- ANOSUYA DAS
- Duliajan
The great Saint Mahapurush Shrimanta Shankerdev created a dance form, which is now one of the major forms of classical dances in India. It is popularly known as Sattriya (Assamese: সত্ৰীয়া) or Shankari Nrittya and was recognized as a major classical dance form in 2000 by Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is in the form of dance-drama performances which tells us different stories about people, especially legends and mythologies of Lord Krishna. It originated from Krishna-centered Vaishnavi monasteries of Assam known as “Satra” which was attributed by 15th century Bhakti movement scholar Mahapurush Shrimanvta Shankardev. In these “Satras” only males students are accepted and they live a simple life of a monk which consist of certain set of rules and regulations plus they were taught all type of performing arts such as “Gayan” (singing), “Bayan" (playing instrument) and “Nartan”.
Great scholar Mahapurush Shrimanta Shankardeva systematized and sorted the dance forms using the ancient text and also introduced drama through expressive dance (nritta and nritya) as a form of religious art for ultimate devotion to Lord Krishna. Since the beginning of 15th century, the art of Shankari Nrittya grew as a part of Vaishnava Bhakti movement. One very important and distinctive ideology of Shankari dance inside namghar(monasteries) is that the dance is not celebrated before any religious idol, but is performed in front of a book of the Bhagavata Purana placed in the eastern corner called Manikut of Namghar. Before Shankari Nrittya was a domain of male monks. Sattriya dance tradition is governed by strictly laid down principles in respect of hastamudras (hand gesture), footworks, aharyas (costume), music etc.
This dance has two distinctly different streams - the Bhaona-related repertoire and the dance numbers which are independent.
Shankari Nrittya has everything from Gayan-Bhayanar Nach to the Kharmanar Nach. It includes nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), and natya (dramatic play). Just like in any major classical dance form, Sattriya also has three categories of performances:
· The Nritta performance is compilation of fast and rhythmic side of the dance. It is presented with pure movement, where the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, pattern and style. There is no story telling in this part of the repertoire (no interpretative aspect).
· The Nritya is more slower and expressive side of the dance that attempts to deliver feelings of the storyline particularly with spiritual ideas and themes. In nritya, the performance goes on to tell a story, through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than just the enjoyment for the eyes; it aims to involve the emotions and mind of the audience.
· The Natya is a play, generally a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo artist where the dancer uses certain body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya includes the elements of a Nritya.
Shankari Nrittya is a genre of dance drama that tells mythical and religious stories through hand and face expressions. The basic dance steps and exercise of a Shankari Nritya is called a Mati Akhara. These are the foundational sets of moves the dancers learn during their training. The Akharas are subdivided into Ora(half siting), Saata, Jhalak, Sitika, Pak(spin), Jap(jumps), Lon(back bridge) and Khar(flips). A performance integrates two styles, one Paurashik Bhangi (masculine, energetic with jumps and flip), and Stri Bhangi( Lasya or delicate or feminine).
Traditionally, Shankari Nrittya was performed only by bhokots (male monks) in Sattras as a part of their daily rituals or to mark special festivals. Today, in addition to this practice, this dance form is also performed on stage by men and women who are not monks of the sattras.
The next stream of Shankari Nrittya is the dance numbers which are independent, such as Chali, Rajagharia Chali, Jhumura, Nadu Bhangi etc. Among these styles the “Chali” is characterized by its grace, sophistication, delicate movements and elegance, on the other the hand “Jhumura” is significant for its vigour, agility, masculinity and beauty.
On top of that this dance form has numerous amounts of styles such as the Sutradhara (Narrator), character specific Bhangi, Prabesh (entry), Nritya and Jhumura. The Sutradhara is a narrator style dance that tells a story and presents the audience with the summary of the play in a spiritual way in a complete classical dance format: nritta, nritya and natya. One feature of the Sutradhara (or Sutradhari) style is that, the included commentaryand dialouge for the audience is in Bajrabali
Ankiya Nat is a sub-genre consisting of one-act plays of Sattriya. These are compositions which feature a ballad, dance, drama and also orchestra (Duhar).The different character- specific styles of Shankari Nrittya have their own costumes variations, and focuses on the different life stages and things of Radha, Krishna and the “Gopis”.
Costumes
The costume of Shankari dance is primarily of two types: the male costume consisting of the dhoti and Chadar(piece of cloth wrapped around body) and the paguri ( turban) and the female costume consists of the ghuri (skirt), chadar and kanchi (waist cloth). Traditionally the costumes were made of white or golden colour with a hint of red, blue and yellow intricate floral designs for specific dance numbers. In earlier days Assam silk, Muga, Paat(type of silk) and hand woven cotton materials were mostly used for the costumes but now a day’s people use synthetic materials also, like satin and chiffon . With change of time, as this dance form evolved from, the design and materials of the dance costumes also evolved. Other brilliant colours are also used in the female costumes. These hand-woven materials normally have intricate local motifs like Kingkhap, Miri Motif, Kolka etc.
Usages of play-oriented costumes are also seen in Shankari Nrittya. The dress of Krishna Nritya and Nadubhangi Nritya is of yellow and blue in accordance to the attire of Lord Krishna. The Sutradhar Nritya also has its particular white costume with a paguri (turban).
Traditional Assamese jewelleries are used in Sattriya dance which are made of raw gold with special techniques. Dancers wear Kopali on the forehead, Gaam Kharu and Muthi Kharu (bracelets and bangles), different type of necklaces and pieces like Mata Moni, (for male dancers), Golpata, Dhulbiri (shaped like the musical instrument dhol), Bena (pendant shaped).
Shankari Nrittya is one of not only Assam’s but also India’s precious gem. It is an old art and we the future generation should make effort to keep it alive. It is the identity of Assamese culture, so one should help and support the artists to promote this dance form.The artists should also keep in mind that they should keep Shankari Nrittya in its purest form and not let outside influences degrade its authenticity and purity.
