Manipuri Dance An assessment On History And Presentaton

DETAILS : 

Author : Sruti Bandopadhay 
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shubhi Publications 
Publication date :1 October 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8182902088
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9788182902084
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1750 g

ABOUT THE BOOK 

In the rich tradition of the Indian Classical Dance, Manipuri Dance has a notable contribution. The book Manipuri Dance: an Assessment on History and Presentation is an in-depth study with roots deep into the anthropology, sociology and cultural milieu of the land of Manipur. It covers all the features, aspects and facets of Manipuri Dance and offers an exhaustive theoretical and practical view of the form. Songs, rhythmic patterns, hand gestures and feet movements are offered in particulars. The three main branches of Manipuri dance - the Laiharaoba, the Sainkirtana and the Rasalila has been dealt in details, while the contributions of different personalities in and outside Manipur have been put forward for ready references to the students, scholars, researchers and dance lovers of Indian Dance. An exclusive chapter on the role of the great poet Rabindranath Tagore to uphold Manipuri Dances has also adorned this book.

INTRODUCTION

The love ordered me from the moment of my birth my parents remembered that I would move any rhythmical home and the joy palpable in my eyes indicated my feelings of affection, adoration and devotion to the eternal movement art. In India the school academics did not incorporate performing art subjects the then time so admission to a very high Standard English medium school in Kolkata, South Paint High School, did not really help me to pursue my interest field as a part of my routine study. I was admitted to Children Little Theatre (CLT), a renowned children's academy of performing art in Kolkata Stalwarts of dance and theatre field were associated with this institution and being nurtured under such personalities was my first wild grounding for presentation on stage. It was here that I came across the words Folk, Classical Kabindrantya etc. the dances I learnt I enjoyed and the names and kinds of dances made no impact at that age. My dance classes included Kathakali taught by Balakrishna Menon, Odini taught by Muralidhar Majhi Manipuri by Kalavati Devi and other regional and folk dances. The other classical dances like Kathak and Bharatanatyam was also on the repertoire and an exposure to these helped me to learn the distinctive features of different dances of India. The children's dance dramas were a great place to learn theatre acting and frequent stage appearances in variety nodes trained me up with proscenium concept and presentation.

As I grew up playing with almost all the dance forms, I started developing a fond inclination towards Manipuri The padavali songs accompanying this dance, the sweetness of the syllables used the intricacies of the rhythmic patterns and above all the subtle nuances of this dance form, where the whole body comes into play with a pose of gestures suited perfectly with my mental settings. I started learning Manipuri seriously under Kalavati Devi, who groomed my body for Manipuri dance from that early age I passed out of school and thus out of CLT My innate wish to take up dance as a subject in undergraduate level could not stand up to my parents expectations So I took admission in Science subjects for college academics with Physics as my honors subject. But my training in Manipuri pursued now under Guru Bipin Singh in Manipuri Nartanalaya, Kolkata I came across the tutelage of the Jhaveri Sisters particularly Darshana Jhaveri whose affectionate teaching of this form has immensely enhanced my understanding of this dance form.

Guru Bipin Singh inspired and encouraged me to explore myself of the possibility to become a front ranking performer of this dance form It was quite a challenge because at no point did I ever dream of becoming a professional dance artist Moreover with a family background that would prefer a run of the mill career option, the idea to diverge myself into performing art occupation did leave me baffled for some time But the untiring practice that I was put into at IMA Bipin Pal Road Le Guruji's residence and the office of Manipuri Nartanalaya, made me not realize how the time passed by and within a few years I found myself performing in almost all the leading festivals in India and abroad Guru Bipin Singh's efforts to establish Manipur Dance as a solo repertoire for the stage gained quite a mileage and I was very fortunate to be one of his primary disciples in this direction of experimentation and innovation.