This is a very simple style using a paranda, to learn how to put in a paranda check out my That long thing with tassels. post. The paranda is used by a lot of schools of Kathak, especially in Pakistan. The paranda can be used with a fake hair extension but it generally acts as a hair extension in itself. It can be tied to the back of the dress but I have seen it left loose during performances too. Flowers can be added as per preference, generally speaking flowers are kept to a minimum for Kathak, usually just a few elegant strings of jasmine flowers. On hair that isn't black the traditional hair extensions plaited in for dance aren't a possibility and here's why...
It doesn't look natural does it? The paranda however is not made of hair, it's made of thread and so it isn't supposed to look natural, it's supposed to be seen as a hair accessory and so can be used in any colour hair.
I have found that a French plait keeps the hair much neater and more compact when dancing. My Kathak Guru has always told my classmates to do a French plait and it does work better. The hair I was working with here was extremely shiny and slippery and so doing a tight French plait was almost impossible, it would work much better if the hair was wet (wet not damp). In the photo above I tied it where I added the paranda so you can see. You can add the paranda right at the beginning of the French plait but it is a lot harder. Again please check out my blog from June "That long thing with tassels." for all the YouTube links to tying a paranda. If you don't know how to do a French plait (which as a Kathak dancer you really ought to...) here's a link, How to: Basic French Braid
This is the finished product, without flowers. For dance the fringe would obviously need to be pinned back. I have shown it here over the shoulder because many Kathak dancers pin it over the shoulder so that it can be seen from the front. I have used a gold coloured paranda here which are actually quite hard to find, generally they are black, but as you can see most of the paranda is covered by the hair. It would still look fine if it was black because you can see quite clearly that it is a hair accessory. One thing that is perhaps open for discussion is how to tie the end of the paranda. There are two options as far as I know; the first is a hair band as I have used here but this is problematic because it takes time to get all the tassels through it each time whilst being careful not to damage them and they will inevitably get damaged but it is an easy and quick method. The other option is getting some black embroidery thread and winding it round and round the end of the paranda plait and then knotting, this is fiddly and the black thread is not always re-usable if you make the knot too tight. So it's problematic in general but nothing beautiful is ever without problems right?
This is what it would look like with flowers. Ideally these would be longer strings of flowers and would be fresh jasmine blossoms, but alas we're not in India so I shall have to settle with these plastic flowers. Some schools of Kathak put the flowers higher up on the head but I think it looks too much like Bharatanatyam when done like that, putting them lower down makes it look more graceful and subtle in my opinion. Of course as with all hair posts I write, none of these girls are actually dancers and so I haven't used as many pins as perhaps necessary for dance or made the front as neat and secure as would be needed, this is just to inspire :)
Stay tuned for part III
