History of Manipur and Manipuri Dance.
In the Ashwamedha Parba of the Mahabharata, it is referred Manipur a splendidly beautiful, the people are well cultured and religious minded exclusively attached to Lord Vasudeva Krishna who is always in their thought. The people are simple and happy. They speak sweet words. The striking aspect of Manipur, however, is its breath taking scenic beauty. Imphal, the capital city, is surrounding by hills a Nongmaijing or Mahendra Parabata in the east and Longol in the north.
In the Mahabharata, Manipur is mentioned as the meeting place of Arjuna, the third pandava and Chitrangada, the crown Princess of Manipur. Besides, there are numerous genealogy prevailing in Manipur relating the lands as reclaimed from water by Lord Siva’s Trisul, while another lined makes it the place illuminated by the jewel on the crown of Shesh Nag for Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati to play Rasleela after sunset. Spurred by the example of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radhika immersed in Rasleela, their privacy guaranteed by Lord Siva as the gatekeeper, Goddess Parvati had requested Lord Siva dance with her. The myth and lore of Manipur refers to the supreme deity or Dau Seidaba rubbing hands to create from the Gods and Goddesses the human being to people the new land Manipur. The gandharvas provided music, the nagdeva, with his mani or gem, flooded the place with light. And it is this valley that came to be known as Manipur.
Classical Manipuri Dance Forms
Manipur presents a mosaic of traditions and cultural patterns. Particularly, it is world famous for the Manipuri style of classical dance, very much distinct from other Indian dance forms. The Manipuri school of dancing whether folk, classical or modern, is devotional in nature . The dances of the people have a high artistic and aesthetic value.The folk dances of people captivate the beholders with their exotic costumes and simple but graceful rhythm.Their folklore is quite rich in quality. The dances are both ritualistic and recreational, religious and temporal. The ritual dances are performed at a particular rite or ceremony or sacrifice and these dances naturally have a spiritual and religious basis. The dances have a high artistic and aesthetic value.
Ras Lila
The Ras lila, the epitome of Manipuri classical dance is inter-woven through the celestial and eternal love of Radha and Krishna as has been described in the Hindu scriptures and reveals the sublime and transcendental love of Krishna and Radha and the Gopies’ devotion to the Lord. It is generally performed in an enclosure in front of the temple throughout the night and watched with a deep sense of devotion. Ras performances are seasonal and varied and performed at the temple of Shree Shree Govindajee in Imphal on the nights of Basanta Purnima, Sarada Purnima and Kartik Purnima and at local temples later. As to the composition, the performance is a combination of solo, duet and group dances. This highly stylised form of dance has sublimity, subtlety and grace. The richness of the costumes gives lustre to the beauty of the art.The Ras dances are lyrical and have extremely graceful and sinuous movements coupled with light and soft steps, in which the heel practically never touches the ground.
Gostha Lila
Another dance that has stemmed from the Vishnu Cult is the Goshta Lila, also known as the Sanshenba. The performers are generally young boys in the age group of four to five years. Stories detailing Krishna’s childhood pranks are performed in Goshta Lila. The rendering of these stories combines divine inspiration with a lively spirit of fun.
Nupa Pala
Nupa Pala which is otherwise known as Kartal Cholom or Cymbal Dance is a characteristic of the Manipuri style of dance and music. The initial movements of this dance are soft and serene , gradually gathering momentum. It is a group performance of male partners, using using cymbals and wearing snow white ball-shaped large turbans, who sing and dance to the accompaniment of Mridanga, an ancient classical drum “Pung” as it is called in Manipuri. The Nupa Pala acts as a prologue to the Ras Lila dances, besides an independent performance too, in connection with religious rites.
Lai Haraoba
Lai Haraoba means ‘frolic of the gods’. The principal performers are the maibis and maibas, who are specially selected men and women, chosen by the gods to honour them. They are considered an embodiment of purity. It is essentially a ritualistic dance and considered the precursor of Manipuri as seen today. The Lai Haraoba is still an important living tradition. To unfold the story of creation, the dancers make use of certain stylized hand gestures and body movements, but the face remains blank.
Maibi Dance
During the festival of Lai-Haraoba which is an annual ritual festival of the Meiteis, the inhabitants of the valley of Manipur, the Maibis, the priestesses considered to be spritural mediums, trace through their dances the whole concept of cosmogony of the Meitei people and describe their way of life. Begining with the process of creation, they show the construction of houses and various occupations of the people to sustain themselves. It is a kind of re-living of the way of life of the past.
In the 15th century AD, Khamba, a prince of the previously routed Khumal Royel family ( probably a Bishnupriya ) fell in love with Thoibi – a princess of the Morang clan ( probably a Meithei ). The union have been to the political advantage of both Khumals and Moirangs ; but the moirang chief resisted on purely personal grounds. The result was tragic not only for the young lovers but also for the feuding tribes of Manipur. Khamba Thoibi dance is a duet of male and female partners, a dance of dedication to the sylvan deity, Thangjing of Moirang , is the depiction of the dance performed by Khamba and Thoibi, the hero and heroine of the Moirang episode of the hoary past. This, with the “Maibi” dance (Priestess dance) , the “Leima Jagoi” etc. form the “Laiharaoba” dance. The “Laiharaoba” dance , in many ways, is the fountainhead of the modern Manipuri dance form.This dance is a part and parcel of Moirang Lai-Haraoba. It is belived that the legendary hero – Khamba and heroin – Thoibi danced together before the Lord Thangjing, a celebrated deity of Moirang, a village in the South-West of Manipur which is known for its rich cultural traditions, for peace and prosperity of the land.
The martial dancers of Manipur – the Thang-ta – have their origins in the days when man’s survival depended on his ability to defend himself from wild animals. s to stamp out the rhythms in a theatrical display, as this interferes with the delicate body movements. However, Manipuri dance and music has a highly evolved tala system.
Manipuri Dance: Artists & Performers
The most well known performers and teachers are the (late) Guru Bipin Singh, his wife Kalabati Devi and Guru Singhajeet and his wife Charusheela.Guru Nileshwar Mukharjeee from Bangladesh and Guru Senarik Rajkumar from India are well known to manipuri society as with them the new department of Manipuri Dance was created in the Shantiniketon in the early thirties. The present noted Manipuri dancers of India and Bangladesh, as well as international fame are Hanjaba Guru Bipin Singha, Guru Chandrakanta Singha – Nartanachrya, Guru Nilmadhab Mukharjee, Guru Haricharan singha, Bibhaboti Devi, Kalabati Devi etc. Most of them have their dancing tours on the manipuri to England, America, Rassia, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Hongkong, Thailand, Bhutan, Srilanka etc. and earned great name and fame for their style. Among Non-Manipuri dancers, the names of Preeti patel, Sruuti Banerjee, Tamanna Rahman.In Bombay the famous performers and teachers are the Jhaveri sisters – Nayana,Suverna, Darshana and Ranjana Jahveri. They continue this tradition at their institution ‘Manipuri Nartanalaya’.
Nateshwar Dance Academy 