All-woman troupe to perform Assam's Ankia Naat

In the past one year, the city has witnessed various aspects of Assamese culture through performances of Assam's art forms by renowned artistes from the north-eastern state. Here's another opportunity for Mumaikars: Assam Tourism is showcasing 'Ankia Naat Bhaona' — a 15th century performing art form — propagated by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev.

Sankardev, a social and religious reformer, integrated various features from ancient Sanskrit drama and other traditional dramatic art forms to his innovative creation of Ankia Naat. Traditionally performed by males, this 'Ram Bijoy Ankia Naat' will be staged by a number of female artistes from the Assamese film industry, including top actresses like Moloya Goswami, Chetana Das, Madhurima Chaudhuri, Borosha Rani and Nishita Goswami.

In a concerted effort with Raginee, a socio-cultural organisation based in Guwahati, Assam Tourism has envisaged promoting cultural tourism by introducing and exposing cultural traditions of the state to audiences across India and global destinations. In a statement, VS Bhaskar, principal secretary, department of tourism and transport, Assam, said: "Assam has a rich cultural heritage and we see a great opportunity in building tourism properties around our cultural heritage."

Madhurima Chaudhuri, president of Raginee, said: "It is for the first time that such an endeavour has been undertaken. We are indebted to Assam Tourism, indeed. It's a matter of immense pride that all the traditions of a Bhaona have been adhered to while trying to break away from the male bastion of the performing system."

In all, 50 artistes, including musicians, will be part of the troupe in Mumbai. Among the 30 performers on stage are some home-makers who have endured tough moments and squeezed out precious time from their schedule to prepare for this dance drama. Learning from the word 'go', they are now at the peak of confidence to show their mettle to the world.

"I am proud of them. We are professional actors, but they (home-makers) have shown us what dedication can lead to," said Choudhuri, who is responsible for the concept design and direction.

The performance will depict Ram Bijoy — a set of stories from the 'Ramayana'. The Naat direction is by Jibonjit Dutta and Narayan Kalita.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi will be the chief guest at the function, which is set to take place at 6:30pm, on January 24, at Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.