Manipuri
About
Manipuri dances originate from the North Eastern state of Manipur. Intensely devotional in mood, the Manipuri dances are a
part of the daily life of the Manipuri people. Essentially presented as a group dance with gorgeous, colourful costumes and gentle, swaying petal-soft movements. There are Rasalilas, But rather then them, there are other dances called Natasankirtana, in which a group of men play cymbals and dance in a circle or in two rows singing praises of God. In Pung Cholom, the dancers play upon pung, the drum, and dance while playing the intricate time cycles, executing somersaults and breathtaking acrobatic feats. In group dances like Lai Haraoba, the merry-making for the gods, the dancers perform various steps and weave patterns, involving various choreographic compositions. The traditional Manipuri dance style embodies delicate, lyrical and graceful movements. The aim is to make rounded movements and avoid any jerks, sharp edges or straight lines. It is this which gives Manipuri dance its undulating and soft appearance. The foot movements are viewed as part of a composite movement of the whole body. The dancer puts his or her feet down, even during vigorous steps, with the balls of the feet touching the ground first. The ankle and knee joints are effectively used as shock absorbers. The dancer’s feet are neither put down nor lifted up at the precise rhythmic points of the music but rather slightly earlier or later to express the same rhythmic points most effectively. |
History
The history and development of Manipuri dance is interesting. It is said that King Khuyoi Tompok was a great patron of the arts and developed Manipuri in the 2nd century AD. However, it is not very likely that this early form of Manipuri had much in common with
contemporary forms.It is more likely that Manipuri began to take a familiar form with the introduction of Vaishnavism in the 15th century AD. This was first introduced by King Kyamba and greatly expanded under the support of later kings such as Khagemba, Chairairangaba and a host of others. The earlier forms of Manipuri had not been codified or given a scientific base. This was accomplished in the 18th century by King Bhagyachandra. He invited the major teachers and performers from all over the area to codify their art into a coherent system. Today, Manipuri is generally acknowledge as a classical dance form of very high artistic and technical standards. |
Dance Steps
The traditional Manipuri dance style embodies delicate, lyrical and graceful movements. The aim is to make rounded movements and avoid any jerks, sharp edges or straight lines. It is this which gives Manipuri dance its undulating and soft appearance. Of course, behind this outwardly soft impression lies a tough regime of body control.In contrast with other Indian dance forms, the dancer’s feet should never strike the ground hard as this would interfere with the delicate flow of the body movements. Every time the dancer puts down his or her feet, even during vigorous steps, it is the front part of the feet which touch the ground first and ‘break the fall’. The ankle and knee joints are effectively used as shock absorbents.The dancer’s feet are neither put down nor lifted up at the precise rhythmic points of the music but rather slightly earlier or later to express the same rhythmic points most effectively. This is possible because the way the feet move is viewed as a part of a composite movement of the whole body.
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Costumes
The costumes are very picturesque. The women wear a tight-fitting conical cap of black velvet or other material, trimmed with a border of synthetic pearls, under a thin white veil. Modern dancers often discard the cap in favour of a bun on top and to the side of the head, and haloed with flowers. The choli or tight fitting bodice is usually of velvet with tight sleeves trimmed with gold embroidery. The gagra or flounced skirt is of a striking colour, yellow, red or green and usually of silk with a wideborder at the bottom of the skirt consisting of a design of sequins. Tiny square, round or oval mirrors are scattered all over the skirt, which has a transparent Muslim garment over it, embroidered with silver thread. As the dancers swirl round, the flashing mirrors reflecting the light produce a striking effect.The male dancer wears a dhoti with embroidered bandsacross his chest ending in flaps that fall over both hips. In the Ras-Leela,Krishna is gorgeously attired in a pleated dhoti of gold or yellow silk, thechest being covered with glittering necklaces while wristlets and armlets adorn he arms.
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Type of Songs And Music
The musical accompaniment for Manipuri dance comes from a percussion instrument called the Pung, a singer, small cymbals, a stringed instrument called the pena and wind instrument such as a flute. The drummers are always male artistes and, after learning to play the pung, students are trained to dance with it while drumming. This dance is known as Pung cholom. The lyrics used in Manipuri are usually from the classical poetry of Jayadeva, Vidyapati, Chandidas, Govindadas or Gyandas and may be in Sanskrit, Maithili, Brij Bhasha or others.There is a very characteristics style of music for Manipuridance. The music is generally similar to the larger body of north Indian (Hindustani) music. However there are differencesin nomenclature of rags, tals, and the style of presentation is somewhat different.Manipuri is unique among the classical Indian dances in that the instrumentation is a central part of the dance, rather than as a side accompaniment. Dances are very much based upon the cymbals (kartal or manjira) and the cylindrical drum known as Manipuri mridang or pung. Unlike other classical, dances where the instrument is merely used as an ccompaniment, the pung and the kartal (manjira) are actually used in the dance. Other common instruments are the harmonium, pena, bansuri, shankh (conch), and esraj.The songs used in Manipuri are usually from the great poets of old such as Jaydev, Vidyapati, Chandidas, Govindadas or Gyandas.
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Manipuri: Forms
There are a number of forms in Manipuri. These are the Ras Lila, the Pung Cholom, NupaCholom, Thoibi and a host of others. We will now look at them in greater detail.
The Ras Lila is the most important dance form in the Manipuri style. The theme revolves around the love of Krishna and the milkmaids (gopinis). Although the themes are romantic, we must remember that the Bhakti school of Hinduism considers physical loveers a metaphor for spiritual longing. The Pung Cholom is a very characteristic dance of Manipur. It is based upon thedrum known as pung or Manipuri mridang. This dance may be performed by men or women and is usually a prelude to the Ras Lila. In this style, the dancers play the pung at the same time that they are dancing. There are a number of other dance forms that make up the Manipuri tradition. This form has a variation called The Nupa Pala. Cholom and is the cymbal dance. There is the Khamba Thoibi; this portrays the love affair between a prince and princes of two warring clans. There is also the Maibi dance; this dance deals with the cosmogony of the Meitei people of Manipur. |
Some Inspirational Dancers
1. Darshana Jhaveri was born in 1940, is a leading exponent of manipuri . She is a disciple of Guru Bipin Singh, and started performing on stage in 1958 along with her sisters. She is one of the founder of the Manipuri Nartanalaya in 1972, which popularized Manipuri dance in India, and is currently headed by her, with centres at Mumbai, Kolkata and Imphal.
Awards: received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Dance, Music and Drama. She was honored with the Padma Shri in 2002. 2. Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was born in a family of dancers and musicians in Manipur. Early in life, he was fortunate to receive his dance education from the finest gurus of Manipuri dance, starting with ‘Guru Ojha Iboton Singh’ for Pung (drum), followed by ‘Guru Amubi Singh’ – Jagoi; ‘Guru Thambal Angou Singh’ (1950–52) - Kartal Chalom; ‘Guru Chauba Singh - Kartal Chalom; and with ‘Guru Ojha Gaura Singh’ from whom he learned the martial arts with Sword & Spear, and soon established himself as a dancer, choreographer and artist of repute . Awards: Academy Ratna Award, 2011 Homi Bhabha Fellowship (1976–1978) Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1984) Padma Shri (1986) Delhi Sahitya Kala Parishad Award (1975) Fellow of Manipur State Kala Academy Manipur Sahitya Parishad Nritya Award (1975) Nritya Choodamani from Chennai Doctor of Letters (hon) – North Eastern Hills University |