The Odissi Profiles: Sarbani Nandy

Born and brought up in a cultural family in Tripura, Sarbani was introduced to the world of classical dance at the tender age of four. She became an accomplished Kathak dancer with a national scholarship from CCRT and solo performances across the country. A Visharad in Kathak, she is the only classical dancer from Tripura, till date, to have won an award in the National Youth Festival in Gujrat.

Sarbani was initiated into the training of Odissi under Guru Poushali Mukherji in Kolkata. Under rigorous training and intense dedication, it was not difficult for her to involve herself into the soul of Odissi dance form. Very soon she became the lead dancer of almost all the choreographic works of her Guru. She has also been lucky enough to have participated in workshops by the Late Padmabibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Guru Kumkum Mohanty.

Sarbani’s tireless odessey to perfecting the nuances of the dance form took her to advance training in Odissi under Guru Bichitrananda Swain and Sri Pabitra Kr. Pradhan in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.She has also been under the guidance of Smt. Rina Jana.

Now the artiste is an established dancer in Odissi and has been performing solo in several prestigious platforms, prominent ones being ‘Nritya Pratibha’, organized by Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, in Shillong, Octave 2007 organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi,New Delhi in Hyderabad, Uday Shankar Dance Festival in Kolkata, ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ organized by West Bengal Dance Group Federation in Kolkata. She has also given solo performances in festivals of EZCC & NEZCC. Sarbani is an empanelled artiste of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Apart from all the little achievements of Sarbani, as an Odissi dancer, till date, the most remarkable one is that she has successfully brought the art of Odissi Dance to her small & remote North Eastern state of Tripura, where this dance form was practically unknown. She is the lone Odissi dancer from Tripura and has many times made her state proud. Sarbani is an inspiration to all the young aspiring Odissi dancers of her state, which proves her honest endeavor to popularize Odissi dance in the remote state of Tripura.