Kathak began as wandering storytellers who performed the Hindu epics, then grew into a court art

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Kathak began as wandering storytellers who performed the Hindu epics, then grew into a court art

the gist

Kathak is one of the eight major classical dance forms of India, and its name comes from the Sanskrit word for story. Its origins lie with traveling bards in northern India, called kathakars, who told stories from the Hindu epics through dance, song and music. Over time it moved from temple courtyards into royal courts, and under the Mughals it became highly stylised, with footwork and turns added to the storytelling. Its footwork is marked by ankle bells, and the story is carried by the eyes, eyebrows, neck and hand gestures. It has four main schools, called gharanas, named after Jaipur, Banaras, Lucknow and Raigarh, and it is the only Indian classical dance to show Persian influence.

so what

Kathak shows how Indian classical arts absorbed Hindu, Mughal and Persian traditions into one living form. Today's performers still balance rhythmic technical dance with storytelling, which is why it is often seen as a bridge between the country's oldest and most recent cultural layers.

fun fact

Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was himself a practitioner of Kathak.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗