International Xatriya and Bharata Natyam dancer and guru Padmashree Indira PP Bora & Sangeet Natak Akademi Yuva Puraskar awardee and ethnomusicologist-choreographer Dr Menaka PP Bora were invited to launch the Arts & Wellbeing Series for the benefit of wider communities in the UK, including British, Assamese, Malaysian, Black, European and Asian communities.
The first-ever event inspired by Assam was Bohagi Botah – an afternoon of Xatriya dance, Jhumuir & Wellbeing cultural programme at world-famous Kensington Palace, London, on May 21, 2025. For the first time in the history of Royal Palaces in London, Padmashree Indira PP Bora and Dr Menaka PP Bora performed Xatriya dance and Jhumuir dance as Assam tea dance and taught in workshops for all age groups, including senior citizens from all international communities. Many young-generation British persons attended the show and workshop. Both Padmashree Indira PP Bora and Dr Menaka PP Bora performed a Xatriya duet entitled “Krishna Vandana”. The main focus was to bridge the gap between Indian classical dance and health and fitness for all age groups through scientific physiology methods used in classical dance fitness.
The special attraction was Dance And Painting – An Indian Dancing Girl painting by London-based, renowned British Assamese artist Runima Kakoty was performed by both Indira and Menaka to celebrate the connection between art and dance. British art historian and Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society Ian Herbertson played a noteworthy role in the making of the art and dance wellbeing workshop programme.
It is worth mentioning that Dr Menaka PP Bora recently presented and performed at the world-renowned Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall in London in two sold-out shows where she collaborated with BAFTA-winning British filmmaker Alison Jackson, rock legend Bill Wyman, Director of Sky Arts TV Philip Edgar Jones OBE and Hollywood actor Jim Murray. Dr Bora has now been invited to present shows and workshops at Kensington Palace, London, through an exhibition on the unknown stories of Indian princesses associated with the late Queen Victoria, who lived in Kensington Palace.