Kathak ghungroo

Kathak ghungroo

India is a land of rich traditions and heritage. And what superior feature of the country could represent this than the Indian dance forms. The traditional dances of India have different styles. This is so because the dance forms belong to varied parts of the country – they originated there and then developed with all the cultural elements.

There are a great many folk dances that belong to separate regions of the country and are mainly performed by the local people of that particular region only. The Indian film dances also hold a significant spot in the culture of the country.

Kathak ghungroo in  to the popular dance of the country

Kathak  dance form belongs to North India, and the name ‘Kathak’ has been taken from the Sanskrit work ‘katha’ which means ‘story’. Hence, Kathak is ‘the one who tells the story’. It majorly consists of loving and childhood stories of Lord Krishna. Kathak has three different forms which belong to, and are also named after three North Indian cities – Lucknow, Banaras and Jaipur. Ghunghroo in kathak can be distinguished because in Kathak, ghunghroos that are strung together using ‘thick thread’ are worn.

 Ghungroo (small bells) is the main element and involves rhythmic body movements with facial expressions.ghungroo are many different names like ghunghroo or ghunghru or ghungur.Ghungroo  is little ringing bells strung together to form ghungroos, a musical anklet attached to the feet of classical Indian dancers. Ghunghroo is considered to be very blessed and is worshiped by the dancers. Very Special attention is paid to the way they are tied on the feet so that neither it is loose that it might fall, nor is tight that it might hurt. The loosening of ghunghroos while dancing is not considered to be good, rather is unacceptable, since it affects the performance and brings a bad impression to the audience. Ghunghroo adds on to the attractiveness and beauty of a dancer and helps in producing a sense of ‘taal’ (rhythm), making it clearer to reach the listeners. The viewers thus are able to follow the footsteps and understand the movement of a dancer. The size of ghunghroo plays an most important role in producing the accurate rhythmical drumming while showcasing ‘footwork’. Ghunghroo is worn by both male and female, in every traditional and classical dance.

A Kathak performance may include a dozen classical instruments depending more on the effect and depth required for a particular performanceThe most ordinary and common instruments that go with Kathak are tabla its mean a pair of hand drums that syncs with the dancer’s feet rhythms, Many other musical instruments like sarangi or harmonium with manjira that meters the cycle to add consequence,effect, depth and structure to the communicative stage of a Kathak performance.

Kathak dance has two main type 

1)   nritya (pure dance)

 2)  Abhinaya (expressions)


The first one is Nritya which has a structure of pure dance in which the performances moves from slow to a faster pace and then reaching a increase at the peak. It often has two kinds of compositions. The shorter ones are called tukra and the longer pieces are known as toda.


The second style is called Abhinaya which focuses on expressions as the main mode. This style uses pieces of expressions to convey a story. This performance style is also known Bhaav Bataanaa or Abhinaya.

 In short physical descprition of kathak ghungroo are Stylistically, the Kathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot actions  and movement, decorated with small bells its mean Ghungroo, and the movement in step to the music. With the eyebrows the performer or dancer gives different facial expressions.

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