TEZPUR, Nov 20 � Tezpur Zila Satra Mahasabha on Saturday observed the Satriya Divas at Nikamul Satra here. It needs to be mentioned here that Satriya dance is one among the eight principal classical and traditional Indian dance forms.
On November 15, 2000 Satriya dance received recognition as one of the eight classical dance forms of India, when Dr Bhupen Hazarika was the president of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Satriya has remained a living tradition since its creation by the founder of Vaishnavite culture in Assam, the great saint Srimanta Sankardev in the 15th century.
The Satriya and Sudhakantha Bhupen Hazarika Smriti Divas began with prabhat feri in the morning and it was followed by a seminar on Satriya culture, song and dance. Dr Swadhinata Mahanta delivered a lecture on the topic. In her speech she said, �Sankardeva created the Satriya dance form as an accompaniment to ankia nat which were usually performed in the satras. Now, the dance form has reached almost every part of the country from the satras and even abroad.�
Eminent Satriya culture activist Dr Punyabrata Deva Goswami and Dr Gahan Mahanta were present in the programme. Some students performed Satriya dance and sang borgeet. Tributes were paid to Dr Bhupen Hazarika whose efforts enabled Satriya dance to get recognition as a principal classical Indian dance.
