Sarojini Naidu was perhaps the first to describe in detail the beauty of Seraikela Chhau to Mahatma Gandhi. She told him it was a dance form in which the king and princes danced alongside their subjects across caste, creed and community.

“We are performing at the same venue where Mahatma Gandhi attended a special performance of a Peacock Dance in 1937,” Malay Kumar Sahu told the audience before the dance recital on June 21. The venue in question is Netaji Bhawan in south Calcutta, the house of Janakinath Bose, well-known barrister and father of Sarat Chandra Bose and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Netaji Bhawan is a heritage property and the performance has been organised by Banglanatak dot com, a social enterprise working towards inclusive and sustainable development using culture-based approaches.

Malay Kumar Sahu and his son Amit Sahu are Seraikela Chhau exponents.

The recital starts, a delicate performance to the accompaniment of tribal drums dhamsa and kharka, shehnai and the rustic flute; Malay plays Parvati and Amit is Shiva.

The dance form takes its name from its place of origin Seraikela, which used to be a princely state in Jharkhand bordering Odisha.

Chhau is a martial dance common to the erstwhile princely states of the Chota Nagpur plateau and dates back to the 17th century. While Purulia Chhau stands out for its use of elaborate and colourful masks, Mayurbhanj Chhau doesn’t use masks, just maintains an athletic performance. In Seraikela Chhau, performers used to paint their bodies but gradually masks evolved. These were made from dried leaves, gourd, bamboo and eventually wood and clay.

The Shiva-Parvati dance is followed by a solo mayura or Peacock Dance by Amit — a highly stylised portrayal of the beautiful bird’s dance moves.

“Seraikela Chhau is distinguished by its stylised movement and intricate footwork,” says Amitava Bhattacharya, founder-director of Banglanatak dot com. He continues, “The dance incorporates elements from the Natyashastra’s 108 karanas, adding a semi-classical oeuvre to its repertoire.” The Natyashastra is a seminal Indian text on the performing arts. Karanas are fundamental units of movement in classical Indian dance.

Backstage, post-performance, Malay elaborates on what he said before the recital: “Kumar Suvendra Narayan Singh Deo, the crown prince of Seraikela state, performed in front of several political leaders including Sarojini Naidu, Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru.”

Malay’s father, the late Kedar Nath, was one of the younger members of the dance troupe. According to Malay’s family lore, after seeing the performance, Gandhiji spoke to the performers and showered words of appreciation on the prince. Malay has brought with him to Calcutta black-and-white photographs from the 1930s. Photographs of Gandhiji and Kumar Suvendra, of Subhas Bose watching a Seraikela Chhau performance.

Kumar Suvendra, who introduced finesse and elegance to the ancient martial art form of Seraikela Chhau, died when he was 23 years old. It was Kumar Bijoy Pratap Singh Deo, his uncle, and younger brother of the king Aditya Pratap Singh Deo, who turned this dance form into a ballet-like performance and popularised it across Europe.

Says Malay, “My father (Kedar Nath) used to travel with the royal troupe until he formed his own.” Later, Kedar Nath travelled with his own troupe to the US, USSR and several countries in South America. Malay often accompanied his father on such tours.

Seraikela Chhau became part of the Unesco-recognised Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Today, Malay grooms new artistes at the Kedar Art Centre at Seraikela. He says, “Local talents as well as trainees from abroad come to us. It is encouraging to see the interest of new generation learners.”

While Chhau artistes trained at the academy perform in various places in India and abroad, in order to witness the tradition in its rustic form, one must visit Seraikela at the time of Chaitra Parva or Spring Festival when the surroundings of Saranda and Bangriposi hills are covered with wild blossoms of sal, kusum and mahua. With elaborate ceremonies and rituals, the Chhau is performed for four or five nights and is enjoyed by thousands from the surrounding villages and cities.