How artistes in strife-torn Manipur are longing to be back on stage

Manipuri artistes hope for a cultural revival

Travelling by plane for pleasure or work is one thing, but travelling just to access internet is unheard of. Filmmaker Longjam Meena Devi had scheduled the post-production of her documentary, Andro Dreams (2023), on the sexagenarian Laibi Devi, who helms an all-girls soccer team in a remote Manipuri village, a week before the submission-deadline for the International Film Festival of Kerala. Within four days of the breakout of the conflict in Manipur, even private Wi-Fi was snuffed. Initially, Meena, the first woman filmmaker from Manipur to receive a National Award, tried to make do with DIPR’s (Directorate of Information and Public Relations) facilities but the waning net-speed was not conducive to heavy uploads. Though Meena somehow managed, many others, including artistes, have suffered immensely due to lack of connectivity.

Narrating with a smile in his voice, as is their wont, at Manipuri Nartanalaya, dancer-scholar Yumlembam Bidyananda Singh, a resident of Keishamthong in Imphal, rued that he couldn’t participate in a Kolkata youth dance festival only because he couldn’t receive any mail. And later when the organisers called Bidyananda, he couldn’t travel because of the exorbitant air fare.

Bidyananda briefly trained under guru Bimbavati Devi, the daughter of the illustrious Kalavati Devi, who co-founded the Nartanalaya with guru Bipin Singh and the Jhaveri Sisters,

“ I had to forgo at least five shows. But the one I missed the most is the 2023 Sangai Kumhei festival, organised each year from November 21 to 30 by Manipur Tourism Department. Not only is the festival emotionally close to our hearts, where we showcase our culture at its fullest, we get to exchange ideas with international visiting practitioners, mainly from Thailand and Myanmar, to fortify our understanding and growth,” said Bidyananda, who is an assistant professor at Manipur International University.

It has been the same for acclaimed contemporary choreographer-dancer Surjit Nongmeikapam (Bonbon). Speaking from his Imphal-based Nachom Arts Foundation’s studio, Surjit said he also had to shelve the staging of his pet project ‘Soul Strings’, which aims to knit together all Manipuri communities. After shows at Churachandpur and Phayeng, close to Kuki valley, the next one was planned at Haipi, a Thadou-Kuki village,” says Surjit.

Though no blanket embargo, the locals, counter-intuitively, are in no mood for recreation. Bidyananda, who was in the organising committee of the Vikasit Bharat series presented by his teacher Thounaojam Haridas’s institute Guru Sanaton Apunba Hari Sankirtan Neinashang on February 21 this year, said, “I cannot even explain how it felt when doing the event. We had deliberately booked a small-auditorium near the institute since we wanted fewer people to attend. We also avoided commercial sound system and the presence of professional videographers. Nowadays, we do only daytime shows because it becomes risky after dark.”

Artistes and art practices are considered to be apathetic to the situation. Rumours of organisers and artistes being attacked that initially emerged from Keishamthong in Imphal East have manifested as fear-psychosis. Singer-lyricist and founder of alternate folk-rock group Imphal Talkies, Akhu Chingangbam’s abduction from his Khurai residence and release were widely reported.