By Rajiv Roy
Regarded as one of the most “ideal teacher” to have ever lived, her life was a quintessential example of “simple living, high thinking”. Extremely spiritual to the very core of her heart, Sandhya Lahiri lived life fully until her passing away over a short illness, recently. “One can hardly see a teacher like her in today’s world,” were the remarks of her past students as they heard the demise of their beloved teacher.
Sandhya, a former linguistic teacher of Pine Mount School, noted dancer, stage player, yogi besides being an avid reader and writer on spiritual subjects was born on March 3, 1930 in Sylhet district, Bangladesh where her father was a municipal employee. Youngest among four sisters and three brothers she was introduced to the cultural world at a tender age of 12.
Coming from a family which was deeply involved in the then political activities, she once recalled about her elder brother who was a revolutionist, rebellious in nature and has given shape to many ground-breaking activities of Free-India movement then.
Her dancing career started at a young age and devoted her whole life to dancing. She has participated in various freedom movement activities through Surma Valley Cultural Squad (SVCS) that showcased the plight of Indians then under British rule through her dancing. The squad staged political cartoon plays, such as Cripps Mission, mockery of British Raj, and other creative performances via bhooka nitya, belle nitya (a show without screen like farmers harvesting fields and how the hoarders came and took away their produce), shadow plays etc. The troupe of SVCS traveled entire Assam and performed famous patriotic songs, composed songs by the squad, dances on farmer’s plight, floods and other issues.
Sandhya along with her mother and cousins shifted to Shillong during the Sylhet referendum and took admission in Lady Keane School and then College from where she completed her BA. She even worked in the AIR alongside her studies. Her family was closely linked to the Communist Party of India (CPI) then and for that they had to face hardships too when this party was banned as a terrorist organization. The Indian People Theatrical Association (IPTA), a cultural arm of CPI sent few artists to northeast in order to form a branch of the association around 1948 with which she was closely associated to portray mass culture and communist thoughts, political activities via performing art.
Her cultural background also made Lahiri the longest serving judge of Ananda Sammelan for 33 years. Being a member of Rabindra Nritya Natya Sangha, she composed plays for it and performed in famous plays like ‘Chandalika’, ‘Chitrangoda’ and has exposed the work of local freedom fighter Tirot Sing Syiem in Cherrapunjee. She was the member of the Govt. of Assam sponsored cultural peace mission during the communal uprising in Assam, visited the riot torn areas of Assam in order to spread the message of brotherhood and peace.
Around 1948–49, the CPI was banned and its leaders went underground fearing arrest. “The IPTA members and its affiliated squadron members were also arrested then,” she said months before her demise recalling how she got arrested and was put in jail for three months as an under-trial and was released later since no reason was found against her. One of her brother was an employee in the publicity department of Govt. of Assam with whom she was staying here also got arrested but was released after six months with a lost job.
The family went through trying times then as her brother who was a patient of ulcer took up a job of a teacher at New Colony School in Laitumkhrah at a meager salary. He later got his government job back after a long court battle for 12 years. Sandhya got the chance of teaching in Govt. Girls’ HS School (GGHSS), Jail Road where a dance school was started by Mukul Chowdhury, a teacher of the school.
Besides this she took dance and cultural classes in Loreto, Laban Bengali Girl’s HS School, Dr. Bimal Roy’s residence in Laitumkhrah and at Seng Khasi School – on an invitation by Helimon Khongfi, who studied in Dacca and Calcutta in Bengali medium, as the responsibility was on her shoulder since her brother was without a job.
Amidst these hardships, she completed her graduation in 1955 and on the initiation of her guru Srimath Anirban she did her MA (Bangla) from Calcutta and BEd. She joined Pine Mount School in 1959 when it started the Bengali department and retired in 1991 as Assistant Headmistress.
Despite her job as a teacher she did not give up her cultural side as a dance drama “Dream of Ellora’ (on Buddha’s life) composed by her was performed by her students. At that time Rani of Bijni opened a sakha of Sangeet Natak Akademi in Bijni House, invited Guru Atambar Singh, a ‘Manipuri Dance’ teacher in Shantiniketan for imparting dance classes. Lahiri learnt Manipuri Dance from him and Kathak Dance from Guru Amubai Singh, cousin brother of Guru Atambar Singh – a percussion instrument player with Guru Atambar Singh in Shanitiketan.
A passionate dancer, who did not fail to show steps during her felicitation at the platinum jubilee celebration of Bangiya Sahitya Parishad recently, she said, “I did not dance for any materialistic gains.” Sandhya was married to Binoy Lahiri, a freedom fighter, revolutionary and former CPI secretary.
She is survived by her two daughters, Shakuntala, a doctor and Samujjala, a teacher and grandchildren. Among her unaccomplished work was a book on her spiritual experiences. She was also conducting a spiritual discourse “Auro Pathachakra” at Shillong based Sri Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture every Saturday and was a complete devotee of Sri Aurobindo and Divine Mother till her last breath.