Acharyas
added an additional element of drama to it. This Leela part comes after the
interlude in today’s Raas-leela performance when the troupe dramatizes any
Krishna-leela event. The Kathaka Acharyas involved in the Raas revival are
responsible for developing this element of drama. They had the tradition of storytelling
and drama in their style; however, the emotive aspect was losing its identity
while modifying their performances for royal courts.
Thus, Kathak helped Raas to refine
its deteriorating dance, at the same time, Kathakars tried to retain their lost
storytelling traditions through the Raas-Leela.
Raas-leela Performance: content and
order:
Raas performance starts with
Mangal/invocation recital by the Swami of the Raas-mandali. This is followed by
various padas sung by the rest of the troupe to set the atmosphere. Mangal is also
added with Arati of Radha Krishna seated in the center. After this, upon
request, Radha and Krishna enter the mandal of gopis and the Nritta part of
Raas begins. This includes the solo performance of Krishna and Radha and other
gopis on various paramelu/paramulas (परमूल is the word used more). The paramulas have syllables that are similar to Kathak.
This paramula is from Shree Radha Krishna Leela Prasanga:
ता तिधा थेई थेई ताथेई - ता तिधा थेई थेई ताथेई
ता तिधा थेइयता - ता तिधा थेइयता
थेई ऽ ऽ ऽ त त त ता, थेई ऽ ऽ ऽ त त त ता
This parmelu is similar to or can be termed as the regular tukda performed
in Kathak today.
There are numerous paramulas which can fit in the paramelu definition in
Kathak today.
तकिट तकिट धिलांग धिक तक तो दीम ताम
तकिट तकिट धिलांग धिक तक तो दीम ताम
ता तू त्रंग थुन थुन तो, धिक तू त्रंग, थुन थुन तो
ता तूंग तूंग धिक तूंग तूंग धिकतक
थुंग थुंग तक थुंग थुंग तक, थोंग तक थोंग तक ददिगिन
थेई
तततता थेई तततता थेई तततता थेई
The nritta part of Raas ends here. However, sometimes, this part is conjunct
with some special items like Mayur Nritya (here the dancer using props of
peacock feathers takes turns on knees), dand-raasak (using sticks) etc.
This nritta part is followed by an interlude of devotional songs. The
second part of Krishna-leela starts here. The troupe presents any event of
Krishna Leela with singing, dancing, and dramatization. The stories depicted
here are generally the stories from puranas or sometimes, we also find the
folk-lore versions of the famous stories or altogether new stories like
Radha-Krishna Sagai (engagement).
Raas and Kathak :
Raas and Kathak have many similarities in terms of chari, mandalas, body
movements. Also, various technical terms of Kathak like, Sudhang, lag-daat,
urap-tirap are found in the paramula’s of Raas, and these terms have the same
implication. This poetry penned by Harivyasdevacharya explains this point
further.
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| Krishna with Sudhang Pose: Source: Raas Leela tatha Rasanukaran Vikas |
रासमंडल मधि निर्तत मोहनी मोहन,
वृंदावन नवनिकुंज
सुंदर आनंदघन।
लाग दाट उरप तिरप उघटत संगीत सुलप,
राग रंग तान मान
गान सुघर सप्त सुरन॥
Some movements are also similar such as jump-like movement for the bol त्रान. The सुढंग pose is also used in both, Raas
and Kathak in an identical manner.
Raas and Kathak have this unique reciprocative or bilateral relation. The
paramulas of ancient Raas may have been so popular that they were added to
Kathak from the Raas tradition. On the other hand, Kathak Acharyas have a predominant
role in refining the dance portion of Raas. Kathakars at that time were on the
verge of losing their traditional story-telling and emotive aspect in the
court. They, in a way, restored their Natya tradition in the “safe” of Raas by
adding the emotive part of Leela to Raas.
Thus, Raas and Kathak are two such dance-drama styles that have evolved over centuries. Both styles had a varying emphasis on dance or drama during different periods of time. Both mostly developed parallelly, one in folk-theatres and another in royal patronage, however, history also witnessed their coming together to revive and preserve each other.
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