The sattras of Assam has a rich history of performing art tradition for more than 500 years. One of the major sites of sattra is Majuli. Located in this river island the sattras function as a residential monastery with a traditional education system where the preceptor lives with his disciples devoting their lives in the monotheistic tenets of the Neo-Vaishnavism. These Caste-Hindu monks have been seen to lead a life of bhakti immersed in prayer, practice of Borgeet, Sattriya nrittya, Ankiya bhaona and Gayan-bayan based on mythological narratives. The physical training process and the ritual performance practices have been continued by monk community from one generation to another through the oral tradition of knowledge transmission.
The nostalgic narrative accounts of the elderly monks are cases of reference wherein they lamented about the generational differences they perceive in the performances of the monks of different generations. As their inability to keep the tradition and space as a sacred one keeps culminating into a major crisis in their ritually defined universe, a sense of loss and dissatisfaction and a number of questions emerge individually as well as collectively about the ongoing changes within the cultural institution.
In this regard my effort would be to articulate the monks’ perspective in experiencing dilemma between maintaining their sacred vow to live a life of celibate monk renouncing the worldly desires; and again lies the question of earning a livelihood and creating individual identity where the knowledge and mastery of the performances becomes their capital. Further it would be analyzed how the mapped changes imply a transition of sattriya performances from devotion to profession. The professionalization infused an awareness among the monks of their value of labor in terms of their time and effort they invest in re-enacting the Hindu mythology over the periods of time.
