Assamese dance and Rabindra Sangeet
A vignette from the programme. Photo Courtesy: Amit BhattacharyaKavita, New Delhi
Leave politics aside, there are happy tidings on North East India's cultural front. Just one case in pointa recent two-day festival of arts from the banks of the Brahmaputra in New Delhi which brought together classical, folk and tribal dances from Assam state in North East of India and that too accompanied by Rabindra Sangeet. The dances, staged courtesy the Nagaon-based Antara Kalakendra, were choreographed by the talented Mandira Bhattacharjee, who runs the school.
A taste of things to come was the graceful opening item, Sattriya , a classical dance of Assam. Interestingly, the traditional form of performing Sattriya dance was seen in the Vaishnavite monasteries (sattras) by male monks called Bhokots. Over a passage of time modifications were made in the original form and the dance is now performed on the stages of Kala Kendras and the likes.
The show stealers were, without doubt, dances performed by the Karbi, Bhortal and Bodo ethnic groups of Assam. One of the Karbi dances showcased the traditional harvest festival of Karbi Ablong district in Assam. The festival was authentically represented as joyous dance was followed by the dancers sitting down to feast on Karbi wine and food. Another typical Karbi dance, performed at weddings and other auspicious occasions, saw the dancers take magnificent leaps in the air, holding aloft gleaming swords and shields .
Many claps were reserved for the Bhortal dance which centred on a woman balancing brass plates on various parts of her body. The Bodo dance was a powerful representation of another harvest festival. Here women with their tresses flowing and wielding swords gave a superb demonstration of woman power.
Imagine the challenges that lay before choreographer Mandira: distinctive costumes, make up and music for each of the ethnic groups. What made her task even harder was the use of folk instruments to play Tagore songs. However as the evening progressed the dances and Tagore songs unravelled seamlessly, a combination which can often be jarring.
Says Mandira who lives in Guwahati, Assam, “Each indigenous community has different dances and folk instruments. They rarely mix with each other.”
It was also an uphill task, she adds, to retain the original flavour of Rabindra Sangeet played with folk instruments.
The performance over, Sattriya and Bharatanatyam dancer Mandira has a grouse about the lack of patronage. However, with more such performances, neglected North East dances could well enter the mainstream.
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