Governor lauds roles of Shumang Leela in reforming society
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR

Imphal, October 18 2021: Governor La Ganesan on Monday inaugurated the 49th All Manipur Shumang Leela Festival, 2020- 21 organised by Manipur State Kala Akademi at Iboyaima Shumang Leela Shanglen.

While applauding the organisers to keeping alive and promoting the performing art of Manipur, the Governor stressed the need for reviving Shumang Leela to its former glory.

He also stated that Shumang Leela is as popular as Jatra of Bengal, Tamasha of Maharashtra, Bhavi of Madhya Pradesh and Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh.

Shumang Leela generally used to be staged at the courtyard of houses.

Original ly, it started as a comic genre presented to the kings and noblemen which ultimately developed into the present form.

Over the years it has become a powerful medium for mass education besides providing entertainment and relaxation.

Stories of Harischandra, Sati Savitri, Ram, Prahlada and episodes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana and other mythologies were successfully staged through this medium.

The immortal love story of Khamba and Thoibi and other historical events related to Moirang were also conveniently used by Shumang Leela in the style called "Moirang Parva".

The old groups of Shumang Leela preserved and promoted humanism, tolerance, confidence, devotion, truth and justice through their performance and also contributed their best for the betterment of society and this needs to be remembered by the present Shumang Leela activists with gratitude, he added.

The Governor was also impressed with Shumang Leela groups exclusively composed of male artistes but enacting roles of female with ease.

Groups comprising entirely of females have also come up and they have become prominent feature in many festivals, he said and termed as unfortunate that only 14 female groups will be participating in the festival due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He also expressed hope that the Shumang Leela festival will provide good opportunity for the performers to show their artistic talents to the audience and also to standardize the present Manipur Shumang Leela.

Moreover, La Ganesan commended that the present day Sumang Leela plays focus on the issues.of moral values, unity and integrity as well as brotherhood and friendship among various communities in the state with the aim and objective of strengthening the very fabric which binds the people of the state together.

"It acts as a catalyst in bringing about peace and harmony in society and hopes that it will continue its endeavour to achieve the goal.

Since the state is passing through difficult times, the need of the hour is to do away with issues which blemish our age-old peaceful co-existence and it is the responsibility of every citizen irrespective of caste, creed or religion to contribute their best their respective capacities with sincerity, discipline and confidence for ensuing peace in the state," he added.

Langthabal MLA Karam Shyam, as the functional president, said that the hard-work of Shumang Leela artistes enhanced Manipur's profile in the field of art and culture.

However, it is unfortunate that they are not given due regard and recognition in many spheres, he said while urging authorities concerned to look into the various grievances of the artistes and solve them at the earliest.

As a part of the programme, 25 artistes of Shumang Leela were awarded with Best Actors, supporting actors, Best lyricist, Best Director, Best Script, Best Productions and Best actor awards in Comic Roles.

The function was also attended many dignitaries and the general public.

A special show called 'Mei Iklaba Thamoi' was also staged as a part of the launch event.

Comment