KOCHI: The year was 1958. The stage was at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi and in attendance were stalwarts of the Indian classical dance scene such as Rukmini Devi Arundale, Balasaraswati, Birju Maharaj, etc. A group of men clad in white and carrying a distinct drum entered the performing area and presented a dance that flowed like an enchanting prayer.
The performers were celibate monks from a unique community in Assam that is centred around devotion and Ekasarana Dharma, a Vaishnavite sect founded by Sankardev who lived in the 15th century.
The dance, sattriya, was introduced to the world that day in April 1958. Till then, the 500-year-old art form had rarely been taken out of the sattras (monasteries) and namghars (prayer halls) in villages of Assam, particularly Majuli, the world’s largest river island. The sattriya itself evolved out of one-act plays or ‘Ankiya Nat’ put together by Sankardev as a worship ritual.
To this incantatory dance that sattriya was, the audience in Delhi remained hooked. They found it gracefully serene, guileless, and fluid, much like the Brahmaputra river that watered the monasteries and along with that, the culture.
From then till now, sattriya has come a long way. In 2000, it was included as one of the eight major dances of India and thus acknowledged with a classical status. Yet many in India, especially in the south, are not aware about it.
Sisters-in-law Prerona Bhuyan and Madhusmita Bora are on a mission — to take sattriya to the masses. Their sattriya Dance Company is performing at festivals across India and abroad. Thiruvananthapuram was a venue for one such performance recently.
On stage, they were seen as a harmonious duo who matched steps with the mellifluous, nuanced music accompanied by husky-toned percussion instruments.
Sattriya does not have the fast pace of popular classical forms such as Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi or Kathak. Its highlight is soothing footwork and hand gestures that personifies an attitude of surrender and worship.
“We usually try and explain the dance to the audience, as it is still at a stage where it has to be explained to the masses. But in Kerala, we did not have to do that, probably due to the state’s sopana sangeetham traditions,” Madhusmita says.
Both she and Prerona were trained in dance forms such as Bharatanatyam or Kathak before embarking on sattriya studies. “The cultural scene in Assam in the 1990s, when I was growing up, was different. There were hardly any sattriya schools. Also, women rarely performed it. Dance training during those days, hence, meant lessons in Bharatanatyam or Kathak,” Prerona says. She took to sattriya later, bearing now the dexterity to handle several art forms including the Chau, a semi-classical dance form that contains elements of folk traditions.
As for Madhusmita, her training was in sattriya first and then in Kathak. “But my body remembered sattriya more, which I had learnt when young. I went back to sattriya like a fish taking to water again,” says Madhusmita, whose family members were curators of art in the monasteries.
With sattriya making moves into the public forums in 2000, the training in the dance also got an impetus. Its growth was fast.
“The road sattriya could take became clearer then. That we are living in an era where there is great respect for indigenous culture, languages and traditions has added to sattriya’s acceptability.”
Now, there are umpteen sattriya dance schools in Assam. The dance has also attained hybridity; it is as regular as before in the prayer halls even as it is being staged in public fora. All with the “blessings” of the monks or teachers (adhyapaks) of the art. “They are inclusive enough to let the dance evolve without losing its gist,” Madhusmita says.
sattriya bears a naivety, of a person emerging from the confines of an exclusive ecosystem. Hence, it does not display much interpretation or experiments that have otherwise taken over most classical art forms. “The people are yet to be introduced to the dance. Largely, it has retained its pristine form,” Madhusmita says. She stays in the US while Prerona is mostly in Assam and the duo get together regularly to train and stage performances within the country and outside.
This camaraderie and an understanding of the spirituality behind the art form has helped them recreate the namghars wherever they perform. “There is no disconnect. Whatever rituals are to accompany the dance otherwise, we try to recreate them. As for namghars where the dance has to be staged, we prepare one in our hearts before we begin our recital,” Prerona says. Their fervour spills over to the audience, some among them taking part in the worship that the dance offers and the rest enjoying the aesthetics.
The biggest change that sattriya has seen is the inclusion of women as dancers. Changes are welcome in any art form provided they are made with the right intent, according to Prerona and Madhusmita. “There are no gatekeepers in art. It all depends on who is taking the dance up. But the intent is important,” they say, adding as far as sattriya is concerned, the monks have the final say in its construct and composition. “Such accountability is also necessary, as there are now schools in the US, New Zealand, Delhi, etc. where the dance form is being taught,” says Madhusmita.
Prerona and Madhusmita claim the way they dance has changed with time. It is not the same as it was in 2008. Such fluidity is the beauty of Indian classical dances. As the dancer ages, his or her performances get deeper and more meaningful. “This is because dances such as sattriya have a strong spiritual root.”
Origin
Sattriya dance originated in Assam and was founded by 15th century monk Sankardev. The dance, was had rarely been taken out of monasteries before 1958. In 2000, it was recognised as a classical art form.