“It was as if the tranquil river Brahmaputra flowed down to Bangalore, showcasing her grace and inner peace, only to vanish without leaving a trail!” remarked an aesthete watching a rare Sattriya performance by Meernanda Barthakur in the city recently, on the invitation of SPICMACAY. The observation had captured the essence of the dance form from Assam. Graceful devotion is a characteristic feature of a Sattriya (pronounced as ‘hawtriya’ in Assamese) rendition. As the dance form originates from the monasteries, non-violence and truthfulness being their tenets, the dance is constructed with minimalistic movements without hard-tapping the feet as in other popular classical dance forms. “Even anklets (gejje) are not tied traditionally for Sattriya,” said Meernanda, explaining the authentic features of the dance form.
Sattriya, a lasya predominant dance form, “gets its elegance from the spring like movement (called ‘ulah’) which goes against the gravitational force.” Interestingly there are different kind of turns in Sattriya based on the gender of the character to be depicted. Meernanda demonstrated it by changing her role from Seeta to Rama and by performing the reverse. Concurrently she explained: “if the dancer needs to take on a male role, she has to take a Purusha Pak (male turn) and if it is a female role, she will have to do a Prakriti Pak (female turn). However, for Krishna alone, there is a special turn called Geri Pak. ”
Meerananda explained the history and distinctive features of Sattriya, on the way to her next performance organised by Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth (SPICMACAY), which was spread over five days in the city.
Sattriya, a dance form originated during the 15th century by the singular effort of saint Srimata Shankardev, was initially meant for monks in the monasteries. “It was only in 1952 a saint named Roseswar Saikia moved out of a monastery and began teaching dance to people outside it. That’s when it became accessible to women of Assam,” she informed.
As the dance was not performed before any deity in the monasteries, on the proscenium stage too the dancers do not take blessings from any idol. “It is the Nirguna (formless) Brahma we pray to,” said Meernanda, as she rotated both her hands one over the other to form the lotus that depicts Brahma. “The music for Sattriya,” she mentioned, “is also unique as it has its own set of ragas and talas.” She followed this with a demonstration of depiction of lord Krishna, unique to Sattriya -- a flute formed by two simha mukha hastas .
Her recent choreography has been on terrorism in which she juxtaposes stories of Kaliyuga against the stories from Dwapara Yuga. “Krishna was born to end the misery of his mother Devaki, likewise, what it takes to liberate the mother earth who has been assaulted by so many kinds of violence by man today? My production explores the need for a peaceful co-existence,” she explained.
What caught the attention of hundreds of restless school children at Greenwood High International School, Varthur, Bangalore was the episode between an inconsolable little Krishna and his affectionate mother Yashoda. Even as Krishna cried relentlessly, Meernanda depicted in ever so many ways the loving Yashoda trying to comfort her child. The eyes of most in the audience was moist...
