Grooming Young Tribal Artists with a Passion :: Part 1
(Thaninleima's craving for a changed scenario in Manipuri theatre)

B.C. Khuman *

Asang Eina Aton, a Tangkhul folk play :: Pix - Enaomacha Salam (Hueiyen Lanpao)

"Manipuri theatre would be incomplete without the tribals, their physical involvement and participation in theatrical enterprises or movement".

This was a statement made by theatre director Thaninleima in 2009 when she was conducting a 45-day theatre workshop with Tangkhul and Meitei artists at the scenic village of Tongou in Ukhrul District under the sponsorship of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. It was rather a bold statement, considering the potential difficulties, overt or covert, physical or mental, or both, in putting such an idea into practice.

Since the Tongou workshop I have had the privilege of being associated with four consecutive workshops conducted by Thaninleima as workshop director; all four sponsored by the NSD, New Delhi. My first experience of the four lots i.e at Tongou in 2009 revealed to me that this young lady, an NSD trained theatre director, was bent upon doing something to embrace tribal artists into the fold of this serious art form called theatre.

Being a part of the Tongou experience, I was greatly impressed by the efficacious way nay the distinct style of her working, dealing with and socialising as a tutor, a guide and a friend, not only with the workshop-trainees but also with the villagers as well.

At least one could confirm, then and there, her passionate desire and dedication to give the tribal artists of the hills a break into the world of modern proscenium theatre, an essentially sophisticated art form.

To motivate the educated tribal youths, to make them understand theatre and encourage them to do theatre in their own way in due course of time, that will be to their own benefit in terms of reflecting their cultural identity through this creative engagement. And also to guide them further to enable them join the mainstream of theatre world today, wherein they can also prove their true worth someday before the wide world.

This passionate dream might become a reality once they would be able to stand alone and work independently as aspiring theatre practitioner setting on to exploit the reservoir of their hidden talents hitherto remaining unexplored and unnoticed. And surely when the time comes, their imaginative creations would be an added contribution to the colourful spectrum of Manipuri theatre.

The following year 2010 I was overjoyed to see this energetic young director getting engaged once again in this challenging task of grooming tribal artists as fervently as the previous year.

This time with Maring boys and girls at another workshop, being conducted at Sandangsenba Maringkhun, atop the Nongmaiching hills during the period of September-October, 2010. Then followed swit a third workshop of the same kind at Touphema Nagaland, 45 km away from Kohima during February-March, 2011. Each time nearly half of the participants were Meiteis.

During these three workshops she would zealously emphasize off and on the fact that theatre could play a substantive role in preserving and promoting dying art forms and threatened indigenous cultural modes of the hills.

Her lament on the conspicuous but painful fact about the customs and traditions of the tribals having been reduced to near extinction under the storming weight of westernisation and modernisation sounded real. This prompted me to watch her steps more carefully, which I have not quoted since then.

As far as records go, Thaninliema is not the first theatre personality who has strived to reach out to the tribals. There are notable precedents involving stalwarts like Sanakhya Ebotombi and Heisnam Kanhailal etc. who purporsefully tried to link up the tribal people and tribal culture with contemporary Manipuri theatre .

Dr. L. Gojendra Singh, a talented director of the Manipur Dramatic Union (MDU) has also included some Kabui male and female artists in a couple of his plays, which were well received by the audience.

And now comes up Thaninleima. But she has taken one step further by remaining consistent in her effort through a series of 'hill-based-workshops'. It is good that she seems to be determined to go on sailing towards the targeted destination with more workshops on the pipeline, thanks to the National School of Drama, New Delhi for its constant support to such a meaningful project.

I still remember what this young director said in one of our casual talks at Tongou, which she repeated in her valedictory speech too that 'Manipuri theatre should encompass the hills so long as we are inclined to brand it Manipuri Theatre, that is to say that it must not remain confined to Imphal (the Manipur valley ) only'.

A view, well supported by none other than the eminent scholar and theatre critic Prof. N. Tombi Singh, who emphasized this very point in his formal addresses in all the three workshops mentioned above.

Perhaps we are making history now. Are we actually ? Time will tell it. But then 'time does follow the diktats of sincere effort'. That's the golden rule. Isn't it ?

To be continued...