Durga Mangalacharan GAUDIYA NRITYA Ayan Mukherjee Classical Dance

Gaudiya Nritya (Bengali: গৌড়ীয় নৃত্য) is the classical dance form of Bengal. It originates from Gauda also known as Gaur in Bengal (near India-Bangladesh border). The story of this dance form is scattered in the literature, sculptures and guru-parampara tradition of Bengal. in fact classical dance practiced in Bengal from very early age. Swami Prajnamananda says, Bengal was in practice of classical dance during 6th-10th century CE. We get the evidence in kalhanas Rajtarangini which was described that when Jayapida the king of Kashmir came to visit Paundravardhana (presently in North Bengal), saw devadasi Kamala was dancing in the kartikeya temple and her dance was following Bharata’s Natyasastra. King jayapida was an adroit in Natyasastra for which he could understand that, Kamala was conforming Natyasastra. In Sage Bharata’s Natyasastra the description of make-up have been followed by the dancers of Gaudiya Nritya. According to