Hammad Rasheed :: The Journey of a Young Pakistani Kathak Dancer by Swapnil Saundarya ezine

SWAPNIL

SAUNDARYA e-zine

( Vol- 05, Year - 2017 , SPECIAL ISSUE ) Presents

Dance is the rhythm of life for this Young Pakistani Kathak Dancer

~ Hammad Rasheed ~

Published by : Aten Publishing House

Swapnil Saundarya ezine : An Intro वि नल स दय ई-ज़ीन – प रचय कला , सा ह य, फ़ैशन व स दय को सम पत भारत क पहल ह द लाइफ टाइल ई- प का के पँचम चरण अथात पँचम वष म आप सभी का

वागत है .

फ़ैशन व लाइफ टाइल से जुड़ी हर वो बात जो है हम सभी के लये खास, पहु ँचग े ी आप तक , हर पल , हर व त, जब तक

वि नल स दय के साथ ह आप. गत वष क सफलता और आप सभी पाठक के अपार

के बाद अब वि नल स दय ई-ज़ीन ( Swapnil Saundarya ezine ) ला ल य के साथ

म े व

ो साहन

के पँचम वष को एक नई उमंग, जोश व

तु त कया जा रहा है ता क आप अपनी िज़ंदगी को अपने सपन क दु नया बनाते रह. सु ंद र

सपने दे खते रह और अपने हर सपने को साकार करते रह .तो जुड़े र हये ' वि नल स दय' लॉग व ई-ज़ीन

के साथ

.और .............. बनाय अपनी िज़ंदगी को अपने सपन क दु नया . ( Make your Life just like your Dream World ) Launched in June 2013, Swapnil Saundarya ezine has been the first exclusive lifestyle ezine from India available in Hindi language ( Except Guest Articles ) updated bi- monthly . We at Swapnil Saundarya ezine , endeavor to keep our readership in touch with all the areas of fashion , Beauty, Health and Fitness mantras, home decor, history recalls, Literature, Lifestyle, Society, Religion and many more. Swapnil Saundarya ezine encourages its readership to make their life just like their Dream World . www.issuu.com/swapnilsaundaryaezine Founder - Editor ( सं थापक - संपादक ) : Rishabh Shukla ( ऋषभ शु ला )

Managing Editor (कायकार संपादक) : Suman Tripathi (सु मन

पाठ )

Chief Writer (मु य ले खका ) :

Swapnil Shukla ( वि नल शु ला ) Art Director ( कला नदे शक) :

Amit Chauhan (अ मत चौहान) Marketing Head ( माक टंग

मु ख ) :

Vipul Bajpai ( वपुल बाजपई)

' वि नल स दय - ई ज़ीन ' ( Swapnil Saundarya ezine ) म पूणतया मौ लक, अ का शत लेख को ह कॉपीराइट बेस पर

वीकार कया जाता है . कसी भी बेनाम लेख/ योगदान पर हमार कोई िज़ मेदार नह ं होगी . जब तक

क खासतौर से कोई नदश न दया गया हो , सभी फोटो ा स व च

केवल रे खां कत उ े य से ह इ तेमाल कए

जाते ह . लेख म दए गए वचार लेखक के अपने ह , उस पर संपादक क सहम त हो , यह आव यक नह ं है. हालां क संपादक

का शत ववरण को पूर तरह से जाँच- परख कर ह

िज़ मेदार उनक नह ं है . ो

टस , ोड

का शत करते ह, फर भी उसक शत-

स से संबं धत जानका रयाँ, फोटो ा स, च , इल

' वि नल स दय - ई ज़ीन ' को िज़ मेदार नह ं ठहराया जा सकता .

तशत क

े शन आ द के लए

कॉपीराइट : ' वि नल स दय - ई ज़ीन ' ( Swapnil Saundarya ezine ) के कॉपीराइट सु र

त ह और इसके

सभी अ धकार आर ह

.

इसम

त

का शत

कसी भी

ववरण को

कॉपीराइट

धारक

ल खत अनु म त कए

से

ा त

बना आं शक या

संपण ू

प

का शत

से

पुन :

करना

सु धारकर

सं

करना या कसी भी

, हत प

या अथ म अनु वा दत करके इले यां क

त ल प,

,

रकॉ डग दु नया

ॉ नक या करना

के

या

कसी भी

ह से म का शत करना नषेध है . ' वि नल

स दय - ई ज़ीन ' के सवा धकार

'

शु ल'

Rishabh

(

Shukla ) सु र

त ह . इसका कसी भी

कार से पुन : काशन नषेध है.

चेतावनी : ' वि नल स दय - ई ज़ीन ' ( Swapnil Saundarya ezine )

ऋषभ के पास

म घरे लु नु खे , स दय नखार के लए

ट स एवं व भ न च क सा प तय के संबध ं म त यपू ण जानकार दे ने क हमने पूर सावधानी बरती है . फर

भी पाठक को चेतावनी द जाती है क अपने वै य या च क सक आ द क सलाह से औष ध ल , य क ब च , बड़ और कमज़ोर यि तय क शार रक शि त अलग अलग होती है , िजससे दवा क मा ा नधा रत करना ज र है.

मता के अनु सार

संपादक य

Editorial : Some Thoughts As We Enter the New Volume of Swapnil Saundarya ezine ......

Namaste All !

We are extremely proud to present Swapnil Saundarya Vlog { A vlog (or video blog)} is a blog that contains video content. )on the completion of successful and glorious four years of Swapnil Saundarya ezine & We literally step over into the fifth year of our ezine. Once again, the start of a brand new volume has come upon us. As we enter into new possibilities, may we all be reminded that we have the ability to be, do, and have anything that we want; that there are no mistakes, only lessons; and that the love and happiness we seek is already within our grasp.

During previous volumes, we all grew some, laughed some (a LOT, I hope!), shed some tears, and came to some new realizations with Swapnil Saundarya . We reached some of our goals, gained some victories, and also came to more clearly define the things we want to have in the future.

All in all, we have truly been blessed!

As we begin volume 5th of Swapnil Saundarya ezine, my prayer is that we continue to grow and find the space within ourselves to know, beyond all doubt, that there is nothing more that we need to do in order to be complete. All we need is a willingness to allow ourselves to feel good and to be at peace in the present moment. All we need is gratitude for all that we have, and all that we have had the pleasure to be and to experience.

That is the starting point from which all other things will flow into our existence.

Be a part of Swapnil Saundarya ezine and Make your Life just like your Dream World !

With love, Rishabh Founder-Editor Swapnil Saundarya

Guns are to men what jewelry is to women !

Dance is the rhythm of life for this Young Pakistani Kathak dancer

~ Hammad Rasheed ~

Kathak derived from sanskrit word kathak which means story & kathak means the art of storytelling. Kathak was used to be performed in temples to explain stories of Hindi Mythology but when it reached in Mughal courts it transformed. Many other performers from Iran, Spain, Turkey used to present their art in Mughal courts .So we find high Muslim influence. This is a graceful dance accompanied by live or recorded music. The interesting part of the dancer is to wear ankle bells in which footwork is an instrument followed by tabla or could be a jugal bandi with sitar, sarod or flute.

Classical Dance perceived as an interconnection between culture and religion for some, while others might want to separate it from religion altogether. This interconnection is more possible in Kathak than any other dance form due to its historical significance. Thousands of years back, people shared their stories of ethics through the oral tradition. Kathak was used as a form of entertainment in the northern regions. It went beyond storytelling. It did not have to be about the story of Ram and Sita, it could be about love or any other element. So you can still have those connections.

Kathak derives most of its traditions from epic stories, but people perform a contemporary form of the dance now-a-days. Moreover, social and political elements such as domestic violence or women’s issues are also incorporated in the storytelling.

It is not as simple as just telling the story of one person.

At a time when religious extremists in India and Pakistan are trying to outdo each other in their divisive rhetoric, Pakistani Kathak dancer Hammad Rasheed is an anomaly. He has embraced the classical dance form with devotion and vouches for its power to break barriers and build bridges.

Hammad Rasheed is a young talented Kathak dancer who is working for the survival of this dying art and has been popularising Kathak by teaching and performing in some of the prestigious Dance Festivals in Pakistan. He talks about the challenges of being a teacher and dancer, even while sticking to the traditional stylistics of Kathak.

Hammad Rasheed has done masters in English literature from the University of Punjab and holds a bachelor's degree in education (B.Ed ) from Allama Iqbal Open University.

He has completed his certified accounting technician (CAT) examinations and jumped into ACCA (Association of chartered certified accountants) which he left in the middle to persue his masters in English literature. Hammad Rasheed hails from Lahore , Pakistan. It has been 3 years that he is working as a Kathak teacher in various branches of Lahore Grammar school. Before that Hammad has been teaching English in various schools.

Hammad Rasheed has started learning Kathak in 2012 under the tutelage of Naila Riaz ji who is trained in Lucknow gharana from Ghulam Hussain Kathak late and in Jaipur gharana from miss Anjani Ambegaokar ji .

On asking about his dance journey , Hammad Rasheed explained, "There is unfortunately no degree in dance yet offered by any institution in Pakistan. So I have learnt Kathak under guru -shishya parampara. It was just by chance that I had the liberty to go out of my home alone and I went directly to Lahore arts council to get some vocal training but soon when I heard the sound of the ghunghroo from the basement class of arts council I couldn't control myself and went directly to the dance class. It's impact was so strong that I just swayed with my guru g and her pupils rehearsing. I took admission in dance class and started learning it. At that point I couldn't tell my family. I had to hide from them because they are very religious and it's considered a taboo/ a sin to dance and to dance with ankle bells is way out of question. My guru saw potential in me and starting focus on me more. In just three months she allowed me to perform on stage. With that my career actually escalated. One after the other, here and there is was asked to come and perform. In

2012 a very famous theater production company took me up as a dancer and choreographer and took me to a trip to Punjab, India. Since the date of my debut performance I have bagged almost a 100 performance. 2015 I was awarded the best dancer and the beat choreographer in Pakistan. I have worked and choreographed for the national television of Pakistan PTV. I have been part of various film and literature festivals notably bol film festival (minority) and Benazir literary festival organised by one of the influential political parties of Pakistan."

" Dance is considered almost a taboo in our country ( Pakistan ) especially the classical arts are looked down upon. People don't realize that subcontinent has a thousands of years old cultural history. You cannot call anything related to culture Pakistani or Indian" he added.

Hammad Rasheed has also been a part of the prestigious international Sufi mystical festival 2017.

Slow at first, the tempo rapidly rises as the Kathak dancer Hammad Rasheed matches every beat and every pause of the tabla’s rhythm. The conversation between the ghungroo and the ensemble of the tabla, harmonium and sitar explores a gamut of emotions which has the audience erupt into a chorus of “wah.”

According to Hammad Rasheed , "Dance is for the soul, for the Divine. If you start learning music and dance just for the sake of money and earning then you have a good news, the commercial world out there will buy anything but that won't have any soul. The essence would not be there."

"Classical Dance is a way of grooming a person. It's the way of the soul to connect with the universe, to understand it's frequencies and make a peace with them, it's meditation, a way, spiritual, to connect your soul with the Divine. It teaches you to surrender and when you surrender everything will fall back into it's original place. You won't have to worry about survival, things will come to you “ he added.

Hammad Rasheed's dance steps, gestures, postures and expressions are outstanding .

He is the dance personality of the moment. His choreography is intelligent, compelling and beautiful to watch. He is one of the young artists bringing new vitality to cross-cultural expressions in the field of Classical Dance today.

As his ongoing Kathak shows, he has every intention of staying with his roots - and every intention of making them known to his audience. So masculine and yet so sensual. So down-to-earth and yet full of mystery. With his superb technical prowess and deep knowledge of this old dance tradition 'Kathak', he is the dance personality of the moment.

Swapnil Saundarya ezine wishes Hammad Rasheed every success in life .

- Rishabh Shukla Founder-Editor

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वि नल स दय ई-ज़ीन के कसी

थायी

तंभ के

तंभ का शीषक लखना न भूल .

येक वीकृ ् त रचना का कॉपीराइट ( सवा धकार ) प का के कॉपीराइट धारक का है और कोई वीकृ ् त / का शत

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