Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan

🪔 About

Bayanacharya Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan, born in 1950 in Majuli, Assam, India, is a revered guru, choreographer, instrumentalist, and author of Sattriya, a major Indian classical dance tradition. At the age of four, he became an inmate of the Kamalabari Sattra in Majuli, where he began his training in Sattriya dance and music at six. His esteemed gurus included the late Maniram Dutta Muktiyar Barbayan, Maniram Gayan Muktiyar, Kamal Chandra Bargayan, and Raseswar Saikia Barbayan, who taught him Natya (dancing), Bayan (playing the Khul/Mridanga), and Ojapali. Bora completed his training early and was elevated to "Barbayan" at a young age, a title equivalent to a Master of Arts. In 2008, he received the highest Sattra honor, "Bayanacharya." His career as a teacher began at the Kamalabari Sattra, coaching young pupils. In 1971, he was appointed as a Sattriya dance teacher at Bishnupur Kala Kendra in Shillong, followed by a role at the Sanakardeva Cultural Institute in New Delhi in 1974. He returned to Guwahati in 1975 to teach at Sangeet Sattra and later joined the State Music College, Assam, in 1980, where he currently serves as the Head of the Department of Sattriya Music and Dance. In 1987, Bora founded his own institute, Sattriya Kala Kendra, and has since established over 25 Sattriya training schools across Assam. He is also the Honorary Director of Maniram Dutta Muktiyar Sattriya Kala Kendra, Guwahati, and a trustee of Srimanta Foundation for Culture and Society. Ghanakanta Bora has performed extensively across India and internationally, including in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia, often collaborating with Spic Macay. He is also an author, having penned two books on Sattriya dance: "Mati Akhora" and "Khol Sikhsa." Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2001), Padma Shri (2013), Barbayan, Bayanacharya (2008).