EVENTS

Nritya Parva

A Festival of Sattriya Dance

15-17 November 2004

Guwahati

The Sangeet Natak Akademi is glad to present once again the "Nritya Parva", festival of Sattriya Dances in Guwahati. This celebration of the Sattriya Tradition of Assam has come to stay as annual feature conceived and organised as part of Akademi's project of support to Sattriya dances and allied traditions. Nritya Parva is meant to provide a common forum to artistes, scholars and rasikas to come together and share their thoughts and ideas and participate in the noble task of carrying forward a significant tradition nurtured over five hundred years. It offers an opportunity to young talents to make a mark on the stage and to their gurus and senior dancers a national platform to present the best of old and new works that they have been working upon round the year.

Nritya Parva 2004 has been designed to ensure participation of maximum number of artistes and adhyapaks as also the sattras situated in different parts of the state. It features performances  - solo, duet, group -- during the evenings and panel discussions on important aspects of Sattriya dance, including its music, during the mornings. Dancers and musicians from the city share the stage with bhaktas from the sattras. Together, they will give us an understanding of the tradition as it continue - to flow and evolve in its original context and environs, as well as the inspired efforts of those who seek to direct the flow from the sattras to the contemporary stage, creating in the process anistic works of aesthetic value which the rasikas in and out of Assam may enjoy. This creative dialogue and interaction is vital to the task of sustaining and enriching the tradition. As we engage ourselves in this important task, we must recall what Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Education Minister of India, said at the inauguration of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953. "Nowhere is it truer than in the field of art that to sustain means to create. Traditions cannot be preserved but can only be created afresh".

Sangeet Natak Akademi's efforts in this direction can bear fruits only with the support and active participation of the state agencies and institutions, intellectuals, artistes and people of Assam on whom lies the first responsibility to sustain and enrich the heritage of the Sattriya traditions not only on their behalf but also on behalf of the entire India. We are glad that the initiative of the National Academy has been fully supported by the Department of Culture, Government of Assam, who willingly took upon themselves the work of planning and implementing the programme of Nritya Parva 2004 with financial support and guidance from the Akademi. We are sure that this active partnership will bear more fruits in years to come. Together we are thankful to individual experts and artistes and to the festival coordinator, Smt. Sharodi Saikia who have worked hard to make Nritya Parva 2004 possible.

Akademi looks forward to enthusiastic participation of the students, artistes and the rasikas in enjoying the fruits of Nritya Parva and hopes that the media and people at large in Assam would lend their full support to the endeavour.

Jayant Kastuar

Secretary

Sangeet Natak Akademi

13.11.2004

Programme

15 November, 2004 : 5.30 pm

Uttar Kamalabari Sattra

Chaitali Dutta, Lopamudra Barpatra gohain, Jupitara

Barthakur

Naren Barua

Satarupa Chatterjee

Prabhakar Goswami, Mirnanda Barthakur

Kamalabari Sattra, Titabar

16 November

Usharani Baishya, Rumi Talukdar, Ritamani Das

Anwesa Mahanta

Dharitri Kalita Das

Jadav Hazarika, Seetarani Hazarika

Natun Kamalabari Sattra

17 November

Auniati Sattra

Parsmita Bharali, Moromi Bora, Lony Mony Sarma

Tanvi Sharma

Rinjumoni Saikia

Sailen Saikia, Sabita Saikia

Badala Padma Ata Sattra