KOCHI: Two dances that bear the freshness of the hills and the sweetness of rivers that flow through the northeast, with movements as misty and mystical as people in the land of the seven sisters where life and time move in graceful pace to enjoy the simplicity of existence. It was this experience that was recreated on stage at Bharat Bhavan on Monday at the second edition of the Padma Vibhushan Dr Kapila Vatsyayan Indian Classical Dance Festival.
For Dr Somabha Bandopadhyay and Dr Shreya Mahata, whose mild-mannered hand gestures and movements full of poise brought forth all the glory of Manipuri dance on stage, the art is a legacy of prayer handed down through generations.
“For me, it is literally so, because I learnt it in the womb of my mother Dr Shruti Bandopadhyay. She was supposed to perform today but couldn’t as she is not well,” says Somabha. As for Shreya, a PhD scholar from Visva Bharati University and a student of Shruti Bandopadhyay, Manipuri dance is her topic of study.
The art form’s heritage is rooted in Vaishnavism and is famously known more as a prayer than a dance. “Essentially, ras leela forms the central theme of the performances,” Somabha says.
Its origin dates back to the 18th century, when the Meitei king Ching Thang Khomba (Rajarshi Bhagyachandra) of Manipur formally codified it as a well-structured art form. However, it existed even before in the Jagoi traditional dances of the Meitei tribe as a worship.
Steeped in bhakti and structured as per the Natya Shastra, it preserved its sanctity. Though the British banned it in the late 19th century terming it, and all other classical art forms, as immoral, Manipuri remained intact in its structure. The revival happened later, at the hands of Rabindranath Tagore, who was mesmerised by a performance he saw in Bangladesh and inducted it as a topic of study at Shantiniketan.
“It was this experience of Tagore that brought dance to Bengal; this is what inspired Bengali women to dance. Otherwise, the women in conservative families were reluctant to come out. Also, one can see the influences of Manipuri in the dance form that is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s works — the Rabindranritya. My mother has extensively worked on that topic,” says Somabha.
The changing times in Manipur have not brought down the fervour of people towards the dance, say the dancers. “That is something in their genes. From the time they are up for the day till dusk, they move about with the grace and subtlety that is depicted in Manipuri artistically. The movements are inbuilt among them. So, however time moves, the culture will never fade away. More than that, it is spreading now beyond the northeast and is being learnt by the younger generation of dancers. The Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy in Delhi itself trains several dancers each year,” says Somabha, also an advocate who works at the National Forensic Laboratory.
The other dance form that entranced the audience here, Sattriya, is also a mode of worship for Krishna. But it differs in character. “There is no Radha in the culture of the Sattras from which the dance form emerged. There is only one God, one purusha — Krishna. The rest are jivas or gopis. The theme is strictly based on Bhagavatham and the dance was originally restricted to the sattras and performed only by celibate monks,” says Guru Ramakrishna Talukdar, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and the first from Assam to get Doordarshan’s ‘A’ grade accreditation in Sattriya.
Also an acclaimed author and a Kathak exponent, he performed at Bharat Bhavan with his team of five dancers. His wife Rumi Talukdar, who teaches at the couple’s Nartan Kala Niketan in Guwahati, was also in the team.
The dance form, if restricted within the walls of the sattras in the river island of Majuli in Assam, would either have remained exclusive or faded away in due course of time had it not been brought out and taken to the masses, he says. “I was the first formal graduate degree holder in Sattriya dance and music in the state from the Guwahati University,” says Talukdar, who is also credited with several books being followed as part of the state school curriculum.
Sattriya has undergone some changes to suit the times. But its grammar and technique remain the same as formulated by the Vaishnavite saints Shrimanta Sankaradeva and his disciple Madhabdeb. “Its creative reach and the classical base are strong enough for it to be explored further. Since it is quite a newly recognised classical art form, there is a lot of scope for improvisation,” say Tushti Tanaya Saharia and Jayeeta Prashar, Talukdar’s young disciples.
As Talukdar and his team performed, the emotional fervour that the art form encompasses, well structured by music, peppered by profound footwork, and the bhava of sharanagati or submission to the supreme filled the air. They transformed the stage into the foothills of Assam, where monks still follow the Sattras worship. However, the monks are a tad bit critical of the presentations outside, Taludukar informs.
“Yet Sattriya is a dance that brings forth all components of nritta and natya, and there are many like us who are following it with passion,” say Shibangi Ratna Barua and Monalisa Gautam, two more of the Talukdar team.
Both these dances are similar in tone — soft, graceful movements of the body and the eyes and well interspersed with the rigour of nritta (technique). They also evoke similar sentiments of worship, devotion, and sublime love for the divine. Yet they are different in their construct — while one highlights the trance-like joy of total submission to love in devotees, the other underlines the oneness that the devotee feels while submitting to a higher ideal.