With reference to the famous Sattriya dance, consider the following statements: (1) Sattriya is a combination of music, dance and drama. (2) It is a centuries-old living tradition of Vaishnavites of Assam. (3) It is based on classical Ragas and Talas of devotional songs composed by Tulsidas, Kabir and Mirabai. Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

The correct answer is B (1 and 2 only). Statement 3 is the one that fails.

• Statement 1 is correct. Sattriya combines music (borgeets), dance (nritya) and drama (ankiya bhaona), and the drama element is central to its repertoire.
• Statement 2 is correct. It was developed in the sattras, the monastic centres of the Vaishnava movement founded by Srimanta Sankardeva in Assam in the 15th-16th century, and it is still practised there.
• Statement 3 is wrong. Its devotional texts are by Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva, not by Tulsidas, Kabir or Mirabai, who belong to other traditions in North India.

The core concept is the sattriya tradition as a living, guru-shishya based art form tied to Neo-Vaishnavite religious reform. It was formally recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as a classical dance in 2000, which makes it one of the eight classical dances of India. For Mains, it links to the role of bhakti movements in regional identity and to intangible cultural heritage conservation, including the efforts to preserve the sattras of Majuli.

Trap: Aspirants assume any devotional song from a famous bhakti poet must belong to the dance tradition. Check the regional origin of the saint before accepting a statement.