IN 1759, when Maharaja Joy Singh, known as "Bhagyachandra" or "Lucky Moon" came to the throne in Imphal, Manipuri dance began a pattern of developement which almost exactly duplicates the early history of court-ballet in Europe. This is considered the beginning of the classical period in Manipuri dance.

KING BHAGYACHANDRA was a devotee of Vaishnava Hinduism, meaning that he addressed his personal devotions to the god Vishnu,in the form of Krishna, the cowherd god. But at the outset of his reign, Hinduism was still a very new religion in Manipur. Having been declared the state religion by Bhagyachandra's grandfather, it was as yet accepted by a relatively small number of people outside the royal family.

Since his grandfather, Garibniwaz, had eighteen sons, Bhagyachandra had to spend the beginning of his reign settling power struggles and threats to his own life. His uncle plotted with the King of Burma to oust Bhagyachandra, who fled to Ahom (Assam). When he later returned to his kingdom, Bhagyachandra began building a temple to Lord Krishna in fulfillment of a vow he had made.

When the temple was finished and the deity known as Sri Sri Govindajee was installed, Bhagyachandra undertook to produce a religious dance-drama there, based on a vision he had seen in a dream. He worked with an assembly of dancers, musicians, and scholars to choreograph the story of Krishna's meeting with Radha, his beloved, and her companions on the banks of the sacred River Jamuna.

Their meeting and love-play symbolize the union of the human soul with the divine spirit. The drama brought the message of Krishna-worship to life, in such a way that the dance loving Manipuri people might be influenced to accept the new religion.

JUST AS in the early years of ballet, when lords and ladies of the French court used to create ballets and perform them for the diversion of an aristocratic audience, the first performers of what is now known as Manipuri Ras Leela were members of the royal family. Most notably, King Bhagyachandra's daughter Bimbavati was the first to perform the role of Radha, the heroine of the Ras Leela.

The rest of the participants, young females of the royal house, became a typical "corps de ballet". There was no dancer assigned to play the part of Krishna, but rather the holy image from the temple was set up in the center of the dancing area. This custom continues for Ras Leelas performed at the temple of Sri Sri Govindajee, although Ras Leelas performed in other temples include a dancer in the role of Krishna.

King Bhagyachandra himself designed the costumes, attempting to reproduce the celestial beauty he had seen in his vision. A description of a 16th century court ballet in France, written by Susan Au, seems to mirror the circumstances of the first Ras Leela:

"The earliest of these performances preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with most of the audience seated . . . on three sides of the dancing floor. The figured dance or horizontal dance as it was called, consisted largely of geometric forms, often overlaid with symbolic meanings.

They were almost always danced by single-sex groups rather than by men and women in couples. The dancers in the earliest ballets were not the highly skilled professionals of today. Instead, they were usually noble amateurs, often led by the king or queen.

In contrast to today's ballet dancers they would seem very earth-bound, for the steps and movements they executed were derived from the social dances of the time, which emphasized decorum, grace, and elegance rather than feats of strength or agility.

The dancer's costumes . . . were meant primarily to impress the spectators with their opulence and inventiveness: freedom of movement was only a secondary consideration. Lengthy performances and a leisurely pace were characteristic of many of these entertainments: beginning late at night, they went on for as many as four or five hours."3

AS THE French court ballet was derived from the social dances of its time, so the Manipuri Ras Leela was choreographed using the movements of the Maibi dances and the Lai Haraoba festival, which may be considered social dances in that they are joined by everyone.

The dancers are all women and girls, except for a pre-adolescent boy sometimes appearing as Krishna. The movements are decorous and slow, not only because Manipuri dance is a very soft and lyrical style generally, but because the Ras Leela costume is a large stiffened cylindrical skirt, as unwieldy as any hoop skirt or farthingale.

Further limiting the dancer's mobility is a veil over her face, which, however diaphanous, obscures the vision. This veil is related to the veil over the face of the Maibi who is in the grip of spiritual possession.

The Ras Leela dancer is also thought to be possessed by a spirit, in her case one of the divine milkmaids who are perpetually dancing with Lord Krishna in the realm of the gods.

In fact, the Manipuri people often take a handful of earth from the floor on which a Ras Leela has been performed and put it on their heads as a blessing, because they believe that Krishna and Radha have actually set foot there in the guise of the dancers.

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To be continued ...