--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-gb/gharana/raigarh-gharana' title: 'Raigarh Gharana' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-10-17T11:40:22+00:00' type: website summary: "The Raigarh gharana is a school of Kathak dance that formed at the court of Raigarh, a princely state in present-day Chhattisgarh, under Raja Chakradhar Singh, the state's last ruler. M. Nagabhushana Sarma's overview of Kathak exponents counts it among four Kathak gharanas, with Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares, and says it came into prominence in the Raja's time, which he dates to 1904 to 1947. Two press reports, from the dance portal Narthaki in 2003 and IANS in 2024, name the Raja as its founder, a word Sarma does not use. The Raigarh district administration calls him the patron under whom Raigarh flourished as a centre of art.Chakradhar Singh danced Kathak and played tabla and pakhawaj. He brought masters of the Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares lines to Raigarh as court dancers and teachers, among them Jailal, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Narayan Prasad. Narthaki describes the resulting style as a synthesis of Jaipur and Lucknow forms, the only parent lines it names. The Raja wrote treatises on dance and rhythm, including Nartan Sarvasvam and Tal Toya Nidhi, titles that sources spell in several ways. In Sarma's account, court dancers performed in the manner these texts prescribed, using the Raja's new bols, the spoken syllables of dance, and his chakkardar parans, drum-syllable compositions whose closing phrase repeats three times. They kept to a recital order he fixed, from an opening Mangalacharan, or invocation, to a closing paran and chakkardar.Sarma records that boys came to the court, several with a background in Chhattisgarhi folk dance such as gammat, and trained there in Kathak. Sarma names Kartik Ram and Kalyan Das Mahant as the gharana's two noted dancers and profiles Firtu Das and Burman Lal beside them. Kartik Ram studied under Jailal, Mohanlal, Achhan Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj, and won a gold medal at the Allahabad music conference in 1936. He and Firtu Das learned together under Jailal and danced as a duo. Burman Lal learned lasya, the graceful mode, and abhinaya, expressive acting, from Lachhu Maharaj, and Sarma calls him a repository of the Lucknow gharana's rare traditional bhavas, or expressed moods.Kartik Ram's son Ramlal Bareth learned from his father, the Raja and Jailal at the court. He received the Padma Shri in 2024 for the Raigarh style, and his award citation credits his teaching with establishing Raigarh as a Kathak gharana.Key exponentsChakradhar Singh, Raja of Raigarh, named founder in press reports and patron by the districtJailal, Jaipur-line guru at the Raigarh courtAchhan Maharaj, Lucknow-line guru and court dancer at RaigarhKartik Ram, court-trained dancer, born 1910Firtu Das, court dancer and Kartik Ram's duo partnerKalyan Das Mahant, court dancer, later a teacher in NagpurBurman Lal, court dancer and abhinaya specialist, born 1916Ramlal Bareth, son and disciple of Kartik Ram, Padma Shri 2024SourcesM. Nagabhushana Sarma, Major Exponents of Kathak from the Early Times to Mid-20th C.: An OverviewPadma Awards, Government of India, citation for Ramlal Bareth (2024)Narthaki, Information Snippets (January 2003)IANS, report on Yasmin Singh's two books on the Raigarh gharana (2024)District Administration Raigarh, Chakradhar Samaroh (2024 and 2026 programmes), History and Culture & Heritage pages" image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:secure_url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:type': image/svg+xml 'image:alt': KalaSudha --- ## [Raigarh Gharana ](/en-gb/gharana/raigarh-gharana) The **Raigarh gharana** is a school of [Kathak](/en-gb/dance/kathak) dance that formed at the court of Raigarh, a princely state in present-day Chhattisgarh, under Raja Chakradhar Singh, the state's last ruler. M. Nagabhushana Sarma's overview of Kathak exponents counts it among four Kathak gharanas, with Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares, and says it came into prominence in the Raja's time, which he dates to 1904 to 1947. Two press reports, from the dance portal Narthaki in 2003 and IANS in 2024, name the Raja as its founder, a word Sarma does not use. The Raigarh district administration calls him the patron under whom Raigarh flourished as a centre of art. Chakradhar Singh danced Kathak and played tabla and [pakhawaj](/en-gb/instrumental/hindustani-classical/pakhawaj). He brought masters of the Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares lines to Raigarh as court dancers and teachers, among them Jailal, Achhan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Narayan Prasad. Narthaki describes the resulting style as a **synthesis of Jaipur and Lucknow** forms, the only parent lines it names. The Raja wrote treatises on dance and rhythm, including **Nartan Sarvasvam** and **Tal Toya Nidhi**, titles that sources spell in several ways. In Sarma's account, court dancers performed in the manner these texts prescribed, using the Raja's new bols, the spoken syllables of dance, and his **chakkardar parans**, drum-syllable compositions whose closing phrase repeats three times. They kept to a recital order he fixed, from an opening Mangalacharan, or invocation, to a closing paran and chakkardar. Sarma records that boys came to the court, several with a background in Chhattisgarhi folk dance such as **gammat**, and trained there in Kathak. Sarma names Kartik Ram and Kalyan Das Mahant as the gharana's two noted dancers and profiles Firtu Das and Burman Lal beside them. Kartik Ram studied under Jailal, Mohanlal, Achhan Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj, and won a gold medal at the Allahabad music conference in 1936. He and Firtu Das learned together under Jailal and danced as a duo. Burman Lal learned lasya, the graceful mode, and abhinaya, expressive acting, from Lachhu Maharaj, and Sarma calls him a repository of the Lucknow gharana's rare traditional bhavas, or expressed moods. Kartik Ram's son Ramlal Bareth learned from his father, the Raja and Jailal at the court. He received the Padma Shri in 2024 for the Raigarh style, and his award citation credits his teaching with establishing Raigarh as a Kathak gharana. ### Key exponents - Chakradhar Singh, Raja of Raigarh, named founder in press reports and patron by the district - Jailal, Jaipur-line guru at the Raigarh court - Achhan Maharaj, Lucknow-line guru and court dancer at Raigarh - Kartik Ram, court-trained dancer, born 1910 - Firtu Das, court dancer and Kartik Ram's duo partner - Kalyan Das Mahant, court dancer, later a teacher in Nagpur - Burman Lal, court dancer and abhinaya specialist, born 1916 - Ramlal Bareth, son and disciple of Kartik Ram, Padma Shri 2024 ### Sources - M. Nagabhushana Sarma, Major Exponents of Kathak from the Early Times to Mid-20th C.: An Overview - Padma Awards, Government of India, citation for Ramlal Bareth (2024) - Narthaki, Information Snippets (January 2003) - IANS, report on Yasmin Singh's two books on the Raigarh gharana (2024) - District Administration Raigarh, Chakradhar Samaroh (2024 and 2026 programmes), History and Culture & Heritage pages [Sign in to follow](/en-gb/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-347&destination=/en-gb/markdownify/taxonomy/term/347)