Performance of Ṭhumrī in Kathak Dance

Abstract:

During the eighteenth century, Lakhnau, the capital of the royal state of Awadh, emerged as the refined center for the arts. Over the next centuries, kathak maestros and elite tavāifs (soiree singers and dancers) enthralled patron connoisseurs with their exquisite ṭhumrī performances, receiving lavish rewards. Ṭhumrī exemplified an aesthetic synthesis of the devotional (bhakti) and worldly themes based on undifferentiated love situated in the śṛṅgāra rasa (amorous, erotic sentiment). This essay is an attempt to highlight the infinite performative possibilities improvised by the dancer through imaginative interpretations of the ṭhumrī song-text and the connoisseur spectator’s interactive response in culturally specific meaning-making. Ṭhumrī performance epitomized the poetic “nāyikā,” who dominated prolific classic and regional literature over the millennia.