Tamnalai (Haunting Spirit) :: Play Synopsis by Kalakshetra Manipur

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Tamnalai : World Theater Day at Maharaj Chandrikriti Auditorium on 27th March 2025 :: Pix - Derick Khuman

About the play

The play is set in the 1960s in Manipur. Those were the days when thugs dreaded by everyone used to haunt the streets. Chandrakangnan, an ambitious student, is a son of a poor widow, who is good in studies. He has been a silent victim of constant pestering of the thugs.

On the other hand, Ngangbiton, daughter of a well-off family, much to his chagrin, pines for him. In this milieu, Chandrakangnan’s mother tries her best to keep him away from any kind of distractions. But Chandrakangnan, one day gives in to his pent up angst and murders the thugs. The widow mother and his teachers lament on such an ill-fated end. The play was first staged in 1972.

Tamnalai : World Theater Day at Maharaj Chandrikriti Auditorium on 27th March 2025 :: Pix - Derick Khuman

Director’s Note

The mischief-making of the goons had deeply infested the society of Manipur in the 1960s. Tamnalai play was born out of that circumstance. The play is an experiment in the sense that it breaks away from the conventional theatre.

It depicts humiliation in different layers and how it is played out in our society leading to a tragic end. At the sensory level, the effort is to haunt the audience thereby creating a dialogue between the actors and the spectators on the sensory and psychical levels.

Tamnalai : World Theater Day at Maharaj Chandrikriti Auditorium on 27th March 2025 :: Pix - Derick Khuman

The Group

Established in 1969 by the late Heisnam Kanhailal, Kalakshetra Manipur has evolved a distinctive theatrical style that is predominantly non-verbal. The group is dedicated towards expressing the realities of oppression and resistance that are a part of day-to-day living in Manipur today, through plays like Pebet and Memoirs of Africa.

Other major productions of the group are
o Tamnalai (Haunting Spirit),
o Kabui Keioiba (Half Man Half Tiger),
o Khomdon Meiroubi, o Imphal ’73,
o Izzat,
o Lajja,
o Karna,
o Draupadi,
o Dakghar,
o Samnadraba Mami (Disjointed Images),
o Hungry Stone,
o An Enemy of the People,
o Keishumshangi Nupi,
o Yamata amasung Keibu Kei-oiba,
o Meralamba-I & II,
o Relief Camp etc.

See a photo Gallery of "Tamnalai" at Maharaj Chandrikriti Auditorium on 27th March 2025 here