Sattriya dancer Prateesha Suresh on keeping her form alive, and the need for platforms and funding to promote art | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Sattriya dancer Prateesha Suresh on keeping her form alive, and the need for platforms and funding to promote art | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Written by Suanshu Khurana |Updated: June 20, 2019 8:26:10 am

Sattriya dancer Prateesha Suresh on keeping her form alive, and the need for platforms and funding to promote art

Sattriya was developed in the 15th century by Srimanta Sankardev, who was influenced by the then prevalent devadasi tradition, the Natya Shastra, and Odissi.

Sattriya dancer Prateesha Suresh in one of her performances.

About 15 people sat at the 500-seater Sri Sathya Sai Auditorium at Lodhi Road recently as Mumbai-based Sattriya dancer Prateesha Suresh, in her early 50s, took the stage at a concert organised by Assam People Welfare Association. Those present, spoke in hushed tones about how the concert wasn’t promoted enough by the organisers. But when Suresh walked onto the stage, dressed in a sea-green costume in pat silk, to the rhythm of khols, tunes of the flute, and a melodious Borgeet, and presented a story from Krishna Karnamrita, the one where Suresh became Bal Krishna, playfully stealing butter and dancing, the lack of people in the hall didn’t matter. Suresh didn’t stomp her feet as one would in Kathak or Bharatanatyam, but kept the movement nimble and lyrical. “Sattriya is not linear, it’s quite soft and very lyrical as an art form,” says Suresh.