Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

encyclopedia

DANCE

MANIPURI

: Manipuri is the classical dance of Manipur in the

north-east of India, hemmed in by the Himayalan foothills. The

evolution of Manipuri dance has two phases. The earlier dealing

with its native culture and the second with its link with Vaishnav-

ism. While the dances of the early period centred around Shiva and

Parvathi, those of the later period are woven around Krishna who

became a favourite deity with the advent of the Bhakti- cult in

Facial

expressions

and

mudras

(hand

gestures)

are

very few. The emphasis of the

dancer is on her body move-

ments and the flow of arms and

limbs but the face remains im-

passive.

The

emotions

and

meaning are conveyed by the

flowing movements of the gently

swaying body and limbs. The

dancer has to maintain fluidity

and ease in his/her movements

and the element of control is

constant.

Cymbals and drums lend

support to the musical mode of

the style. Manipuri has certain

compositions that have been

handed down by tradition. The

whole gamut of Manipuri is divided into Jagoi, Cholom and Thang-

ta. Jagoi is interpreted by dancers of both sexes. Cholom accompa-

nied on the drums and cymbals can range from the very vigorous to

the very gentle. The Thang-ta is an ancient martial art of Manipur.

For a perfect performance, specialisation in some aspect of the art

by each performer is vital. Dancer, singer, drummer, cymbal player

or Pena Player - each has a special role and needs intensive

training. The two well-known dance forms of Manipuri are the Lai

Harouba and Raas Lila. The Sangeet Natak Akademi has estab-

lished a national centre for Manipuri — Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri

Dance Academy — in Imphal.

OTHER FORMS

Lai Harouba

: Lai Harouba which means literally “to please the

Gods” is a re-enactment of the creation of the world, performed

annually by each village to propitiate the Gods and local deities.

The whole village participates in it led by the Maiba and the Maibis

(temple dancers) who are considered to be agents through whom

the devotees can seek God.

The Lai Harouba starts with an invocation after which ‘Lai Toi

Mungai Jagoi”, Lai pov Jagoi’ are performed. The Lai pov is the

dance of creation which is still performed in every Lai Harouba

festival in its original form.

Hicham hirao,

the ceremony of the boat, is another important

ritual which includes dance. A tantric dance (thengao) is also

included in the Lai Harouba ceremony.

In short, each phase of life is portrayed in detail, as the per-

formance continues for a month. The programme ends with an

offering to the gods.

Khamba Thoibi

is the most popular item in Lai

Harouba depicting the story of a legendary pair of lovers. They are

also considered as human representatives of Shiva and Parvathi.

Raas Lila

: Raas Lila is a form of drama with elaborate costumes.

It recreates in poetic beauty the whole gamut of Lord Krishna’s

sports in a series of songs and dances. There are varieties of Rasa

performances corresponding" to the various seasons, like Basant

Ras, Kunja Ras, Diva Ras, Nitya Ras and Maha Ras.

The Raas Lila is performed inside the mandap, (a circular area

with four openings). The programme starts with Raag or an invoca-

tion by the organisers followed by Krishna Abhisar, Radha

Abhisar, Bhangi Pareng, Brindavan Pareng-, Kurumba Pareng and

Goshta Pareng.

Throughout the Raas performance, the gopis sing Krishna’s

praises, describing his beauty and the melodious sound of his flute.

Other popular dances include

Pung cholom

(drum dance),

Kartal

cholom

(dance with cymbals), which belongs to the Tandava cate-

gory. They have sprung up from kirtan performances. They portray

the dancers still in expressing a variety of time measures in vigor-

ous movements while dancing with drums or cymbals. Besides

these classical dances, Manipur has a treasure of folk dances, like

Thabal Chongbi, Holi Kubhak cholom etc.

Exponents : Guru Amubi Singh, Guru Atomba Singh, Pandit

Atmbapu Sharma, Guru Bipin Singh have contributed largely to the

popularisation of this art. R.K. Singhajit Singh, Charu Singh, Jhav-

eri sisters and their disciples are some of the prominent exponents.

The Sangeet Natak Academy has established a National

Centre at Imphal, called ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Dance Academy’, for

the propagation of Manipuri dance.

ODISSI

: Odissi is the classical dance form of Orissa. It origi-

nated as a dance offering to Lord Jagannath at the temple in Puri,

where the Maharis or Devadasis performed dance as a part of their

daily service to the lord. The system of dedicating girls to the

temple was prevalent in Orissa as in the south from very early

times. Besides the Maharis there was a class of (Gotipuas), boy

dancers dressed as girls, who continued the tradition of dance form,

dancing outside the temples. There are references to Odissi in in-

scriptions and early literary works besides sculptural evidences.

Scholars claim that out of the four ‘vrttis’ or styles of presentation

mentioned in the Natya Sastra, namely Avanti, Dakshinatya, Pan-

chali and Odremagadha, which flourished in different regions of

India, Odre refers to Odissi. Hence they

claim that the salient features of the

Odissi style of dance closely conform to

the precepts of Natya Sastra and Abhi-

naya Darpana.

But, owing to turmoil and strife

which the region of Orissa underwent,

the dance style suffered an eclipse for

centuries. It was revived in the 19th C.

by a few scholars and artists. In fact it

is only a little more than three decades

since Odissi dance has been recognised

as a classical dance form meeting the

demands of classicism. Thus both relig-

ion and temple with its sculpture have

played a significant role in perpetuating

the tradition of dance in Orissa.

Eminent : Kelu Charan Mohapatra

(L), Pankaj Charan Das

(L),

Sanjukta

Manipur.

Manipuri