Srimanta Sankaradeva Seminar, London

BY: RINI KAKATI

Sharodi Saikia (right) and Rini Kakati (left)

Jul 10, 2012 — LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SUN) — An illustrated talk and seminar at Nehru Centre, London.

Sankaradeva inspired an artistic and cultural Renaissance in the state of Assam. As a religious leader and social reformer, Sankaradeva deserve to be mentioned with Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Guru Nanak and Tulsi Das.

Assam is a part of India that is often little known, even in India itself, because of its remote location. More importantly, due to neglect there is a relative absence of information about Sankaradeva in the history of the Neo-Vaishnavite Movement in India. This gap in knowledge has existed for a long time, and Srimanta Sankaradev

It is highly imperative that this great saint receives world attention. And also imperative that the life and philosophy and artistic creations of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva and the exposure of Assam's cultural tradition and heritage at the international level is the need of the hour.

On Friday evening 29, June, 2012, a seminar and illustrated talk on the Vaishnavite faith and Sattriya culture of Srimanta Sankaradeva was held at Nehru Centre auditorium. The cultural and heritage building of Indian High Commission, Govt. of India.

From the left: Sharodi Saikia, Richard Blurton, Jayanta Pathak, Rini Kakati and Dr. Nicholas Sutton

The prominent speakers were: Jitendra Kumar, First Secretary, Indian High Commission; Richard Blurton, Head of the South Asian Section in the Department of Asia, British Museum; Dr. Nicholas Sutton, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford; Dr. Audrey Cantlie, author of the book, The Assamese and Reader Emeritus in Anthropology at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies); Sharodi Saikia, Director of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati (the premier cultural institution of Assam) and renowned Sattriya dancer from Assam; and Jayanta Pathak, the composer musician of Dokho Avatar.

Sharodi Saikia giving a lecture demonstration on Sattras and Sattriya culture of Assam

The initiative has been taken by Rini Kakati, NRI Co-ordinator for UK. The dignitaries were felicitated the Assamese traditional way, with phulam gamosha.

Jitendra Kumar, First Secretary, Indian High Commission, in his inaugurating speech said, "The name Sankaradeva is the history of Assam and the pulse of the Assamese nation", and he is honoured for this invitation.

Richard Blurton, Head of the South Asian Section in the Department of Asia, British Museum, spoke highly about Vrindavani Vastra, the wonderful creation of Sankaradeva which was kept at the British Museum. He explained beautifully with a power point presentation the image of Lord Krishna and Vrindavan in this figured silk material.

Dr. Audrey Cantlie and Rini Kakati

Dr. Nicholas Sutton, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford, exploring the interrelationships between the Hindu religion and Vaishnavite faith, gave an informative speech on "The Importance of Sankaradeva in the Development of Hindu Religious Thought".

Dr. Audrey Cantlie, author of the book, The Assamese and Reader Emeritus in Anthropology at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), was born in Shillong in 1923. Her father, Sir Keith Cantlie, served as the Chief Secretary of Assam when Gopinath Bordoloi was the first Chief Minister of Assam. Remembering her time spent in Jorhat as a young wife of Thomas Hayley, who was then the Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat, she is quite familiar with the names of villages, namghar, bhaona, sutradhar, borgeet and Sankaradeva. She gave an emotional speech mentioning "Sankaradeva, the Father of the Assamese Nation".

Dr. Nicholas Sutton and Rini Kakati

Sharodi Saikia, Director of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati (the premier cultural institution of Assam), gave a lecture and demonstration on Sattras and Sattriya culture of Assam. She is invited again to London in October for a solo performance of Sattriya dance on the occassion of celebrating London 2012.

Jaynata Pathak talked about the importance of the 500-year old traditional melodies of Assam and his attempt to bring borgeet to the global audience. Dokho Avatar, the CD album was released by Jitendra Kumar, First Secretary, Indian High Commission.

Through these documentations, the remarkable works of Srimanta Sankaradeva and the rich cultural heritage of the Sattras of Assam has been taken a positive step to get the attention of the outside world.

Richard Blurton showing a Powerpoint presentation on "Vrindavani Vastra" kept at British Museum

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"The Bhakti Movement: Assam" - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four