Exploring Other Forms
After our tour of the USA, Canada and Europe in 1962, Dada disbanded the troupe. One of the first productions that I was a part of after the disbanding was Shubhadra Haran. A story from the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata, it had been organised by Tapan Das and Pritilata Das. The performance was held at the Ballygunge Place Durgabari by the Maitri Club for their annual show. Rehearsals used to be held at 43B Ballygunge Place. This was Sunanda’s maternal uncle’s home.
Barun Dutta, Dhurjati Sen, and Kamalesh Maitra, who had not been a part of Dada’s tour of 1962, had already joined Yogendra Sunder Desai’s troupe − Indian Revival Group (IRG), which was then based in Kolkata. I went with Barunbda for the first time to IRG. The IRG was almost like a movement, as it was involved with collecting folk dances from the remotest corners of India, as well as costumes and music and then presenting them to the urban Indians; and awakening them to India’s rich heritage in folk culture. For me, as a dancer, it presented a chance to expand my horizons and become well-versed with the folk dance forms of India, as I had till now focused on classical styles at the Academy, and then on Dada’s style of Creative Dance. This experience enriched me immensely as a dancer. In fact, there are very few dancers in Kolkata from that time, who were not associated with Yogenda. We all benefited tremendously from our association with him and the IRG. During my time with Yogenda, I not only got the opportunity to tour the length and breadth of India, but was also blessed with the opportunity of visiting the most famous pilgrimage sites of our country − which proved to be a spiritually uplifting experience for me.
There were a lot of unique and memorable experiences while travelling with IRG. One of them was when we were performing for the army jawans in the military posting at Poonch. In the absence of stage lights, we performed in the lights produced by army trucks.
Images: Private collection of Shanti Bose
POWERED BY A432 PRODUCTIONS. 2026.
After touring with Yogenda for a while, a few of us, who had been previously associated with Uday Shankar in different capacities, decided to form a troupe of our own. We named our newly formed troupe, The Indian Ballet Troupe (IBT). IBT came into being primarily as a result of the enthusiasm of members like Kamaleshda, Barunda, Dhurjati, and of course me. Apart from this core group, for our performances, we inducted a few dancers from outside as well. Beside ballets based on Dada’s style of Creative Dance, we used to also perform folk dances from different parts of India, which I choreographed. Dada’s Ballet Master Raghavanda and Music Director Timir Baran had also joined us in our endeavour to promote and propagate Uday Shankar Style of Dance.
During this period, I also worked with Gajanan Varma as the Dance Director on two productions. The first was Baromasha. This was based on his songs, and built into a storyline on the 12 seasons. The second production that I worked on for him was titled, Sattar Khan Bahattor Omraho. This production too, was based on his work. A few of the dancers from IBT had also joined the production. It was performed in the auditorium of Hindi High School. Dada had also come to watch the performance. As the story was based on a Rajasthani folk tale, and I was already deeply immersed in Dada’s style, I used many of his movements, including those from Astra Puja, to build the narrative of the ballet.
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Another important connection made during this period was with Suchitra Mitra. The programme was Rabitirtha’s Barsha Mangal. I performed a duet with Rimi. Ramgopal Gopal Bhattacharya was the dance director.
In the meantime, after the tour of 1962, in 1965, Dada opened the ‘Uday Shankar India Culture Centre’ in Kolkata. The institute was a reminiscence of his centre at Almora, although on a much smaller scale. It became a centre for learning of not only Uday Shankar Style of Creative Dance, but various classical styles of India as well. However, Dada was not happy. The creative artist in him soon became restless for new productions. Very soon, towards the end of 1965 itself, he contacted Kamaleshda and Barunda and informed them of his plans. He asked them to gather the troupe members of IBT at his residence in Golf Club Road for his new production, for Dada was well acquainted with the work that IBT had been doing.
Even while I was a part of the IBT, I used to often go on tours with Yogenda. I had at that point of time gone on a tour of Assam with Yogenda, and was therefore unable to attend the first day that Dada met the artists of IBT. During this meeting, Dada told everyone present that he needed me to be with him for his new production and asked them to contact me at any cost, and ensure that I met him soon. It was Dhurjati, my friend since my Academy days who finally managed to establish contact with me. I could not ignore the urgency of Dada’s message, and soon arrangements were made for another dancer – Ramgopal Bhattacharya, who used to be a part of Yogenda’s troupe, to join the troupe in Assam to take my place in all the subsequent performances.
