The four-day “Nritya Parva” mounted by Sattriya Kendra, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Guwahati at Srimanta Sankaradeva Auditorium was perfectly pitched to ease the audience into a closer understanding of Sattriya culture.
Apart from the accompanying musicians and the Borgeet singers, about 40 khol and cymbal (taal) players and a minimum of 60 well-trained dancers participated this year. Morning sessions were devoted to lecture demonstrations by experts and dance gurus who analysed and enriched the academic components of the Sattriya dance. But the stellar performances came in the evenings by some highly powerful and outstanding young dancers.
The first evening began with a mosaic of hymns, playing of khols and cymbals by the Gayan-Bayan group of Upen Chandra Baruah Barbayan from Narayanpur. Ustad Bismillah Khan Puraskar recipient Seuj Priya Goswami proved her technical virtuosity in the pure dance of Rajagaria Chali, number three Ramdani set to Raga Kalyan and tala Chutkala and Ektal. Playfully, with fast paced movements, she eloquently portrayed Lord Krishna’s “nanichuri” (stealing butter)episode with the song “Barayan Nila bokusey”. The same evening saw Pankaj Saikia, a bhakat (monk) from the Kamalabari Sattra (monastery), Titabar, in a stunning Bahar Nach, delving into the complexities of the Ramdani part in Chutkala and Pari tala with ease. Blessed with a strapping bodyline and agility amalgamated with masculine grace, the powerful dancer, clad in the old traditional costume adorned with a crown, displayed his pulsating style in “Brindabaney Bhetalu”.
Every age produces its own collective dancers and this year saw excellent impactful solos . Himashri Medhi Kalita proved her solid training and fine understanding in her short Ramdani and abhinaya, “Hey Boney Banamali”, composed by Sri Madhavdeva and based on a Brindabanlila sloka from Bhagvat, set to raga Shyam, in Ektal, Chutkala, Horubihon and Kharman. Shanghamitra Bora’s invocation, Madhavdeva’s “Ami Jata Jiva Tumar Palana” was followed by a crisp Ramdani from the Rajagharia Chali set to tal Thukoni and Suta. In the geetar nach based on an Ankiya Geet from the Ankiya Nat “Patni Prasad”, Shanghamitra expressed incredible maturity in portraying the plight of the gopabalakas’ wives, locked in the cage by the priests and later saved by Lord Krishna.
Kaushik Handique’s magical presence in the Sutradhari nach featuring Sankaradeva’s Rukhmini Haran and Bhatima set to the song “Shyam Chandamukha Pekhalu” was exquisite and feast for the senses. A part of Sattriya dance is Bahar Nritya and Bhakat, Ranjan Bora from Natun Kamalabari Sattra, Majuli, presented it resting on the sloka “Vedanudharatey”on Lord Krishna’s 24th Avataar (not known to many).
Ranjan, undoubtedly a brilliant dancer, created hard-edged movements mostly with a smile, powerfully exploring with escalating intensity and imagery the “Dasavatar”, reaching the ripping of Hiranyakashipu as Narasimha with the right tension and exactitude.
From the standpoint of pure optical beauty and elaboration of vocabulary, the best duets were the Jhumura Nach by Rakesh Bodo and Naba Injal and the “Babu” taal-based imagery of the Borgeet “Shuno shuno ri” by Chitralekha Gogoi and Jollymoni Saikia. The well-rehearsed trios that showed the best teamwork, artistry and choreographic beauty were Nrityangan’s Kalakutia Chali and “Gitar abhinaya” (Moyo Krishnaboli kori bhavana ) and melar nach by Natan Sattriya Academy .
The appeal of the Nataraj Kalakshetra Group was due to their grip on variable rhythms. Dancers ably negotiated the tala-complexities in Rajagaria chali with the Gitar nach and melar nach parts in Talas Thukani and Chuta and the portions of “Gita” in Brahmatal.
Paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary, Sattriya Kendra mounted a commendable dance-drama “Mahatmar Dristit Asom” based on Gandhiji’s visits to Assam. His love for the land’s beauty, culture traditions and ideals of Sankaradeva was portrayed in a meaningful production embracing Sattriya dance and music involving the best of dancers and artists of the state with classical refinement and ethnic influences against elegant settings.
