15 November 2000 was a momentous date for Sattriya Nritya (whose roots are embedded in Ankiya Bhaona or Ankia Nat) because it got the formal nod as a classical dance form of this great country.
Sattriya Kendra Guwahati, which was established in 2008 at Guwahati by Sangeet Natak Akademi’s support of its project of Sattriya dance and its allied traditions, has been holding its annual Nritya Parva festival every year between 15 to 18 November. The festival is a kind of assessment to gauge the progress of the form, which was born of a living tradition in Sattras and conferred with an at-par-status with the other rich forms presented not as a temple ritual, but on the proscenium stage under the watchful eyes of connoisseurs and aficionados.
Raju Das, director of Sattriya Kendra Guwahati since its inception, has been burning the midnight oil for the smooth functioning of the Kendra to make the festival a jewel in the crown of the SNA. This year the four-day event was held at Sri Sri Madhav Dev International Auditorium, Shri Shri Shankaradev Kalakhetra in Guwahati.
The population of Assam is multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious, but Neo-Vaishnavism was ushered in by the bhakti saint-poet Srimad Shankaradeva and his chief disciple Sri Madhav Deva in the 15th or 16th centuries. It brought social, educational and cultural changes, which in a way unified the people and gave them a common purpose and that have sustained them for the last five centuries. The Sattras run by the Sattradhikars are the repositories of the rich culture of Assam. They have practised, preserved and performed Sattriya dance and music in their monasteries, which today find their place on the proscenium stage where both men and women perform.
Gayan Bayan presentations, which have evolved from Ankiya Nat —one-act plays that follow the tenets of the Natya Shashtra —, gave an auspicious start to each day’s programme. The gayanas and bayanas are accomplished craftsmen in the art of beating the talas in their khols and cymbals and the vocalisation of chanting the name Rama or Krishna; the avatars of Vishnu took the stage each day and spread an aura of devotion at the start. Gayan-Bayan of Madhya Majuli Sri Sri Kamalabari Sattra was led by Deha Saikia Borbayan to an effective start. On day two, Abhijit Das and his group of Kasugaon Mayamora Sanskritik Sangha performed Mridangiya Gayan Bayan, while the third day’s start was led by Achinta Mahanta from Amguri, Sivasagar. Shiyalmora Sattra of Narayanpur Gayan Bayan showcased their art. The performance of Gayan Bayan each evening created a peaceful and pure atmosphere.
Solo dancer Bhaswa Mahanto of New Delhi trained by Rinjumoni Saikia and Adhyapak Ghanakanta Bora performed the Ramdani part of Chali Nach, which had evolved independently and not from Ankiya Nat of Srimad Shankaradeva. Her training in abhinaya was displayed in her one-to-one dialogue with Krishna. Jayamoni Gayan of Nagaon, a disciple of the revered Guru Jatin Goswami performed Gopi-Uddhav Samvad in which the portrayal of gyan or knowledge was juxtaposed with bhakti or devotion.
Jahnavi Gogoi of Duliajan who has been schooled by Anita Tamuli paid her obeisance to Krisna before proving her mettle in abhinaya through her piece, “Bhrigu Muni’s testing of the Trinity Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu or Janardana”.
On the other hand, Kuntala Sarma Bordoloi commended herself well with her solo rendition. She deftly retold the story of Sattrajit, father of Satybhama, who had been given a jewel by the Sun. The exploits of Krishna and Sattrajit regarding the light flashing piece of jewel; Krishna’s marriage to Satybhama and the subsequent handing over of the unique piece of jewel to Sattrajit’s grandson was impressively and effectively told through the vocabulary of Sattriya Dance.
Lima Das, a disciple of Jatin Goswami took the audience by storm and successfully narrated the tale of Amba from the Mahabharata in the out-of-the-world choreographic work of her great guru. Her graceful rendition made the Sattriya form delightful. The soloist Anita Sharma — a student of Jatin Goswami —, has mastered the art of perfection in each and every movement of hers. Seeing her is like understanding what stuff devotion is made up of. Her obeisance to the lotus-petal like eyes of the son of Vasudeva; the dispenser of joy to Devaki; the annihilator of the non-believer Kamsa told it all. Taking care of minute details is her forte. Quivering lips on seeing Gokul Chandra was but one example of the awe arising out of pure bhakti, displayed with subtlety. Topping her rendition in brhamaris and akashcharis in quick tempos was something, which has been painstakingly acquired, as noticed by this reviewer in her past performance when she duet-danced with a Kathaka.
Among the duet renditions Prasanta Pachoni and Paramananda Borabayan trained by Manik Bora Bayan had the uniqueness of being straight from a Sattra. They were raw from the Bhogpur Sattra of Titabar, which had been initiated in medieval times by Mahapurush Srimad Sankaradeva himself. They provided a brief glimpse of Ramdani and Geetor Nach from Nadubhangi.
The duo Bahana Saikia and Samragyee Kashyap trained by the talented mentor Ramkrishna Talukdar differed from other performers. They descended on the proscenium stage in lightning speed in their prayer to Krishna and held the attention of the audience. The exploits of Krishna was included in their veneration and their costume with typical regional motif was beautiful. They took the piece where Narada evoked jealousy in Satyabhama, informing her that the Parijata flower from the heavens, a symbol of the deepest love, was given to Rukmini and not her. The piece taken from Ankiya Nat displayed their emotive quality. Both Karabi Pathak and Gitima Pathak who are accomplished dancers both from Sangeet Sattra had their own take on the stories of Krishna’s life, but failed to import the audience to great levels. The licking of butter by Krishna, which is taken up by dancers often, was not aesthetically appropriate. It lacked finesse.