Carrying the legacy of Gaudiya Nritya across borders

Noted Gaudiya dancer Rachel Priyanka Perris developed a keen interest in dance from an early age. She met Mahua Mukherjee in 2004 at a 15-day dance workshop, where she was performing with the popular dance troupe Nrityanchal. The workshop changed her life forever, compelling her to choose Gaudiya Nritya professionally. In a candid chat with The Daily Star, Gaudiya Nritya exponent Mahua Mukherjee and her protégé Rachel Priyanka Perris share their experiences, and more.

Rachel clearly remembers the first time that she came across her dance guru Mahua Mukherjee. "Almost 200 dancers from all over the world attended the workshop to get a glimpse at Gaudiya Nritya. It was my first proper workshop," she says. After planning and working her way up for a couple of years, Rachel finally decided to visit Mahua Mukherjee in 2006. "I didn't even try for any other university, I had to get the ICCR scholarship," she adds. Rachel chose Bharatanatyam as her subject, since there was no major graduation course in Gaudiya Nritya at that time.

Mahua Mukherjee was introduced to dancing by her grandparents when she started living with them in Chhattisgarh from the age of five. "The first aspect that won over my mind was the tribal folk dance of Chhattisgarh. After coming across performances of maestros like Birju Maharaj and Lila Samson, I started inclining towards classical dance," she mentions.

Mahua Mukherjee

At the tender age of three, she met her first dance teacher, 'Shapan Master' who came from Raipur, four stations away from Chhattisgarh to teach a batch of girls once a week, as many could not afford to pay for his classes. Within a couple of years, Mahua started performing at various festivals, including Rabindra Jayanti and Nazrul Jayanti. "I used to go to Bhatapara three times every year to pair up with the tribal girls and dance on their routines," she reminisces.

During her eleventh grade, Mahua Mukherjee grew keen on exploring the origin of classical dance. She started gathering pieces of evidence in this regard, treasuring anything she could find in textbooks to discover  glimpses of dancers in literature. She later went on to restore the long-lost dance form Gaudiya Nritya over the next 20 years, with her resources.  Her research involved examining old sculptures in museums, temples, and other archeological sites.

When asked about their events and work together, the Guru-Shishya duo said that they have lost count of the number of times  they performed together. "During my time in Kolkata, we performed at numerous shows, especially between 2010 and 2014 until my training was complete and I came back home," shares Rachel. "With long train journeys, and almost no time to rest, we flew from sets to stages spreading the magic of Gaudiya Nritya," adds Mahua. Later, duo was reunited when Mahua Mukherjee returned to Dhaka as the Rabindra chair for Dhaka University.

Both of them also addressed characteristics that they admire the most about each other. "I used to scold Rachel for her over fascination with make-up, but her tenacious heart for classical dancing won my respect," smiles Mahua. "Her determination to keep on learning and improving year after year, even after attaining fame showcases her love towards dance."

Rachel expressed her adoration for Mahua, not just as a dancer, but also for being an amazing teacher. "Mahua aunty knows how to forge an artiste from a simple girl," she shares. "She taught me how dance is like a bird, with two wings, one bearing the burden of theoretic knowledge and the other holding on to the beauty of perfect execution."

"Be it her classes, her household duties, her dance rehearsals or performances, Mohua aunty manages it all within just 24 hours seamlessly. I wish I could multitask like her," Rachel further adds.

The duo also shared that dance should be a discipline to learn, not only a source of entertainment. "If the standards for a singer, instrumentalist and dancer are at similar levels, dancers are counted at the tail of the hierarchy, due to popularity," says Mahua Mukherjee.

Rachel supported her point. "We need to get out of these attitudes to uplift dancing at a national level," she concludes.