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 11th edition of Nrityakalpa - Dr. Jintu Sarma e-mail: drjintusarma@gmail.com Photos: Arup Jyoti Kalita July 5, 2024 Saptaswa.....the rays of performing art, was established in 2011 aiming to publicize the classical dance forms of Assam and India as a whole. Since its foundation, Saptaswa organizes a national classical dance and music festival named Nrityakalpa where all classical dance forms of India have been featured in the last 10 editions. The 11th edition had three mega events in three different venues.  Lec-dem at NIPS, Mirza The event started with a lecture-demonstration on the topic Evolution of Sattriya dance and its role in development of spiritual, mental and physical growth and was held on 22 May 2024. It was organized by Saptaswa in collaboration with NIPS, Mirza. Anita Sharma acted as resource person. The program was witnessed by about 200 students and faculty of NIPS, Mirza. A Bhortaal Nritya was performed by teacher and student of NIPS, Mirza. Two disciples of Anita Sharma, Namrata and Manjisha, accomplished the demonstrations.  Bipul Das The second program was held at Bengali Theatre, Tezpur on 27 May 2024. The event started with the lighting of lamp by MLA Prithiraj Rabha along with eminent Kathak dancer and guru Bipul Das and Likhan Sarma, Principal of Jyoti Kala Kendra, Tezpur. Pure Kathak was performed by Guru Bipul Chandra Das, who is probably the first Assamese to receive India's National Scholarship for Kathak dance. Das is a disciple of luminaries like Guru Kundanlal Gangani and Pt. Birju Maharaj, and he fuses Jaipur and Lucknow styles in his performance. Another Kathak item was performed by the students of Saptaswa. An Odissi Mangalacharan and Pallavi was presented by a group from Nrityasala, Tezpur, comprising Saranya Mahanta, Kristi Dutta, Sushmita Bora, Devangee Parijat Parasar, Lukhima Bora and was directed by Maya Rani Bora.  Mati Akhora Another soothing attraction of that evening was Khol playing by the young students of Saptaswa and Sangeet Satra, Guwahati. Further, the Mati Akhora (There are 64 different types of Mati Akhoras which are foundation for the learners to make a healthy physical, mental and spiritual set-up which is very necessary for a classical dancer. It is worth mentioning that some Mati-Akhoras are similar to some yogic postures or asanas, which help the learners to maintain a physical and mental discipline) were beautifully displayed by the students of Saptaswa along with Krishna Nach and a special item Kara Tala Kamala based on the first poem of Srimanta Sankaradeva. The third and last programme was held at Sri Sri Madhabadeva International Auditorium, Guwahati on 30th May 2024. The program was graced with the presence of veteran Guru Jatin Goswami and Dulal Roy. Both the Academy Ratna were felicitated specially for their lifelong contribution in the field of dance and drama. The the 4th edition of special souvenir Nrityakalpa was released by the guests including Dr. Mallika Kandali and Atul Dutta. All the invited SNA awardees Anita Sharma, Ranjumoni Saikia, Nuruddin Ahmed; Yuva awardees Meernanda Borthakur, Seujpriya Borthakur, Himangshu Sarma, Dipjyoti Das, Dipankar Arandhara, Dimpi Baishya were felicitated by Saptaswa for their contributions towards the growth of the classical dance forms specially Sattriya.  Ankita Kulabhi  Meghamallika Bora  Seujpriya Borthakur The first item of the evening was Kathak performed by the students of Saptaswa. Then a jugalbandi of tabla and khol titled Nivir Dhwani was performed by noted khol player Kusha Mahanta and tabla artiste Jatin Chetia, along with their group members. After that, Seujpriya Borthakur Goswami from Guwahati performed Ram Katha in Sattriya. This was followed by young energetic Odissi dancer Ankita Kulabhi who started with an Avahani - an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Then she performed splendid abhinaya for Kede chanda jane lo sahi..., which depicts the appeals of Lord Krishna in his young age. Bharatanatyam was performed by Tatini Das, director of Manjary Dance Group. She was accompanied by her students Oindrilla Das, Tanisha Das, Sumedha Sutradhar, Swastika Roy, Priya Paul. Another appealing item was in Sattriya performed by a young, upcoming talent Meghamallika Bora, an engineer by profession. She presented a Rojaghariya Chali with a Krishna Vandana.  Tatini Das & group  Bhismak Nandini The final item of the evening was a special production of Saptaswa - Bhismak Nandini, a Sattriya dance drama which was designed based on Srimanta Sankaradevas Ankia Nat Rukmini Haran and Gunamala. Srimanta Sankaradeva wrote this Ankia Nat in 1560 AD at Patbaushi, Assam, based on the love story of Rukmini, daughter of King Bhishmak of Kundil, and Lord Krishna. The story tells about the divine love of Rukmini for Lord Krishna and how Krishna finally married her overcoming all the hindrances from Rukmavir, brother of Rukmini, who wanted her to tie the knot with his friend Shishupala, the king of Chedi and was an antagonist of Pandavas. Later, he was slain by Krishna. The dance-drama featured Rajib Rag, Prerana Baishya, Tirtha Kumar Nath, Kamal Krishna Thakuria, Kishore Rajbongshi, Himashri Medhi, Himashri Sharma, Kakali Bezbaruah, Juman Gayan, Rashmi Rekha and Violina Deka. The music was composed by Bhaskar Jyoti Ojah, light direction was by Kaushik Borbora. The dance drama was acclaimed by all the rasikas specially Nrityacharya Jatin Goswami. The entire program was anchored by Anita Sharma and Pabitra Bora. The 11th edition of Nrityakalpa was supported by Numaligarh Refinery Limited, Mineral Development Corporation and NEMCARE Group of Institutions.  Dr. Jintu Sarma is Assistant Professor & former Head, Dept. of Botany, Guwahati College. |
