Kathak a Theoretical & Practical Guide (Volume-1)

Sur Sangam, a school of Music, Art & dance established in 1990 under the guidance of Joyprakash Medhi and Marami Medhi, a renowned couple of classical music and dance from Assam, who dedicated their lives to the advancemen and propagation of Indian Classical Music. Sur Sangam has completed 25+ years of imparting training mainly in the field of Kathak and Vocal (North Indian classical music). It is an Institution where different aspects of Kathak and Hindustani classical music are being taught as per the syllabus of Bhatkhande sangit Vidyapith, Lucknow. Sur Sangam has produced several students who received National scholarships under different schemes of the Department of Culture, Govt. of India under the Ministry of Human Resources and Training. Sur Sangam has also given several performances in differen parts of the State of Assam and different Festivals of Dance and Music in all over India.

SurSangam also offers training in the field of- Sattriya Dance and Western Dance by professionals who have years of experience in performing and training in their fields.

SurSangam organises a very big cultural event every year which gives all their students a big opportunity to showcase their talents live on stage in front of a huge audience.

From the beginning of my Kathak journey, I had been facing many problems regarding the collection of theoretical content. As a result, I thought of writing this book "Kathak- Volume-1 A Theoretical and Practical Guide" in collaboration with Mr. Debasish Talukdar.

This book will be helpful for the students of Prathama and Madhyama of Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapith; Praveshika, First Year and Second Year of Prayag Sangeet Samiti along with 9th and 10th Examination. It contains all the topics essential for learning Kathak Dance at the beginner level. With the Theoretical and Practical of Kathak Dance, one can understand the basic concepts of Tabla and Indian Classical Vocal, which are the two subjects inter-connected to Kathak Dance.

We hope that the reader enjoys the learning process of Classical dance- Kathak with this book.

Marami Medhi, a dynamic & an accomplished Kathak exponent from Assams a well-known name in the field of Kathak. She is the founder of "Sur Sangam" in the heart of Guwahati city with many upcoming talents. She was born on 8th November 1965. at Tura, Meghalaya district (North-East). She received her initial training in Kathak dance under Late. Guru Charoo Bordoloi.

Subsequently, she became a disciple of renowned Kathak maestro Late. Dr. Surendra Saikia of Kathak Kendra,U.P. Sangeet Natak Academy, Lucknow. Marami has also attended some valuable workshop of Kathak dance under the guidance of Great Kathak maestro Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj. She did Nritya Nipun. (M. Mus) in the year 1994 in Kathak dance from Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith, Lucknow. She has been an "A" Grade artist of Doordarshan Kendra, New Delhi.

She has been awarded a two year fellowship in the year 2000-2001 from Ministry of Human Resource Development, Dept. Of Culture, Govt. of India. She is a panel Artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Govt. of India in the field of Kathak (Solo). She has performed in National level programmes like- Kathak Samaroh (Lucknow-1999), Vasantotsava (New Delhi-2012), Khajuraho festival of dance (2014), Kalidas Samaroh (Ujjain-2016), etc. Moreover, she ahs performed at auspicious events Internationally- U.K. in 2008, Egypt in 2014, Israel in 2014, Palestine in 2014, U.A.E. in 2014, New Zealand in 2016, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2019, Dubai in 2019, etc. She has received many National awards- Shringar Mani Award-2005, Nritya Mukut-2005, Nritya Gaurav by ICCR, etc.

Mr. Debi Prasad Talukdar, well-known as Debasish Talukdar is a young Musician, Writer, Music Researcher (Vocal, instruments and dance), Vocalist and Tabla Player,disciple of Ustad Julfikar Hussain of Lucknow Gharana. He was born on 10 April, 1996 in Hojal, Nagaon, Assam.

He has completed Prabhakar & Nipun in Tabla and Vocal Visharad from Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith(Lucknow). Prabhakar in Tabla and Vocal from Prayag Sangit Samiti (Allahabad), Nipun and 7thYear in Tabla from Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith (Lucknow), and Surnandan Bharati (Kolkata). Now, he works at the Co-ordinator of "Lyrics Academyof Music" and it's Online Mobile Application which contains more than 1000+ recorded tutorials and notes under his supervision.

In this Project, he has been researching in all three genres of music i.e., Vocal, dance and instrument.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages