Sattriya dance · India
Paramaleela
A Sattriya Dance Presentation
Kalpavriksha Dance Ensemble
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · 6:15 PM
Sri Sri Madhavadeva International Auditorium, Guwahati
Credits
Concept, research and direction
Dr Anwesa Mahanta
Dancers
Dr Anwesa Mahanta, Niki Borah, Shruti Sharma, Aditi Saikia, Druvi Mahanta, Vendanshi Krishnatreya
Music direction
Hari Prasad Saikia Barbayan, Gautam Bayan
Khol
Hari Prasad Saikia Barbayan, Debajit Saikia
Cymbals
Hari Prasad Saikia, Debajit Saikia
Vocal
Tarali Sarma, Gautam Bayan
Flute
Pradip Deka, Nabajit Saikia
Violin
Manoj Baruah
Lights
Dr Mrinal Jyoti Goswami
Music: recorded
About the production
Leela, an oft-quoted term in performance genres across India, draws upon a mytho-poetic trajectory from Vedic, Upanishadic and Puranic sources that suggest, in myriad ways, a creative interplay of macrocosmic and microcosmic actions manifested in the universe by a force that is supreme and divine. This creative interplay can be conceived as a response to the acted, where the creative potential depends on the interaction between the performers. Paramaleela includes an interpretive narration centred on the Vaishnavite philosophy of the Sattriya tradition, founded by the saint-poet Srimanta Sankaradeva, as found in the literary texts of Bhakti by the saint-poet and his principal apostle, Sri Sri Madhavadeva.
About the ensemble
A dedicated young exponent of Sattriya dance, Dr Anwesa Mahanta has received accolades from connoisseurs and scholars for the grace and liveliness of her dance and the expressiveness of her abhinaya. A disciple of Bayanacharya Ghanakanta Bora, she received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for 2013–14 and the Charles Wallace Fellowship of the Charles Wallace India Trust and the British Council to conduct research at Queen’s University Belfast. Through Kalpavriksha Dance Ensemble, she and her group have performed at numerous prestigious festivals in India and abroad. The ensemble comprises some of her senior-most disciples, along with collaborations with great masters of Majuli.
From the critics
Reviewers have praised Paramaleela for its “emotion and devotion”, set to the melodious playing of the khol and cymbals, and for pure dance sequences that show the dancers’ immersive joy, reflecting on the semiotic layers of space and the inner and physical energy revolving in it.
Delegate pass · ₹100 per day
Entry to the evening performances is by delegate pass. Each pass costs ₹100 for one day and is available at the counter at the venue.
