I was drawn to Chhau by many factors: the inspiration of my late guru Krushna Chandra Naik, Chhau’s socio-mythic background and the lyrical strength of the movement technique. The expansive use of ...

It was not without a valid reason that the UNESCO declared Chhau dance as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Guru Shashadhar Acharya, an expert Chhau teacher, and a Sangeet Natak Akademi award ...

Rejuvenating an art form that was fast debilitating is not a simple task. Guru Shashadhar Acharya is however, not averse to challenges. His single-minded determination to restore to Chhau dance to its ...

In a grainy black-and-white film snippet from a royal event in Calcutta in January 1912, a big group of martial dancers swamp the screen for about 30 flickering seconds. Swords and shields in hand, ...

Chhau dance is in the doldrums. The art and artists have been increasing starved by mismanagement of government funds and perhaps also because this sophisticated martial arts-based dance genre is ...

Kolkata: Thirty-six-year-old Kartik Kumar is the seventh-generation Chhau dancer in his family at Dabnatorang village in Purulia, and he was contemplating switching over to some other profession as ...

Italy, America, China, Denmark, Turkey, Mongolia, Germany, France…,” says the old man who has stopped us in the square near the Seraikella Palace. He is 77 years old, gets a pension of Rs 2,000 a ...

The Purulia Chhau mask earned a GI tag in 2018, giving the niche art global exposure. And now, thanks to 31 mask makers from Charida village in Purulia district’s Baghmundi block receiving their user ...

Plays are no longer simply dialogue-oriented. Stage actors these days make extensive use of stylised body movements, dance, and choreography. Shashdhar Acharya, a performer and a teacher of the unique ...

The Kolhan University (KU) plans to start a course on Chhau folk dance for its undergraduate students. The university officials said Kolhan division commissioner and vice-chancellor (VC) in-charge ...