Sattriya Dancer From Assam PP Bora Conferred With Padma Shri

An internationally celebrated dancer, Indira PP Bora, has been awarded the Padma Shri this year. Bora is from Assam and one of the 15 personalities from the Northeast to receive the honour. She specialises in Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam and Sattriya dance forms.

Key Takeaways

• P P Bora is a revered exponent of the Sattriya Dance. The Sangeet Natak Akademi of India recognized Sattriya as a classical dance form in 2000.
• Earlier, she had been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Guri Gopinath Desiya Natya Puruskaram.
• Bora has her training institute and carries out seminars and workshops to spread awareness about the various dance forms.

Indira P P Bora began learning the Sattriya Dance from her childhood under Saikia Barbyan, Ghana Kant Bora and Pradip Chahila. She trained in Bharatanatyam for 13 years under the mentorship of Rukmini Debi Arundale in Madras. Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam carried her training in Kuchipudi.

The Sattriya dance is a combination of a dance and drama that originated in the eastern state of Assam. It birthed from the monasteries of Vaishnavism under the blessings of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. These monasteries or “Sattras” were a hub of religious, cultural and spiritual activities for the people in Assam. Saint, Sankandardev spread Vaishnavism through art forms like Sattriya. Also, the Sangeet Natak Akademi of India recognized Sattriya as a classical dance form in 2000.

The Sattriya dance is a combination of a dance and drama that originated in the eastern state of Assam.

Other achievements

Indira PP Bora is a revered exponent of the Sattriya dance and has contributed to this art form immensely. For her contributions, the Sangeet Natak Akademi gave her an award in the year 1996. She has also choreographed songs and poems of many pioneering artists like Rabindranath Tagore, Binshu Rabha, Jyotiprasad Agarwala and more.

Further, in 2019, the Kerela Government recognised her with the highest honour that the state confers. She was selected for the “Guri Gopinath Desiya Natya Puruskaram for popularizing the Sattriya Dance form.

Along with Meneka PP Bora, the mother-daughter duo performs all over the world. Meneka has performed in various festivals like Nritya Parva Festival, Natyanjali Swarn Utsav and various programs organised by the NCPA.

Spreading awareness about Sattriya

In 1982, she set up an institution Kalabhumi in Guwhati. Here, she has been training students in both Sattriya dance and Bharatnatyam. She strives to increase the recognition of the Sattriya form. Hence, she made efforts to work with traditional exponents from “Sattras” and dance scholars. Also, she has conducted research and documented details on Sattriya. Bora also organizes workshops and seminars. In addition to presenting her skills across various national and international forums, she has written several articles about the dance form.

This year, a total of 141 personalities were conferred with Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards. These were presented by the president of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a ceremony.

Also read-Sonal Mansingh, Malini Awasthi Amongst The 2018 Akademi Awardees

Picture Credit: News Indian Express

Vipashyana Dubey is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv