The Kameswari dance festival at Kamakhya temple had the great exponents of Indian classical music weaving magic to captivate thousands of audience. Truly, Kamakhya temple had not seen something like this since the days of the Ahom Kings. 

Danseuse Sonal Mansingh helped revive one of the biggest dance festivals of the state, the age-old Kameswari festival at Kamakhya temple, and  hence Sonal Mansingh was conferred the ancient title of Kameswari in 2008, by the temple trust when the millennia-old traditional dance ritual got under way. “After she was conferred with the title, she was known as Kameswari Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh,” said the adviser to Kamakhya Debutter Board, Bhabani Charan Sarma.

The evening was heavenly as the exponents belted out their best one after another, keeping the audience hooked to the festival for two days.

The Kameswari dance festival was organised by the Kamakhya Debutter Board, the temple trust. The previous year’s tremendous success of their one day festival emboldened them to go for the two day event this year too. 

The jewels of Indian classical music were there. Padma Bhushan Awardees Raja Radha Reddy and Padmashree Awardee the renowned Odissi Dancer Kumkum Mohanty performed on the first day of the event.  

The second day of the festival witnessed the performances of Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasiya, Padma Bhushan Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra, and Prabhat Sarma & troupe.

The opening day of the event was graced by Mr. Amrit Phukan, Advocate General  Assam; Mr. G. M. Srivatav, DGP Assam, Mr. Sanjiv Mishra, GM Bharti Airtel Ltd, NESA, Mr. Kamal Sarma Chairman Kamakhya Debbuter Board. The second day of the festival was graced by the presence of the Hon’ble Governor of Assam, Shiv Charan Mathur, Mr. Kamal Sarma, Chairman Kamakhya Debbuter Board; and Mr. Sanjiv Mishra, GM Bharti Airtel Ltd, NESA.

“We are fortunate to have such renowned artists coming to our temple to pay homage through song and dance” said Mr. Kamal Sarma, Chairman Kamakhya Debutter Board.  Citing the mention of this dance tradition in the Kamakhya temple in ancient scriptures, Sharma said, “The festival was to recreate the ethereal evenings of those days when Kamdev, Rati and Kameswari devi herself used to engage in heavenly dance in the temple premises.”

According to the organisers, the festival will not only highlight the traditional aspects of the temple but also help promote tourism in Assam by showcasing the ancient cultural heritage.

Mr. Sudipto Chowdhury, Chief Operating Officer, NESA Bharti Airtel Ltd. said, “We at Airtel our proud to be associated with the Kameswari Festival thrice in a row. At the dawn of 2009 we would like to invoke the blessings of Ma Kamakhya. We hope that this festival will further promote tourism in our state and will help towards the revival of tradition and culture”

The dance tradition was kept alive in the Ahom days, when the king himself is said to have sat with the audience as dancers enlivened the premises with their feet to the accompaniment of devotional songs to appease the Goddess. However, the tradition had come to a halt for unknown reasons and the Kamakhya Debutter Board, which manages the temple, is making this attempt at reviving the tradition. 

The trust hopes that with the revival of this annual festival, this will soon become a major event in the Indian classical music circuit.