On Monday evening, as the city got drenched in rains, art lovers at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) soaked themselves in a dance performance that is little known in western India. The Sattriya dance, a classical dance form from Assam that has its origins in the Bhakti movement during the 15th and 16th centuries, was performed at the centre. It was made popular by Srimanta Sankaradev, the saint-scholar and socio-religious reformer, and is centred around Lord Krishna.
The dance form was earlier made popular through Sattras, or Vaishnavite monasteries.
"Since it was recognised as a major Indian dance form in the year 2000 by the Sangeet Natak Academi, awareness about Sattriya is still lacking at the national and global levels. Today's performance was an offering towards this centuries-old living heritage. It is a culture embodied in us and therefore we believe that Sattriya can provide new audiences important insights into a 'lesser known' geography, culture and history," said Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta, one of the performers.
Besides Srijani, the performance was accompanied by a group of monks from Purana Kamalabari Sattra.
"We do not have idol worship. The chief deity is Lord Krishna, but we do not have Radha anywhere in our text. Earlier, the dance was mainly performed by monks and males. It is only recently that women have started performing it," said Srijani.
"The idea is to attain Moksha through Sangeet and Sanskriti. We put all our heart and mann into performance so that people get to know about the Lord and get educated," said Adhyapak Paramananda Borbayan Kakoty of Purana Kamlabari Sattra.
The Borbayan's group performed Nrixingho Leela, an excerpt from Sankaradev's composition Prahlad Charitra, taken from his magnum opus Kirtan Ghosa. In this piece, the dancers depict the significance of the man-lion avatar Narasimha and Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu.
"These performances were very elaborate and of longer duration earlier. But due to time constraint, they have been crunched," said Srijani.
Monday's performance was divided into various parts, Sutradhari Naac — a musical performance by artistes, Geet'r Naac and Nrixingho Leela — an episodic presentation of Bhaona, among others. Bhaona is another form of performing art propagated and popularised by Srimanta Sanakardev.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Performance at NCPA")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}