In Assam we have a traditional classical dance form which is called ‘Sattriya Nritya‘. The form has got practitioners across the world.
Classical dances of India are various styles of dance forms which are performed in a sacred way which is generally story based on good and evil.
These dances are in practice in different regions of India from ancient times. In general there are 8 classical dances of India. Today let us know about a duo, who have been practising this form of art, for quite a long now. So, let’s hear from them:
“Hello everyone, this is Dipankar Arandhara and Deepjyoti Das, a Guwahati based dancing duo who have been practising the Sattriya dance form for quite a long time now. Both of us graduated in Sattriya from the luit konwar Rudra Babuab State College of Music in Sattriya Dance and Kathak dance in the year 2012. We started performing together from our degree days and it was in the year 2008 when we began to provide dance lessons and we opened our own dance institute in Beltola which we named ‘Manikanchan’. Hereafter we did our Master’s degree in Performing Arts from Dibrugarh University.
Those days are quite fresh in my mind. I remember it was in the year 2013, I and Dipjyoti received the Nrityanjali award in the north-east dance and drama festival.
During Covid:
Everything was going perfect, but then Covid-19 prevailed. Before Covid we had a stage to perform and days were running smoother as we used to earn from that too.
The prevalence of the virus has now left us only with the dance classes on which we are wholly dependent. Time is now a bit tough and tight.
But the fact we realised from this little struggle is that an individual should atleast get a side job. Nevertheless, we hope good days come again, so that the lives of every struggling individual gets back to normal.
Achievements of Dipjyoti and Dipankar
Oh by the way, did we tell you that We are the first sattriya Dancer to showcase our traditional dance form in a National level Reality show which was aired by DD National. Besides, we are empanelled artists from ICCR for the first time in the duet category in sattriya dance. These are the few achievements, whose memories push us to get going and do more in life.
To the younger generation
Sattriya is a gift which was endowed to us 500 years back by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva and as practitioners of Sattriya we to the new generation who have just stepped in to learn this divine form of art to perform and practice each and every step with precise learning and dedication.”
