Ankia Naats ( as, অংকীয়া নাট) are a class of one act plays performed in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, India. The invention of the Ankia Naat is usually attributed to the medieval saint and social reformer

Srimanta Sankardeva Srimanta Sankardev( শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ )(; ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of im ...

. These plays were written in an artificial old medieval period poetic Assamese mixed language called

Brajavali Brajavali ( Assamese: ''Brôzawôli'') was a literary language used by Sankardev (1449–1568) for some of his compositions (Borgeets and Ankia Naats) in the context of his Vaishnavite religion, Ekasarana Dharma, in Assam. Though similar langua ...

and are primarily centered on

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

. A particular presentation of an Ankia Naat is called a ''

Bhaona Bhaona ( as, ভাওনা) is a traditional form of entertainment, with religious messages, prevalent is Assam, India. It is a creation of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva, written in the early sixteenth century. He created the form to convey ...

''. The plays usually combine live instruments and singers, dance and elaborate costumes in production. The performance of an Ankia Naat starts with benediction in Sanskrit followed by eulogy to God in Brajavali. The play usually starts with the prelude, or ''Purvaranga''. Playing of the traditional percussion instruments accompanied by the big cymbal by the singer and musician duo (Gayan, Bayan) in a group. The instruments are played with exaggerated hand movements and in two paces called Saru-Dhemali and Bor-Dhemali. After the prelude, the narrator, or ''Sutradhar'', enters the stage and begins the actual performance. Ankia Naat were intended to be viewed by common folk in medieval Assam, majority of whom were expected to be illiterate. Thus, an explanation was included at every succeeding stage of the drama. The ''Sutradhar'' had to attend to various tasks viz. production, direction and delivered commentary of the entire drama. Ankia Naat main subject is to worship Lord Krishna. The songs in Ankia Naat are also descriptive.

References

Assamese literature Indian plays Krishna Ekasarana Dharma 16th-century plays Sattriya {{17thC-play-stub