Kaathi is a
- (a)Caste
- (b)Tribe
- (c)Wooden Art
- (d)Folk Dance
Correct — D, a folk dance. Kaathi (Kathi) is a devotional folk dance of the Nimar (Nimad) region of Madhya Pradesh, performed by the Bhagat/Balai community from Dev-Prabodhini (Dev Uthani) Ekadashi up to Mahashivratri in worship of Shiva and Parvati. The dancers carry a tall bamboo pole — the 'kathi' — decorated with peacock feathers and cloth, which gives the dance its name; it is performed to the beat of the dhak drum.
- (a)Caste — Kaathi is not a caste; it is a performance form. Its performers happen to come from the Bhagat/Balai community, but the word names the dance, not a caste.
- (b)Tribe — It is not a tribe either — Kaathi is a folk-dance tradition, not an ethnic group.
- (c)Wooden Art — Tempting, because a tall decorated pole is central to the performance — but the 'kathi' is only a bamboo prop for the dance, not a wood-carving craft; the art form itself is a dance.
Madhya Pradesh has a large repertoire of folk dances tied to region and community — Rai in Bundelkhand, Karma and Saila among the tribes, Matki and Gangaur in Malwa-Nimar, and Kaathi in Nimar. Kaathi is specifically a Nimar devotional dance built around a decorated bamboo pole.
The trap is option (c) 'Wooden Art', planted because a wooden/bamboo pole is the dance's signature prop. But the question asks the category of 'Kaathi' — and it is classified as a folk dance, not a craft, caste or tribe.
- Kaathi is a folk dance of the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh.
- It is devotional (Shiva-Parvati), danced from Dev-Prabodhini Ekadashi to Mahashivratri.
- The 'kathi' is a bamboo pole decorated with peacock feathers; the lead dancer is the Bada Bhagat.
- It is accompanied by the dhak drum; performers belong to the Bhagat/Balai community.
Kaathi is a folk dance, not a craft or a community.
- Choosing 'wooden art' because of the bamboo pole
- Confusing Kaathi (an MP dance) with the Kathi people, a community of Saurashtra/Gujarat
MPPSC gives a name and asks its category (caste/tribe/craft/dance) or pairs dances with regions; remember Kaathi = a Nimar folk dance.
Which one of the following pairs of folk-dance forms and states is not correctly matched?
- (a) Korku : Maharashtra
- (b) Jhummar : Haryana
- (c) Thali : Himachal Pradesh
- (d) Mukna : Manipur
Answer(a) Korku : Maharashtra
Same theme — identifying folk dances and the odd one out; note the mirror image, Korku is actually a tribe (not a dance), whereas here Kaathi is a dance (not a tribe).
Shri Ram Sahay Pandey is associated with which folk-dance art?
- (a) Rai
- (b) Beehu
- (c) Lawani
- (d) Nautanki
Answer(a) Rai
Same MP-folk-dance theme — Ram Sahay Pandey (Padma Shri, 2022) is the noted exponent of the Rai dance of Bundelkhand.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Rai folk dance popularised by Padma Shri Ram Sahay Pandey belongs to which region of MP?
- (a)Bundelkhand
- (b)Nimar
- (c)Malwa
- (d)Baghelkhand
Answer(a) Bundelkhand.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Kaathi dance of Nimar, the decorated 'kathi' carried by the performers is made of:
- (a)Bamboo
- (b)Brass
- (c)Terracotta
- (d)Ivory
Answer(a) Bamboo — decorated with peacock feathers.