Manipuri Bhakti

  • Meenu Thakur Sankalp
  • India
  • Mar 28, 2014

 

 

The Manipuri classical dance has today become synonymous with Ras-leela, a group dance with the protagonist Lord Krishna and his companion Radha, accompanied by other Gopis (damsels). It is an important tenet in Vaishnavism (worship of Vishnu and his incarnations). Manipuri Dance is basically intended to portray religion with spiritual connotations. It is also designed as a means of worship and is part of the socio-ethnic and cultural fabric of Manipur. Manipuri involves skillful and graceful techniques, and Bhakti Rasa (emotions of devotion) is depicted subtly. The Tandava (male dance) and the Lasya (female dance) are performed as dance dramas. The dancers do not wear any anklets as they do not strike the ground aggressively, but place the back of the feet on the ground in tenderly-orchestrated rhythm. Historically, Manipuri Dance received an impetus through culture-loving Kings who actively introduced innovations in the style and tenor of the dance form. Raja Bhagyachandra wrote ‘Govindasangeet Leela Visala’ and also designed the traditional Manipuri Dance costume, ‘Kamil’. Bengali poetic tradition was also added and Vaishnavite Padavalis (string of verses on Lord Vishnu), based on Bengali poetry, were artistically amalgamated into Manipuri. They were composed as a repertoire by the Bengali poets of present-day Bangladesh; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Bengali saint of the sixteenth century, played a major role in introducing Vaishnavite themes in Manipuri Dance. The style of Vaishnavite singing, as an accompaniment to the Manipuri Dance, is based on poet Jayadeva’s Geeta Govinda and the full-throated rendition is known as the ‘Nat’. Also noteworthy is the use of lyrical poetry based on compositions by Jayadeva and Govindadas. The nineteenth-century rule of Raja Chandrakirti is considered the Golden age of Manipuri Dance. During the twentieth century, Rabindranath Tagore provided yeomen service to Manipuri by introducing his poetry in Manipuri lyrics and also by educating Bengali intelligentsia on the Manipuri Dance.  

As the Manipuri Dance is a symbol of devotion, Srinagara Bhakti (romantic devotion) is the hallmark of Manipuri expressions. The performance themes in Manipuri Dance are based on the Puranas - notably the Bhagavata Purana and the Leela Purana. Female performers display gentleness, feminine grace and delicate movements, complemented through style and speed by facial expressions and body movements - while their male counterparts display power, aggression and energy. Abhinaya (expressions) form the core of Manipuri dance rendition. They are unexaggerated and Rasas (emotional nuances) are portrayed delicately. The tala (beat) is also highly evolved; Ras-leela themes have sixty-four beats. Ras-leelas, or dances depicting Lord Krishna’s association with female companions, are performed by males and females in groups, with specific patterns and parengs (pure dance movements). The costume worn by women includes a stiff embroidered skirt shaped in the form of a cylindrical fabric, a velvet blouse and a white veil; the men wear a yellow dhoti, an open jacket and a crown of peacock features. The jewellery worn by the female dancers is unique and indigenous - aptly portraying the flavour of the region. The main musical accompaniments to Manipuri Dance are the Pena (stringed instrument), Flute and the Pung (percussion instrument). The dance style of Manipuri also involves ‘Nritth’ (rhythmic abstract movement) and ‘Natya’ (dramatic dance element). The oldest form of Manipuri classical dance is the Lai Haraoba (enjoyment of the Gods); the later additions are the Samkirtana (based on Bengal Kirtana tradition) and the Ras-leela, which have supplemented traditional nuances with innovative choreography. Lai Haraoba portrays love stories of Shiva and Parvati. Maibis (female priests) perform Lai Haraoba rituals in a yearly festival. Also very popular within the Samkirtana (male dance) tradition, is the Pung Cholam (male dance with a percussion instrument) and the Kartal Cholam (male cymbal dance). Male performers jump and somersault acrobatically while playing the ‘Pung’ or the cymbal, or while clapping their hands aggressively. Songs called Ishae are rendered alongwith musical accompaniments in Pung Cholam. Though Christianity has spread over large parts of Manipur, the dance drama tradition of Manipur based on Vaishnavite themes continues to be embraced by the Manipuri people - with active encouragement from eminent Manipuri Dance Gurus and the patronage of cultural organisations. A sizable number of danseuses from ‘mainland’ India have shown active interest in carrying on the legacy of the Manipuri Dance to other parts of India and abroad.

 

The writer is a renowned Kuchipudi Danseuse and Choreographer




North East India is a melting pot of races, religions, culture and tradition. Popularly referred to as the seven sister-States (including Sikkim), indigenous traditions here have remained cocooned within society, despite the onslaught of modernity and ‘mainland’ penetration into this rugged territory. Geographically isolated, surrounded by deep valleys and lofty peaks, bound by Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam and the Republic of Myanmar (Burma), Manipur is inhabited by people of various ethnicities - with a multiplicity in origin and religion - speaking twenty-nine dialects. In 1872, Colonel E.H. Dalton, the British Commissioner of Chhota Nagpur (under whose administrative jurisdiction Manipur and the other North-Eastern states were included) studied the ethnic origin of Manipuri people and brought to light the Aryan influence on them. The original inhabitants of Manipur were of Indo-Mongloid origin, presumably from Chinese Tibet. They were called the Meiteis. Some believe that they migrated to Manipur from Vidisha (in present-day Madhya Pradesh). The later Vedic-descent migrants, the Bishnupriya Manipuris (originally hailing from Dwarka and Hastinapura), settled down and amalgamated their cultural traditions with the Manipur locals. Manipur too has preserved its cultural traditions, especially the Classical Dance form, Manipuri.


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