At the invitation of Narada Gana Sabha, senior Sattriya (pronounced ‘Hottriya’) exponent Indira P.P. Bora and her daughter, dancer-researcher Dr. Menaka P.P.Bora, presented ‘Sattriya Repertoire: Tradition and Beyond’ recently. Indira was one of the first women to learn Sattriya. She was trained by her uncle, dancer and dance scholar Pradip Chaliha, who was part of the movement to introduce Sattriya to the rest of Assam.
Indira presented Sattriya nritya much before it became well-known. In her student days in Kalakshetra, the dance doyen Rukmini Devi was intrigued by it and gave her opportunities to present it. After training in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi (Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam), Indira went back to Assam and devoted her time to teaching and ‘refining’ the art form. She was an agent for change in many respects. While the monks wear only white cotton dhotis, Indira introduced Assamese Pat silk full-length skirt or dhoti costumes for the stage, along with the traditional scarf, the gamocha. She used locally-worn jewellery as accessories. The re-designed costume is understated and quite ethereal.
According to Indira, stylistic changes needed to be made to the abhinaya as the ritualistic art form was lokadharmic, meant as it was for local devotees. Indira has worked towards a more stylistic approach. In her words, “To denote speech, one can use Katakamukha. I felt extending the movement of the hasta from the lip outwards would make the meaning clear while adding grace. In addition, the expressions needed to be sharpened and made emphatic for the stage, as culturally, Assamese have softer expressions.”
Sattriya nritya is bhakti-oriented, though contemporary pieces are exploring other emotions. An example is a piece based on Devaki’s lament, choreographed by Guru Jatin Goswami, in which the sorrow of Krishna’s birth mother’s is compared with the political unrest and killings in Assam.
Indira and Menaka’s presentation was bhakti-oriented, with a mix of nritta and abhinaya. A brass pot with the gamocha draped over the lid and surrounded by banana leaves, signifying Assamese cultural traditions, were placed in the foreground as a suggestive setting.
Indira commenced with a traditional Krishna Vandana (Sindhu, ek taal) in Brajabuli, a mixture of Maithili, Hindi, Assamese. Fluidity and grace marked the small lasya-style movements that punctuated the devotional lyrics written by Sankaradeva. A traditional Chali Nritya that had a strong-nritta technique ended with a Geetar abhinaya piece describing Krishna’s beauty. Menaka’s physicality shone as she handled the jumps and whirls with agility, and presented graceful torso sways and delicate wrist movements, with a sense of precision and focus. Many times she negotiated a jump that ended in a full-sit on the floor. All this without one strong thump on the floor; it was an unusual combination of vigour and delicacy.
With equal felicity, Menaka portrayed Krishna playing with his friends in ‘Mohana Manohara’ (Srigandhar, ek taal), changing tracks towards the end to a bhajan-like prayerful mood.
It must be mentioned that both dancers were in dhoti costumes and struck a pose that resembled the Purusha Ora or the male stance. Perhaps this programme was meant to explore the masculine side of Sattriya Nritya.
Khol Nritya by Menaka was a new choreography inspired by the powerful energy in the Natyagarh in the sattras. It was a short vigorous piece, with an interplay between of the Sattriya bols called Shlokas and percussion. The traditional Jhumura nritta and Mela Nach, another strong composition of jumps and other light-footed steps that resounded with beautiful music and strong drumming, brought out Menaka’s grace and agility.
The most poignant in that display was Indira’s Borgeet, ‘Alo bhai chollo jai so jai Brindavane’ in Bhatiyali by Madhavadeva. It is an Assamese classical music composition, the inclusion of this genre in the repertoire popularised by Indira, the meaning of which is the poet urging devotees to catch a glimpse of the divine scene of Krishna, Balarama and the other cowherds in Brindavan. The dancer infused this piece with so much positive energy and happiness that it was touchingly persuasive. The dancers concluded with a traditional Dasavatara piece that had multiple hastas researched from the Sri Hastamuktavali text by Menaka (who is also an ethno-musicologist and trained in Bharatanatyam (guru is natyacharya V.P. Dhananjayan) and contemporary dance).
Stylish seated introductions, aesthetic costumes and charming dancing made for a beautiful experience.
