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 17th Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan Sattriya Award Presentation Ceremony- Tapati Chowdhuriee-mail: tapatichow@yahoo.co.in Photos courtesy: Sangeet Sattra August 11, 2025 The 17th Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan Sattriya Award Presentation Ceremony 2025 and the 57th Annual Festival of Dance and Music were held on the 8th and 9th of July at Sri Sri Madhabdeva International Auditorium, Panjabari, Guwahati. Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan, in whose honour this award ceremony is held annually, is the founder and principal of Sangeet Sattra. It was the aim of his life to establish Sattriya dance, music, and Bhaona for the greater glory of the arts and mankind. In his absence, his daughter Ranjumoni Saikia, aided by his younger daughter Rinjumoni, has been breathing life into what was closest to his heart. Awards are given to star artistes from all walks of life, who live in the nooks and corners of the globe. The Annual Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan Sattriya Award 2025 was conferred upon Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, a renowned flautist; Pt. Rajendra Gangani, a Kathaka and son of the Pt. Kundanlal Gangani of Jaipur gharana; and Karunadhar Sarmaa, a famed musicologist, by Lakshman Prasad Acharya, the Hon'ble Governor of Assam. The award presentation was on the 8th of July. The distinguished guests present were Guru Jatin Goswami, B. Kalyan Chakraborty (Additional Chief Secretary to the Cultural Affairs), and Sudarshan Thakur (Secretary, Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra).  The awardees The first day of the festival started with a Borgeet and Khol symphony on the Borgeet "Tana pano bine rokhiko Gobinda..." composed by Sri Sri Madhabdeva. The lyrical sense of the performance was arranged by Gautam Bayan, and the rhythm was set by Arunabh Jyoti Malakar in raag Gauri, Taal Poritaal, Dharamjyoti Taal, and Potpori Taal. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp, welcoming the guests, and presenting of the awards.  Gopika Varma The award presentation ceremony was followed by a solo Mohiniyattam recital by Gopika Varma from Chennai. She performed a soulful abhinaya piece from the works of the Maharaja of erstwhile Travancore - "Viseswara darshana kare chalo mana tum Kasi." Gopika Varma's matchless abhinaya of bhakti bhava immersed the audience in devotional thoughts on Lord Viswanath of Kasi, whose compassion releases human beings from the cycle of birth and rebirth.  Arunabha Jyoti Malakar and group Arunabha Jyoti Malakar's Khol Vadan, which followed soon after, presented some of the traditional rhythms of Gayan Bayan, followed by a few bistars of Ektaal and Poritaal. Since rasikas identified themselves with the rhythms they were very familiar with, their appreciation created an amiable atmosphere. The much-awaited Sattriya nritya performance followed sequentially one after the other, much to the delight of a jam-packed hall. Starting with Vandana, students of Sangeet Sattra performed a pure dance and ended with an abhinaya piece. To sum up, the dancers presented a Krishna Vandana, followed by a pure lasya repertoire, Chali Nach, and then a Borgeet abhinaya depicting their eternal love for Shri Krishna. The seniors who performed were Juri Das, Elizi Ojah, Avantika Choudhury, Nishita Parashar, Ruma Rulika Bhuyan, Priyanka Bayan, Himakhi Kalita, Nimisha Baruah, and Anashuya Goswami. Bahar Nach was again a Vandana of Krishna in pure tandav style by the 2nd and 3rd year students.  Sangeet Sattra Guwahati The concluding performance of the day was a Sattriya dance presentation by a few of the CCRT scholarship holders of Sangeet Sattra. They performed a Guru Vandana, a pure lasya nritya named Gopi Nach, and an abhinaya depicting roop varnan of Shri Krishna. They seemed to be on the right way to perfection under the scrutiny and care of Ranjumoni Saikia, their senior guru. On the 9th of July, the Tonmoyee Bordoloi Memorial Sangeet Vaswar Award was given to Geetika Dutta, an exponent in both Sattriya and Odissi dance. This award is presented every year in the memory of one of the finest students of Sangeet Sattra, Tonmoyee Bordoloi, who lost her life at a very young age.  Dr. Boris Dutta The starting performance of the day was by Dr. Boris Dutta. He performed a piece on a Sloka from Bhagavat Purana along with Gosain Pravesh Nach, which is a pure dance piece. He also performed the 'tutoi' abhinaya "Madhu danava darana deva barang" in Ektaal, which referred to a Sanskrit hymn by Srimanta Sankaradeva, which the great saint had rendered on first meeting Nara Narayana, the king of Assam. Dr. Boris Dutta belongs to a culturally rich family who carry forward the Sattriya dance tradition after his father, the late Jibanjit Dutta of Garamur Sattra in Majuli. Jibanjit Dutta was the first student of Guru Rasheswar Saikia Barbayan. He has completed a Ph.D. in performing arts and is also the only male Sattriya dancer who has cleared UGC NTA NET.  Abhisek Das It was a pleasant surprise to see Abhisek Das, a Bharatanatyam performer, in this northeastern state of India. Das hails from Bongaigaon. He mesmerised the audience with an abhinaya piece on Tulsidas's Hanuman Chalisa, followed by a Tillana in raag Desh. His gait and his precision in footwork and abhinaya were flawless. After Bharatanatyam there was a group Sattriya nritya performance under the mentorship of Gayatri Konwar. They presented a Guru Vandana, followed by Gopi Nacha and a Borgeet abhinaya depicting roop varnan of Shri Krishna. Another abhinaya-based production by the dancers of Sangeet Sattra was based on the ancient story of Samudra Manthan, depicted aesthetically.  A duet dance performance by Swapnali Chutia Hazarika and Dibya Sharma from Duliajan after the ancient tale was quite a change. The duo had chosen to perform the first sloka from the Keli Gopal Naat of Sankaradeva and continued with Gopi Nach and ended with an abhinaya again from Keli Gopal, which showcased the events of Putana Vadh, Aghasur Vadh, and Kaliya Daman. It was tradition all through, which never ceased to hold its value. Krishna Nritya by the little buds of Sangeet Sattra was enjoyed too. Students of Rasaraj Sangeet Vidyalaya were invited to present 'Nitya Gusai Nritya,' which was again very traditional.  Rangalay Kala Kendra students Abhijit, Kishor, and Gaurab performed the complete sequence of Jhumur Nritya, a male dance form that included the Ramdani part, the Geetor Nach, and the Mela Nach of Sattriya dance. The festival ended with Sita Swayamvar from the play Shri Ram Bijay of Sankaradeva, which was choreographed ably by Rinjumoni Saikia and performed by the 4th and final year students of Sangeet Sattra. The choreography of the performances of Sangeet Sattra was by Ranjumoni Saikia, Rinjumoni Saikia, Juri Das, and Avantika Choudhury. Music was designed by Dhrubajyoti Pathak and Arunabha Jyoti Malakar.  Tapati Chowdhurie trained under Guru Gopinath in Madras and was briefly with International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi. Presently, she is a freelance writer on the performing arts. She is the author of 'Guru Gopinath: The Making of a Legend.' |
