ARTS
From sattras to world stage
No longer restricted to monasteries of faith, sattriya, the living tradition of Assam, is emerging as a secular dance form
Parbina Rashid

Sattriya dancers like Anwesa Mahanta and Dr Mallika Kandali have been instrumental in popularising the dance form

The composition Hai Prananatho, Nakara Banchito, which was written by Madhavdev centuries ago, had never sounded so alluring as it did during a recent dance recital in Guwahati. But, then, the occasion was special. It was a tribute to noted educationist and sattriya exponent Dr Jagannath Mahanta, who had passed away recently.

Dr Mahanta helped to evolve the basic guidelines for sattriya dance in written form, which had always been an oral tradition. Dr Mallika Kandali, sattriya dancer, author and academician, gave a visual lingo to the bargeet (hymn), which was Dr Mahanta’s favourite piece.

Sattriya is a living tradition of Assam that has not only survived over the centuries but also flourished since its creation by Saint Srimanta Sankardev, who founded Vaishnavism in Assam in the15th century. Dr Mahanta recognised the need to bring sattriya out of the sattras (monasteries of the Vaishnavaite faith) and present it to the masses as a secular dance form. The result was recognition of this dance form as a major dance tradition of India in 2000 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

The sattriya dance is an offshoot of the Ankiya Bhaona, one-act plays started by Shankardev. The compositions are based on the stories of kings, demons, gods and goddesses and executed through a detailed illustration of varied expressions and finer feelings of the characters. So, abhinaya, the body and other micro features, along with hastas and elaborate footwork are an integral part of sattriya dance.

The dance is performed according to a well-established system of rhythm. The orchestra consists of the khol (cymbal). Of late, flute and violin, too, have become part of the ensemble. Bargeets, besides other lyrical compositions in addition to the geets written by Shankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva, are the basic musical corpus to support the dance form.

"I look at the practitioners of arts as being arranged in the alignment of a tree. The deep roots are the body of the sattras and the monks therein, who have preserved the art form over five centuries. The trunk is the monks who have renounced sattra life in their mature phase and are available without any religious duties and restrictions, for the promotion of the arts. The branches are many and these are urban, educated and, often, English-speaking, articulate women, who have taken to the dance form during the past four decades," says Dr Arshiya Sethi, an artiste, activist and former creative head-programmes at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Multi-linguists and articulate they may be but most sattriya dancers reflect an overwhelming sense of bhakti to the place of its origin.

Sattriya is not just a dance form but a way of life for Dr Mallika Kandali

"Sattriya dance is not just a dance form which I practice. It's the way of life to which I have been introduced right from my childhood. Hence, I breathe with its philosophy and content. The rich history, philosophy, literature, the range of artistic practices associated with sattriya and the process of practices, which made it a living tradition traversing waves of changes make me one of the proud practitioners of the art tradition," says Anwesa Mahanta, a sattriya dancer and choreographer. Anwesa is associated with KALPA, a society for the Promotion of Literature Art, Culture and Social Harmony. Dr Kandali shares how she loves to visit various sattras and spend time there. "Being part of the sattras strengthen my bond with my roots and it helps seeping in the bhakti ras into my dance form," she says.

But, then, when a dance comes out from its roots to the stage, some innovation, some detour are bound to happen.

"While connoisseurs and masses are thronging city auditoriums to watch the sattriya recitals, this living tradition is facing many challenges, ranging from the tendency on the part of some practitioners to dilute the basics for the want of time or patience to go through the rigours of detailed training to the acts of perhaps too many experimentations in too short a time by some artistes," says Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Managing Trustee, Srimanta Foundation and author of Sattra and Dargahs of Assam.

His comment maybe true but dancers like Dr Kandali have identified certain areas that can be improvised without tempering with the basic fabric of the dance form. "One can experiment with taal and expressions. But there shouldn't be any crossing of the boundaries and one should not experiment just for the sake of experiment," she says.

While keeping the purity is one concern, improvisation is also the need of the hour. "Now that it is out of the sattras, this dance form will need to prepare itself for a schizophrenic existence, of being religious, sacred and spirituality driven in the state and secular, razzmatazz and audience-driven, outside the state," says Dr Sethi. Dancers like Anwesa understand the need to follow Dr Sethi’s suggestions. And she has gone into the depth of its history to come out with her reasons.

"Improvisation or, let me put it as creative inventiveness, has always been a part of the sattriya dance's history. I would also look forward to assimilating the improvisational elements. However, my understanding of the form has been to understand the beats of the tradition in the rhythm of the present. Hence, my attempts have always been to re-visit and research the huge vocabulary of the existing work with a new interpretation." With wisdom and dedication so inspiring, one can safely say that this living tradition of Assam has entered its mature phase.

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