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Ankia Bhaona is the dramatic form developed by the Vaishnavite reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1568) to awaken devotion in the people while imparting scriptural knowledge. The plays are known as Ankia Naat, while the performance is termed Bhaona. In Bhaona (practised in the sattras of Assam), although there is speech, the actors enter and exit using dance steps. The language is Brajabali, which includes Hindi, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Assamese and Sanskrit. Bhaona includes all the nine rasas. The tenth rasa is bhakti. In the middle, all the different rasas will come, but it will always end with bhakti. There is something for everyone -Sanskrit for the learned, Brajabali for the pandits, masks and humour for the ordinary folks. The sutradhar links the scenes, using dance, song, verses and prose. (Haricharan Bhuyan Borbayan in 'Beyond the nine rasas' by Anjana Rajan, The Hindu Friday Review, Nov 10, 2017)

The theatrical form that preceded Ankia Naat was Cihna Jatra. Sankaradeva wrote and performed just one Cihna Jatra. He created the Vrindavani Vastra as the backdrop for this performance. It was painted with depictions of the seven vaikunthas (heavens) and was 60 feet by 120 feet. It is now in the museum in London. From the Cihna Jatra developed Ankia Naat. While the Cihna Jatra depicted the larger leela or stories of Vrindavan, naats deal with single episodes. (Haricharan Bhuyan Borbayan in 'Beyond the nine rasas' by Anjana Rajan, The Hindu Friday Review, Nov 10, 2017)

(Courtesy 'Dances of the world on postage stamps,' Alkis Raftis)

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