RTN029“The Art Was Pure That Time Too”: Shweta Satish Kushwah on Kathak, Tawaifs, and Nautch Traditions 

As part of the Relearning the Nautch archive, we spoke with Shweta Satish Kushwah, a Kathak practitioner, teacher, and postgraduate student of dance, about her artistic journey, her understanding of Kathak history, and the role of tradition within contemporary practice. The conversation moved between personal experience and historical reflection, offering insight into how a younger generation of dancers encounters both the inherited narratives and the contested histories of the form.

Shweta's relationship with Kathak is rooted in long-term commitment. Having begun training as a child, she described dance not simply as an extracurricular activity or profession, but as the central organizing force of her life. Her academic path has mirrored this commitment. After completing her undergraduate studies in dance, she is currently pursuing a Master's degree in the field, while also teaching and running her own Kathak classes.

Throughout the conversation, she repeatedly returned to the idea that Kathak has shaped not only her career but also her sense of self. For her, dance functions simultaneously as discipline, education, profession, and spiritual practice.

A significant part of Shweta's artistic identity is connected to her current guru, Dr. Suchitra Harmalkar, whom she described with immense admiration. As a disciple of Pandit Kartik Ram, the celebrated court dancer of Raigarh, Dr. Harmalkar represents a pedagogical lineage that remains deeply influential within contemporary Kathak.

When speaking about her guru, Shweta emphasized inspiration rather than technical inheritance. Her responses focused on the experience of witnessing her teacher dance, the motivation she draws from that example, and the importance of carrying forward the values embedded within the guru-shishya relationship. The interview therefore reveals how lineage is often experienced not only through repertoire and composition, but also through admiration, aspiration, and embodied example.

One of the most revealing sections of the conversation concerned Kathak's courtly history and the role of tawaifs. Rather than distancing herself from this history, Shweta spoke about it openly and without discomfort. Much of her understanding emerged through formal study, particularly during preparations for Visharad examinations and university-level dance education.

She described the tawaif era as an important and productive period within Kathak's development, even referring to it as a kind of golden age for the form. In her view, many elements that contemporary practitioners take for granted—bandishes, stylistic refinement, terminology, and aesthetic sensibilities—flourished during this period. Her responses suggest a willingness to acknowledge the historical significance of tawaifs while continuing to understand their contributions primarily through an artistic lens.

At the same time, her reflections reveal a perspective commonly encountered within contemporary Kathak discourse. While acknowledging that tawaifs were often viewed through social prejudice, she consistently emphasized the purity of the art itself. The movement of Kathak from temples to courts and kothas, she argued, did not fundamentally alter the nature of the dance.

This distinction between social context and artistic essence is particularly notable. For Shweta, the location of performance may have changed, but the art remained constant. Her interpretation therefore foregrounds continuity rather than rupture, preservation rather than transformation.

A similar perspective emerged when discussing questions of restriction and expression. When asked whether certain emotions or movements associated with courtly culture have become difficult to perform in contemporary contexts, she largely rejected the premise that Kathak has lost expressive possibilities. Instead, she emphasized the adaptability and continuity of the form across different historical periods.

The conversation also highlighted the ways in which historical figures continue to occupy a meaningful place within practitioners' understanding of tradition. While discussing the courtly era, Shweta referenced artists such as Jaddan Bai and Gauhar Jaan as important cultural figures whose artistic achievements deserve recognition beyond the social stereotypes often attached to them.

Although her comments did not constitute a detailed historical analysis, they reflected an awareness that many of the women associated with courtly performance traditions were accomplished artists whose contributions continue to shape contemporary practice.

Perhaps the most personal moment of the interview emerged in its closing reflections. When asked how she would describe herself as a Kathak dancer, Shweta moved away from history and lineage altogether and spoke instead about faith.

For her, Kathak has become a pathway toward spirituality. Through dance she has developed a stronger relationship with God and a deeper appreciation for values such as discipline, sincerity, obedience, and respect. These reflections reveal a dimension of Kathak that remains central for many practitioners: the understanding of dance not merely as performance, but as a means of personal and ethical cultivation.

Taken together, Shweta's responses offer a valuable glimpse into the worldview of a young Kathak practitioner negotiating multiple inheritances at once. She belongs to a generation that encounters Kathak through institutional education, historical study, guru-disciple transmission, public performance, and digital visibility simultaneously. Her reflections illustrate how these different modes of learning intersect in contemporary practice.

Rather than approaching Kathak primarily through critique or revision, Shweta's responses are characterized by reverence—for her guru, for the form, for its history, and for the values she believes it imparts. In documenting these perspectives, the interview provides insight into how tradition continues to be understood, taught, and lived by a new generation of dancers.

Note: A transcript of this interview was added to the Relearning the Nautch archive at a later date. The interview itself was conducted earlier through text messages and voice notes, and was subsequently transcribed for archival purposes.