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Manipuri daredevils risking life to please spectators
They frequently perform daredevil acts, not in the battlefield, but on the stage. Flaunting swords and spears is their way of pleasing the audiences. The artistes adept in performing Manipuri martial arts are here in the city to perform at the 'Chalo Man Ganga Yamuna Teer' programme of NCZCC in Magh Mela area.
They frequently perform daredevil acts, not in the battlefield, but on the stage. Flaunting swords and spears is their way of pleasing the audiences.
The artistes adept in performing Manipuri martial arts are here in the city to perform at the 'Chalo Man Ganga Yamuna Teer' programme of NCZCC in Magh Mela area.
Belonging to 'The Huyen Lallong Manipur Thang-Ta Cultural Association', a group of ten artistes out of which two are girls give daring performances on stage.
The association was founded by G Gourakishor Sharma who is also the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
"Using the swords and spears in the dance is a vital part of our presentation but at times it is quite dangerous.
There is always the risk of getting hurt, so we have to be very careful while performing," admitted M Ibomcha Singh, the leader of the group.
"Few such incidents happened in the past in which the artistes were injured since the entire performance takes place at a fast pace," he added.
Working under such perilous conditions, what still attracts them to the stage is their devotion towards propagating the art and cultural heritage of their region.
"We don't think about our own safety in terms of life threatening performances.
The sole objective is to please the audience and nothing else," said Singh.
Besides giving mesmerising performances in India, the group has also visited Egypt, Israel, Mauritius, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, France, Britain and China.
"The three types of Manipuri martial arts include sword fight, spear fight and wrestling and they are not real performing arts.
They are serious form of self defence and acts of aggression against the enemy in times of war.
They have been transformed into charming, graceful and exciting martial arts on modern stage," added Singh.
The main items usually performed by the artistes are Khurumjaba, Ta-Khousaba (duel spear dance), Thang-Chungoi Yannaba (duel fighting of sword with shield), Thang-Ta Chainaba (fight with spears and swords), fighting with two swords, spade and dagger fight, etc. There are in all 11 such performances.
"We practice hard to give a flawless performance before the audience.
Department of Culture, Government of India, is actually helping us in our objective.
But we feel sorry to admit that we are not getting any support from the Manipur Government which is still very significant for us," said Singh.
