The culture of India is unique compared to the rest of the world and this uniqueness is reflected in our art forms. As diverse the Indian culture is, each state in India has developed its own classical dance forms representing the regional aspects of the people based on their values and traditions.
According to the Indian Ministry of Culture, India has 9 Classical dance forms. They are as follows:
=========================================================================
✅ Andhra Pradesh – Kuchipudi
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Carnatic music.
- Instruments – Mridangam, Cymbals, Veena, Flute & Tambura.
- Famous Artists – Yamini Krishnamurthy, Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam, Padma Subrahmanyam, Radha Reddy & Raja Reddy.
=========================================================================
✅ Assam – Sattriya
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Borgeet (a collection of lyrical songs based on classical ragas) of Sankardev & Madhavdev.
- Instruments – Khol (two-faced asymmetrical drum). Cymbals (Manjira, Bhortal), Flute, Harmonium & Violin
- Famous Artists – Srimanta Sankardev, Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan.
=========================================================================
✅ Manipur – Manipuri
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Poetry of Jayadev, Gyandas, Chandidas & Govindadas (written in Sanskrit, Brij or Maithili)
- Instruments – Pena (String instrument), Pung (two-faced cylindrical drum), Cymbals (Manjira[kartal or mangkang], Bhortal), Flute, Sembong, Harmonium, Shankh (conch) & Esraj.
- Famous Artists – Guru Bipin Singh, Bino Devi, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, Savita Mehta.
=========================================================================
✅ Kerala – Kathakali, Mohiniyattam
- Kathakali –
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Carnatic music
- Instruments – Chenda, Mridangam, Cymbals, Idakka, Veena, Flute & Tambura.
- Famous Artists – Kalamandalam Gopi, Kottakkai Sivaraman, Kalamandalam Kesavan Namboodiri & Ramankutty Nair
- Mohiniyattam –
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Intermix of Malayalam & Sankrit vocal music.
- Instruments – Kuzhitalam (cymbals), ldakka, Mridangam, Veena
- Famous Artists – Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, Kalamandalam Kshemavathy Pavithran, Pallavi Krishnan, Gopika Verma & Sunanda Nair
=========================================================================
✅ Odisha – Odissi
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – South Indian & North Indian Music.
- Instruments – Pakhavaj, Tabla, Swarmandal, Harmonium, Sitar, Flute, Violin, & Cymbals.
- Famous Artists – Sonal Mansingh, Mayadhar Raut, Jhelum, Paranjape & Kelucharan Mohapatra.
=========================================================================
✅ Tamil Nadu – Bharatanatyam
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Carnatic music
- Instruments – Mridangam, Nadaswaram, Nattuvangam (cymbals), Manjira, Flute, Violin & Veena
- Famous Artists – Rukmini Devi Arundale, C.V. Chandrasekhar, M.K. Saroja, Mr. & Mrs. Dhananjayan (Shanta & V.P. Dhananjayan), Mrinalini Sarabhai & E. Krishna Iyer
=========================================================================
✅ Uttar Pradesh – Kathak
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – Hindustani Music
- Instruments – Bansuri, Ghungharu, Pakhawaj, Tabla, Sarangi, Sitar, Harmonium, Flute, Sarod
- Famous Artists – Pandit Birju Maharaj, Shovana Narayan & Sitara Devi
=========================================================================
✅ Jharkand – Chhau
- Music & Instruments –
- Music – based on folk melodies.
- Instruments – Mohuri, Shehnai, Dhol, Dhumsa, Kharka or Chadchadi
- Famous Artists – Pandit Gopal Prasad DubeyMakar & Dhwaja Darogha
=========================================================================
Among these Classical dance forms, Bharatnatyam is considered as the oldest.
The classical Dance forms of different states are often a part of the many of the competitive exams conducted in India including UPSC, IAS, IBPS PO/Clerk, insurance and other various PSC exams.