Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), High Commission of India to Dhaka, is organising performance of a 13-member Gaudiya Nritya troupe from Kolkata at National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on January 23. The troupe will also perform at Rajshahi Shilpakala Academy today Professor Dr Mahua Mukherjee, presently Tagore Chair Professor in Dance Department, University of Dhaka, is leading the 13-member Gaudiya Nritya troupe from ‘Gaudiya Nritya Bharati’, Kolkata. Prof Mahua Mukherjee has been doing research for over thirty years on Gaudiya Nritya, classical dance of Bengal, and has brought this almost extinct dance form to the fore. As per her research findings, ‘Gaud’ – the name of ancient Bengal had this form of classical dance. Gaudiya Nritya is a composite art-form enriched with drama, poetry, colours and rhythm. The ‘Gaudiya Nritya Bharati’ troupe regularly performs in prestigious events in major cities in India. Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has sponsored their performances in many dance festivals in India. They have also performed many times under the banner of ICCR Horizon Series in Kolkata, Delhi and Lucknow. They have performed in Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, on three occasions in the presence of Governor of West Bengal, India. They have also performed in the USA, in San Fransisco and Los Angeles, in Indian Classical Dance Festivals.
Professor Mahua Mukherjee, MSc PhD (Botany) from Calcutta University, started her career as a Lecturer in Botany. As she had a passion for dance since childhood, side by side she learnt dance and did extensive research in dance. She was made Reader in Dance in Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, in 1997 and thereafter Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, in the University. She is Director of ‘Centre for Studies in Dance form of Bengal’ in Rabindra Bharati University. Prof Mahua Mukherjee and Amitava Mukherjee are the Founders of ‘Gaudiya Nritya Bharati’ and Amitava Mukherjee is the Principal of Gaudiya Nritya Bharati.

Where: BSA, Segun Bagicha
When: 6:30pm, January 23