According to the following news appeared in The Telegraph, "the divine form of Satria dance" is actually Culture of Assam.
Just wondering if this means the "divine form of Satriya dance" may not be called Assamese Culture. Thanks, Nili Pathak http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070227/asp/northeast/story_7443963.asp Make no mistake, its culture of Assam - In step with tradition OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT An artiste from Assam performs Sattriya at the festival in New Delhi on Monday. Picture by Ramakant Kushwaha New Delhi, Feb. 26: Assam has gone into overdrive to portray its culture, but with a footnote: the state wants it termed the culture of Assam, not Assamese culture. It was for the well-heeled of the national capital that a well-rehearsed series of programmes was held here, to send out the message loud and clear regarding Assams diversity. Inaugurated on Saturday, the Brahmaputra Beat Festival encompassed a variety of folk dances and Sattriya dance recitals by troupes from Assam. The venue was the India International Centre. The series of performances culminated at the big show today at the Balayogi auditorium in Parliament. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee inaugurated the function. Sattriya dance performances delighted audiences today, while the first ever composite show of Mising, Deori, Bodo, Rabha, Karbi, Hajong, Tiwa and tea tribe dances was held on Saturday. Said guru Jatin Goswami, under whose tutelage the artistes trained: That we have presented all these dance forms goes to show we are here to showcase the culture of Assam and not Assamese culture. There is a difference. The 74-year-old guru today directed Sattriya dance recitals for the MPs from all over the country. People from the audience, apparently some designers, came backstage and asked us about the costumes, said Goswami. Typical percussion, blended with wind instruments and strings, comprise the high point of the Sattriya dance form. The performances are in true satra tradition, as handed down through the centuries from Srimanta Sankardev. His legacy still lives in the 30-odd satras or gurukuls in Assam, all with their distinct forms of devotional dances and songs. The organiser of the first-ever such performance at Parliament, Asom Gana Parishad MP Arun Sarma, said it was imperative that the culture of Assam be showcased. It is a national classical dance and people should know there is more than just militancy in the state, he said. Sarma felt that on a hot political day, when temperatures soared after the railway budget was presented, it would be nice for MPs to cool off at a cultural evening. On Saturday, Delhiites watched entranced for an-hour-and-a-half the dance form from the Kamalabari satra, one of the oldest satras on Brahmaputras Majuli island. One of the largest river islands in the world, it is known to be the window to not only Assamese culture, as seen in the satras, but also to the culture of Assam with its huge population of Mising tribals living in their stilt houses. Sarma, aided by a New Delhi-based NGO, organised the series of shows in the national capital. It was a unique experience. We felt as if we were the ambassadors of the culture of our state, said dancer Arunima Gogoi.
