In another step to celebrate and make the Indian classical dance form of Sattriya known, Mumbai-based dancer Prateesha Suresh will conduct a lecture and demonstration of the dance form at Cymroza Art Gallery tomorrow evening, curated by Dr Prachi Jariwala, renowned Odissi dancer and Ancient Indian Culture scholar. Organised by the Museum Society of Mumbai, the presentation will move into a gallery space for the first time, in an intimate experience for viewers as Suresh unfolds the history and philosophy of Sattriya.

The dance form which is rooted in Assam was visualised and structured by polymath and Vaishnava saint Mahapurusha Sankaradeva in the fifteenth century to propagate neo-Vaishnavism or the Vaishnava faith. Through his efforts, the dance form was practised and preserved in monasteries called Sattras, especially by celibate monks. Suresh notes, “Sankaradeva gave us the Bhagavata Purana in a lucid manner, where one could understand it 
through performance.”