Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It was initially created as part of Bhaona which are performances of Ankiya Nat, one-act plays, originally created by Sankardev, a 15th-16th century polymath from Assam. These dances are part of the living traditions today of Sattra, which are communities of live-in devotees belonging to the Ekasarana Dharma, a Hindu sect established by Sankardev.
Darrang is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters are located at Mangaldoi. The district occupies an area of 1585 km2.
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts.
Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the literary works in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form and its cultural heritage and tradition. The literary heritage of the Assamese language can be traced back to the c. 9–10th century in the Charyapada, where the earliest elements of the language can be discerned.
Though the precise Etymology of Assam, a state in India is unclear—there is general agreement that it is related to the Ahom people. Whatever the source of the English name, Assam is itself an anglicization.
Khagen Mahanta was a singer and composer of folk and traditional music of Assam. Khagen Mahanta was a notable person in Assamese folk music and known as the "King of Bihu". His Bihu songs, Borgeet and other folk songs remain popular in Assam. The artist, along with his wife Archana Mahanta and son Angaraag Mahanta who is known as Papon, represent one of the most influential families in Assamese music. He died on 12 June 2014.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Akademi and is "restricted to 40 individuals at any given time".
Jatin Bora is an Indian actor and director who has appeared in Assamese language films since 1989. He is also an actor and director in some mobile theatre (Bhramyaman) groups of Assam, including Aabahan, Hengool, Ashirbaad, Bhagyadevi, Kohinoor, Itihas and Surjya.
Bayanacharya Ghanakanta Bora Muktiyar is a choreographer and guru of Sattriya dance, a major classical dance tradition of Assam, India and Pakistan. He is also a renowned instrumentalist and author. He has won the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001.
Dimbeswar Neog (1899–1966), also known as the Indradhenu Poet, was a renowned writer, literati, critic, educator and poet of Assamese literature.
Kamrupi culture refers to the cultural norms of people of colonial Kamrup district.
Lalit Chandra Nath popularly known as Lalit Oja or Lalit Chandra Nath Oja was a notable person from Assam. He was born to a poor family in Saatghoriya Gaon, Sipajhar, Darrang district in 1923. His father Bhuban Chandra Nath was also an Sukananni Oja. Faguni Devi was his mother. He has been awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1983 and again in 2012 the same organization honoured him with the Rabindranath Tagore award for his expertise in Sukananni Ojapali and for contribution in popularizing this traditional folk art form. He has performed Ojapali and Deodhani dance in various places in and outside India.
Deodhani dance is a Shaman folk dance from the Indian state of Assam. It can be performed either solo or in a group. Deodhani is of Bodo origin. A group performance of Deodhani generally consists of three or four women. The dance form is associated with the worship of the snake goddess Marei/Maroi. A Deodhani dance is generally performed to the accompaniment of songs sung by an Ojha, a Bodo traditional chorus leader in the Darrang district of Assam.
Professor Maheswar Neog was an Indian academic who specialised in the cultural history of the North East India especially Assam, besides being an Assamese-language scholar and poet. He was a top Indologist, and his work covers all disciplines of Indian studies, folk-lore, language, dance, history, music, religion, drama, fine arts, paintings, historiography and hagiography, lexicography and orthography, epigraphy and ethnography. His research includes multi-dimensional features of Vaishnava renaissance in Assam through Srimanta Sankardev, Madhabdev, Damodardev, Haridev, Bhattadev and other Vaishnava saints of Assam.
Jatin Goswami is an Indian dancer and choreographer, known as one of the prominent exponents of the classical dance form of Sattriya. He is the founder director of Sattriya Akademi, Guwahati, a sitting member of its Advisory Committee, and a former member of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He is also the founder of Alok Shilpi Sangha, a dance academy and Pragjyoti Kala Parishad, a cultural organization, and is a recipient of the 2004 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to Sattriya dance.
Samarendra Narayan Dev is a national award winner veteran film director. His film career, spanning four decades, has also brought laurels and recognition to Assam. His first independent celluloid depiction, Aranya (1971), was based on the dwindling rhinoceros population in Assam. It brought him the National Award in the best feature film category (regional) in 1971.
Atul Chandra Barua was the 46th president of Asam Sahitya Sabha and a prominent name in the modern Assamese literature. He was an ACS officer and an Assamese writer. He worked for the cause of Darrangi culture and was conferred with the title "Darrang Ratna".
Shougrakpam Hemanta is an Indian comedian, actor, writer and director, who has worked in various Shumang Kumhei plays and Manipuri films. He is well known for his role of Oja Tolhan in Eegi Mahao and his portrayal of the title role in the movie Mantri Dolansana. In 2017, he was conferred with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in recognition of his contribution in the traditional Meitei theatre of the Shumang Kumhei. With this, he became the first person to receive the award for this art form.
