Aashish Mishra

This year’s Kartik Naach that began yesterday (Friday) with Baraha Dance and it concludes today with Narsingha Dance. This isn’t how it always is though. In previous years, the dance used to be staged for 12 days with much fervour and excitement. However, the pandemic got to it, forcing the organisers to shorten it to two days. People will also not be allowed to watch. The whole Patan Durbar Square will be sealed off and only the performers will be allowed in. Nobody is happy with this arrangement but such is the need of the time; what can you do? At least the Naach wasn’t cancelled entirely, which would have an absolute tragedy.
So, as we discuss the shortening of the andante this year, let us look at how it came to be and where it is headed.
The story begins in 1640 with King Siddhi Narsingh Malla wanting to celebrate the completion of the famous Krishna Mandir. At the same time, he also wanted to call upon the Gods to improve the lives of his subjects. He wanted his country to be healthy, happy and prosperous. So, he went to his two most trusted teachers Hari Bansa Upadhyaya and Bishwonath Upadhyaya.
The king shared his intentions with them and asked them for advice. The Upadhyaya duo mulled it over, consulted religious and astrological charts and scriptures and discussed with other wise men of the land. Finally, they told the King to hold a five-day dance-drama in the month of Kartik which he agreed. And thus, began Kartik Naach.
In 1666, Malla’s son Srinivas Malla added the Batha Pyakha (Folk Dance) to the Kartik Naach and made it 12 days long, to which, Malla’s grandson Yoganarendra Malla again added Ushaharan and Madhavan Leela, making the whole thing 27 days long. It stayed in this 27-day format till 1949. But the Naach started suffering from 1950. The post-Rana government reduced state support for Kartik Naach, resulting in a lack of money and resources. That is why, from 1950 to 1980, only the Baraha and Narsingha dances were performed.
In 1981, the Kartik Naach Management Committee was founded to revive the Naach which succeeded in re-introducing a few components and making it eight days long. In 2014, this committee restyled itself as the Kartik Naach Preservation Committee and made the Naach 12 days long.
After the history, let us also clarify a few misconceptions. Despite what the name suggests, Kartik Naach is not a single dance. It is an amalgamation of various danced dramas; all separate from each other. That is why it can be shortened when needed. It was also multi-ethnic. The Ushaharan and Madhavan Leela were originally written and performed in Maithili. These days though, they are done in Nepalbhasa.
Similarly, no one community can lay claim to the entirety of the Kartik Naach. It belongs to the whole of Lalitpur because it is performed by all the communities of Lalitpur. Rajopadhyaya, Chitrakar, Shrestha, Shakya and many other groups play important roles in it.
Now, talking about the future, the Naach is in crisis. The state support that decreased after 1950 almost completely dried up after the establishment of the Guthi Sansthan. After much lobbying by the locals and the organising committee, the Sanstha, these days, gives Rs. 300 per dance. More than 100 people are involved in staging the dance per day. Keeping and maintaining the instruments and costumes are also not free. So, Rs. 300 isn’t even going to begin to support the Naach in any meaningful way.
There is no sugar-coating it. The Naach cannot be sustained if the state bodies fail to fulfil their cultural preservation obligations and step up their support.