Jaipur Gharana (Kathak)

जयपुर घराना (कथक)

Kathak of Rajasthan's courts, built on footwork and the pakhawaj

Dance Gharana Jaipur, Rajasthan

Founded By

Bhanuji

The Jaipur gharana is a school of Kathak dance that grew among hereditary families in the princely states of Rajasthan and takes its name from the city of Jaipur. It is known for pure dance, strong footwork and compositions built on the pakhawaj. In dance the school is called the Jaipur gharana alone; Jaipur-Atrauli is the khayal gharana of Alladiya Khan.

Origins & History

M. Nagabhushana Sarma writes that the Jaipur tradition is considered the most ancient of the Kathak gharanas and seems to have a hazy past. Every account names Bhanuji as the first figure of the line. In the version Sarma reports, Bhanuji taught his son Maluji, whose sons were Laluji and Kanhuji. Kanhuji, adept in Shiva's tandava, went to Brindavan, learned the lasya tradition there and taught both to his sons.

The line came back to Jaipur with Dulhaji, also called Girdhariji, one of Kanhuji's grandsons. His sons Hari Prasad and Hanuman Prasad, the 'Devpari ki jodi', danced at the Jaipur darbar, and Sarma credits them with the gharana's present reputation. The school was never confined to the city. It lived in royal households and in the courts of jagirdars, landholding nobles, across Rajasthan. Sarma ties it to the Vaishnava turn of the region's rulers, when images of Govindji and other deities from Brindavan were installed in Jaipur. He names three maharajas among Jaipur's patrons of Kathak and pakhawaj: Sawai Pratap Singh, Sawai Ram Singh and Sawai Madho Singh.

In the 20th century Jailal and his younger brother Sunder Prasad, sons of Chunnilal, carried the style to wider stages. Jailal served the courts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar and Raigarh. Narayan Prasad, a son of Hanuman Prasad, became court dancer to Raja Chakradhar Singh of Raigarh.

"said to have started with one Bhanuji"

— M. Nagabhushana Sarma
Major Exponents of Kathak from the Early Times to Mid-20th C.: An Overview, Nartanam, p. 3

Chronologie historique

1673

Hastak Muktavali written

The Hastak Muktavali is written under Raja Ram Singh. Sarma cites it as evidence that Kathak was widely practised in the region before the gharana's recorded dancers.

1885

Jailal is born

Birth of Jailal, elder son of Chunnilal and later a court dancer at Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar and Raigarh. His is the earliest birth year Sarma gives for the Jaipur line.

1926

Kundan Lal Gangani is born

Kundan Lal Gangani is born on 16 July 1926. He trains under his maternal uncle Narayan Prasad and becomes the seventh generation of the Gangani family.

1964

Kathak Kendra passes to the Akademi

The Sangeet Natak Akademi takes over the Kathak department of Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi, where Sunder Prasad had taught. Sunil Kothari gives 1962 for Kathak Kendra's start.

1970

Death of Sunder Prasad

Sunder Prasad dies in 1970. His pupils include Durga Lal, Roshan Kumari, Uma Sharma and Urmila Nagar.

1978

Jaipur Kathak Kendra founded

According to the National Portal of India, the Government of Rajasthan establishes the Jaipur Kathak Kendra in 1978, giving the gharana's home city an institution of its own.

1990

Death of Durga Lal

Durga Lal, born in 1948 and a teacher at Kathak Kendra, dies on 31 January 1990 in Lucknow after a stage performance.

Lineage & Legacy

The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations

The Jaipur style passed within hereditary families of Rajasthan, from father to son and from uncle to nephew. Narayan Prasad taught his nephew Kundan Lal Gangani, whom the Gangani family counts as its seventh generation. The families learned across gharanas too. Sunder Prasad, for one, studied as a boy with Bindadin Maharaj of Lucknow. From the 20th century the teaching reached pupils outside the families, such as Roshan Kumari, and passed through schools in Bombay, Baroda and Delhi.

The early line in tradition

Bhanuji

First figure of the line

Named as the first figure of the Jaipur line in every account. In the version M. Nagabhushana Sarma reports, he taught his son Maluji, father of Laluji and Kanhuji.

Kanhuji

Dancer of tandava and lasya

Grandson of Bhanuji in Sarma's account. Adept in Shiva's tandava, he went to Brindavan, learned the lasya tradition and taught both to his sons Geedhaji and Sohaji.

Guru-Shishya Tradition

The Devpari pair

Hari Prasad and Hanuman Prasad

Court dancers, the 'Devpari ki jodi'

Sons of Dulhaji and court dancers of the Jaipur darbar, the first known dancer pair. Hanuman Prasad was known for lasya, Hari Prasad for akash chari and spins.

Guru-Shishya Tradition

Court dancers of the 20th century

Jailal

1885-1949

Court dancer

Elder son of Chunnilal. He danced at the courts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar and Raigarh, and died in Kolkata in 1949.

Sunder Prasad

Died 1970

Dancer and teacher

Trained with his father Chunnilal, his brother Jailal and, as a boy, Bindadin Maharaj of Lucknow, so he held both styles. He ran a school in Bombay, then taught at Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi.

Narayan Prasad

Born 1908

Court dancer and teacher

Son of Hanuman Prasad and court dancer at Raigarh. He received the title Nrityacharya from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1975 and taught his nephew Kundan Lal Gangani.

Guru-Shishya Tradition

Gurus after independence

Kundan Lal Gangani

Born 1926

Guru

Born on 16 July 1926, he followed his uncle Narayan Prasad to Raigarh. He went on to teach in Mumbai, Baroda and Jodhpur, and at Kathak Kendra in Delhi.

Durga Lal

1948-1990

Dancer and teacher

Trained with his father Omkarlal, then with Devilal and Sunder Prasad. He also sang and played tabla, and taught at Kathak Kendra in Delhi until his early death.

Roshan Kumari

Dancer, pupil of Sunder Prasad

Daughter of the singer Jahara Jan and the tabla player Fakir Ahmed. She trained in Jaipur gharana Kathak under Sunder Prasad, from outside the hereditary dance families.

Guru-Shishya Tradition

Present-day dancers

Rajendra Gangani

Dancer and guru

Son and disciple of Kundan Lal Gangani, and a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee. Kiran Java's 2025 workshop report calls him a leading exponent of the Jaipur style.

Prerana Shrimali

Dancer and guru

Pupil of Kundan Lal Gangani and a senior guru of the Jaipur gharana. M. Nagabhushana Sarma names her among its contemporary dancers.

The gharana system is rooted in the guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, where musical knowledge and style are passed down through direct apprenticeship over three or more generations.

Key exponents

Hari Prasad and Hanuman Prasad, Jaipur court dancers, the Devpari pair
Jailal, court dancer at Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar and Raigarh, 1885-1949
Sunder Prasad, teacher in Bombay and Delhi, died 1970
Narayan Prasad, Raigarh court dancer and teacher, born 1908
Kundan Lal Gangani, guru at Baroda and Kathak Kendra, born 1926
Durga Lal, dancer and Kathak Kendra teacher, 1948-1990
Rajendra Gangani, present-day dancer and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee
Prerana Shrimali, senior guru and pupil of Kundan Lal Gangani

Caractéristiques musicales

Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy

Overall Style

Jaipur dancers put their weight on nritta, pure dance, while Lucknow dancers are known for grace and expressive abhinaya. Jaipur dancers are known for strong footwork called tatkar, complex rhythmic patterns, and an emphasis on layakari, the play of rhythm, and on pakhawaj compositions. The repertoire is devotional, drawing on Krishna and on Shiva's tandava.

Pure dance first

Nritta, dance for its own sake, carries the weight of a Jaipur performance. Lucknow dancers put more into abhinaya, the expressive side.

Tatkar

Strong footwork, tatkar, sets out the rhythm with the feet. In Rajendra Gangani's workshops it is practised at high speed.

Pakhawaj parans

A paran is a composition built on the syllables of the pakhawaj, the barrel drum. In the Jaipur tradition parans often speak of the glory of a deity.

Spins

Sarma singles out Hari Prasad's akash chari and spins, and the single-foot pirouettes of Charan Giridhar 'Chand', as marks of Jaipur technique.

Signature Repertoire

Jaipur Kathak is built on parans in pakhawaj syllables and on long kavitts, poetic compositions that narrate episodes from Krishna's life such as Kaliya Daman and Govardhan. The Gangani family credits some long kavitts to its own forebears. The devotional setting goes back to the courts and temples: Sarma records Hanuman Prasad dancing at the Govindji temple in Jaipur at Holi.

Compare with Similar Gharanas

Understand how Jaipur Gharana (Kathak) differs from other traditions

Select a Gharana to Compare:

	Jaipur Gharana (Kathak) (Current)	Raigarh Gharana (Comparing)
Type	Dance	Dance
Origine	Jaipur, Rajasthan	Raigarh, Chhattisgarh
Era		Early 20th century
Style	Jaipur dancers put their weight on nritta, pure dance, while Lucknow dancers are known for grace and expressive abhinaya. Jaipur dancers are known for strong footwork called tatkar, complex rhythmic patterns, and an emphasis on layakari, the play of rhythm, and on pakhawaj compositions. The repertoire is devotional, drawing on Krishna and on Shiva's tandava.	Raigarh Kathak grew from one court's choices. Narthaki describes the style as a synthesis of Jaipur and Lucknow forms. Sarma writes that the court dancers performed in the style the Raja laid down in his texts. They used his new bols, the spoken syllables of dance, and his chakkardar parans. They kept to a recital order he fixed, from an opening invocation to a closing paran.

View Raigarh Gharana Details

	Jaipur Gharana (Kathak) (Current)	Lucknow Gharana (Kathak) (Comparing)
Type	Dance	Dance
Origine	Jaipur, Rajasthan	Lucknow
Era		Late 19th century
Style	Jaipur dancers put their weight on nritta, pure dance, while Lucknow dancers are known for grace and expressive abhinaya. Jaipur dancers are known for strong footwork called tatkar, complex rhythmic patterns, and an emphasis on layakari, the play of rhythm, and on pakhawaj compositions. The repertoire is devotional, drawing on Krishna and on Shiva's tandava.	Skiba finds that Lucknow masters give more weight to bhav, feeling shown through gesture and mime, while Jaipur dancers stress speed and footwork. Lucknow dancing is often slower and lighter on footwork display. Writers describe it with the Urdu words nazakat, delicacy, and khubsurati, beauty, qualities tied to the culture of the Lucknow court. The costume follows Mughal court dress, the angarkha over churidar trousers.

View Lucknow Gharana (Kathak) Details

Influence & Legacy

Sarma reports a saying among Kathak connoisseurs that the Kathak tree first blossomed in Jaipur and took root in Lucknow, though scholars differ on where the Lucknow style began. Jaipur dancers also served other courts: Jailal and Narayan Prasad danced at Raigarh, where Kundan Lal Gangani followed his uncle. Through Sunder Prasad and later Kundan Lal Gangani the style reached Kathak Kendra in Delhi and the dance department in Baroda, and in 1978 Jaipur gained a Kathak Kendra of its own.

Sources

M. Nagabhushana Sarma, Major Exponents of Kathak from the Early Times to Mid-20th C.: An Overview, Nartanam (n.d.)
Central Board of Secondary Education, Kathak Class XII marking scheme (2026)
Kiran Java, report on a Rajendra Gangani workshop, Narthaki (2025)
Chitra Sharma, Kundan Lal Gangani centenary profile, Narthaki (2026)
Sunil Kothari, Early memories of encounters with Birju Maharaj, Narthaki (2020)
Millennium Post, Celebrating Kathak (2013)

Questions fréquentes

The Jaipur gharana is a school of Kathak dance from the hereditary dance families of Rajasthan, named after the city of Jaipur. It puts its weight on nritta, pure dance, with strong footwork, layakari and parans on pakhawaj syllables. Sarma counts it among Kathak's four main gharanas, with Lucknow, Benares and Raigarh.

Bhanuji is named as the first figure of the Jaipur gharana in every account, and his line comes down through family tradition without dates. In Sarma's version the line returned to Jaipur with Dulhaji, whose sons Hari Prasad and Hanuman Prasad, the 'Devpari ki jodi', danced at the court and made the gharana's name.

Present-day Jaipur gharana dancers include Rajendra Gangani, son and disciple of Kundan Lal Gangani, and Prerana Shrimali, one of Kundan Lal Gangani's pupils. M. Nagabhushana Sarma also names Jagdish Gangani, Shashi Sankhla, Urmila Nagar and Puru Dadheech among the gharana's contemporary dancers.

The Jaipur gharana is a hereditary tradition of Rajasthan's dance families, while the Raigarh gharana formed at one court between the late 1920s and 1947. There Raja Chakradhar Singh drew Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares masters together and set his own bols and recital order. Jaipur dancers such as Jailal and Narayan Prasad served at his court.

The Jaipur gharana stresses pure dance, strong tatkar, complex rhythm and pakhawaj compositions, while the Lucknow gharana is known for grace and expressive abhinaya. The two still meet: Sunder Prasad learned from Bindadin Maharaj of Lucknow, and Sarma reports a saying that Kathak blossomed in Jaipur and took root in Lucknow.

The Jaipur gharana has no founding date, because its early line is family tradition counted in generations. Sarma's genealogy names Bhanuji and the next generations without dates, and the first birth years he gives are 1885 for Jailal and 1908 for Narayan Prasad. The Gangani family counts Kundan Lal Gangani as its seventh generation.

No. In Kathak the school is called the Jaipur gharana. Jaipur-Atrauli is the khayal gharana of the singer Alladiya Khan (1855 to 1946), whose ancestors came from Atrauli near Aligarh and whose family found patronage at the Jaipur court.

A paran is a Kathak composition built on the syllables of the pakhawaj, and in the Jaipur tradition parans often praise a deity. A kavitt is a poetic composition. Jaipur kavitts are long and narrate episodes from Krishna's life, such as Kaliya Daman and Govardhan.

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