Conversation With Bedabati Lourembam, The Renowned Manipuri Folk Singer

Omila Thounaojam *

Bedabati Lourembam receiving the Manipur State Kala Akademi Award 2011 at Maharaj Chandrakriti Auditorium, Palace compound on April 15th 2014. DK Duggal, Governor, Manipur was the Chief Guest and H Kanhailal, Padmashri, was the President.
Picture Credit :: Daniel Chabungbam

In a small state like ours, it is rather a proud and heart whelming thing that we have multiple talents embedded in our soil. Whether we lack funds or many forms of extra aids to nurture them, the talents anyhow emerge and make our home a home for many proud and talented individuals. In the fields of arts and music, sports or increasing number of intellectuals and experts who have made our small home earn lots of proud laurels, Manipur today has proven that it is a breeding ground for winners. Against the backdrop of a numerous political and social turbulences, its citizens have never ceased to stun the world with their continual delivery of best performances in multiple fields of life. Today in my write, I will make a sincere effort to highlight upon some of the striking truths about one of the most talented folk artists of our time.

Born on the 5th November, 1955 to (L) L. Gopal Singh and (L) L. Tombi Devi, Bedabati Lourembam ( also known as Memcha) is a renowned traditional Manipuri folk singer. Among a number of prestigious awards that she holds, some that could be mentioned here are the Manipur State Kala Academy Award (2011), Manipur Sahitya Parishad in Khunung Eshei and Senior Fellowship in Folk Music conferred by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India (2013). Today in the first section, I would like to bring forth some of the exclusively frank perspectives shared by the artist in an hour long conversation with me.

When I saw her, I felt warm. This is how I will define her too. A warm personality, very simple, down to earth and indeed she looks young. I referred to her as "echema" whenever I asked her my questions. We both laugh when she told me that I should address her as "ema" since she is old enough. I couldn't believe it but then she told me that she is 59 year old, I was taken by surprise. Anyways when our conversation began, her look changed. She looked different, she became serious and intense. It was a moment worth witnessing when she showcased some of the technicalities related to Manipuri folk song. Her voice, I must admit sounded magical and God Gifted. Truly I saw the true artist in her and here's a glimpse of our conversation describing her "journey as an artist".

On Being a Manipuri Folk Singer (Artist)

Bedabati: I never knew that I would be a folk singer. It was not a conscious decision from my part. I was born in a very affluent family. My father was an educated man of his time. Originally we are from Seijang that falls under Lamlai Kendra (Ukhrul road). Although life then was very simple with a world filled with a genuinely peaceful ambience, I must say a life closer to nature's bounty, the inability to relate to the idea of a woman being an artist or a singer was deeply prevalent. The notion of a woman as a performer was never acceptable. I would emphasize that during those time there was very few or lesser awareness about considering that a woman needs to be educated or trained in any artistic field. Perhaps it was totally understandable.

The power of music that has drawn me or rather pulled me or introduced me to Manipuri song that I accidentally happened to overheard in radio sung by Nungsitombi. Radio during that time was newly introduced to our state and the Manipuri programme that was relayed was from Guwahati station (just for 15 mins) in a day. I heard her song and I was deeply absorbed by its powerful influence. So much so that I was keen on listening the singer's name who sang "numidangwaigi matamni numitnaga chingya thanglakle, tamyana kori chellakle".

It felt amazing realizing that a woman can sing so sweetly. The idea of a woman as an artist dawned in my life for the first time. After that I started humming that song repeatedly while I was travelling in and around the field. The thirst for music continued in me, I guess subconsciously. It was so beautiful a moment, when during late nights, bullock carts carrying loaded bags of rice from the paddy field, also carried with them tunes of khulang Esei. My little humming expanded from that of Nungsitombi's mesmerizing tune to other rhythmic sounds of an overheard khulang esei. Now that I look back in time, I feel jealous remembering those sweet hours when I used to call my friends from my locality adapting those sweet tunes from both the sources that I have treasured in my heart. During those old days, I used to sing and call my friends to come for a day's swim in our local river or to enjoy the juicy taste of the local fruits that grew in abundance in our garden.

My life in that small village had to end when my elder sister convinced my father that I should like siblings, do my further studies in Imphal. I had to start my life all over again in the new locale when I moved there. Higher studies happened after that but honestly, classes in schools during those times meant a very simple sort of education altogether. I studied together with my elder sister in the same class (class IX) at Heirangoithong Girls High School (1970). It was on one occasion that oja Th. Nodiya observed that I had a voice that could be harnessed if I take formal classes of music. He was the eye that recognized the artist in me and it was his best wishes that let me in into the world of folk song.

New opportunities came in the form of oja N. Pahari, aigya B. Jayantakumar Sharma who encouraged me at their best to make the artist in me grow to its fullest extent. I still extend my heartiest thanks to them for showing me the light that let me see the world where I truly belong. It was my first performance of "khambana silangba lakpa" (khunung esei) in a programme aired on the 4th Feb 1978 in AIR (Imphal) that introduced my voice to a larger listeners for the first time. My journey as a Manipuri folk singer began then with many truly loving my voice and many who genuinely encouraged me to learn more and deliver more with the passage of time.

Lourembam Bedabati Devi : Manipur State Kala Akademi Award 2011: Music

"For the first fourteen years of my career", says the artist, "my artistic vision wasn't clear enough." She worshipped her art and loved it. Yet all those years, as she mourned lacked something. She used the precise word "seriousness" to describe this missing element. The folk singer expressed that she felt light and it never occurred to her that she must feel the need to be more serious, more focused. The notion or sense of "achievements" in her life bestowed by art never made her feel the challenges that came along with achievements.

Apart from singing, she always admired acting and the beauty of theatre. As a result, she became an active artist and was a part of the era of Proscenium Theatre (Manipur). As an artist, she joined Roop Mahal Theatre in 1980 and remained being its member till 1990. From the year, 1994-2010 she again became an active member of the well-acclaimed The Chorus Repertory Theatre, Manipur as a performing artist. She emphasized "It was such a learning process there; I attained diverse and unique artistic flavors from Chorus."

As echema Bedabati claimed, the biggest challenge to her came when in the year 2008, she was faced with such a hard blow of reality. Most of her Adi-Gurus left the world and along with them, the knowledge and the skill of Manipuri Folk song. She was bombarded with the fact that there were very, in fact, very few of them who could sing this genre of song in our state. It was even becoming tougher to find folk singers if at all, they were required to sing on important occasions. She realized during that time that there was a lingering threat to this form of art.

In her words, she felt "scared" perceiving the possibility of this form of art getting gradually extinct and of being swept off from the face of this world. It was this truth that at the first place, made her more serious than ever before as an artist. After retiring from the Chorus, she started giving stage performances and while doing so, her life, she emphasized "change altogether". She felt renewed and new too. In an overall fashion, she attained a healthy development in her life, that she confessed allowed her to possess "an artistic vision."

Her outlook towards art changed and she was more open now for challenges. In short, she was ready to face the blows that come and try to persuade this art form to degenerate. She realized the need to nurture this art form and that's how, she started taking students. The first step towards preserving this form of art, as she claimed, was to train young and vibrant youths – to teach, nourish and groom them – finally to produce more talented artist, all trained at best in this field of art. After that, she claimed that she focused upon reworking on the format or model of the Manipuri folk song. She knew that time has changed and there were so many innovative constructions and reconstructions done in many fields of life with the advent of technology. She claimed, she was determined to adopt the best for the best to happen to the art form she adored and respected.

As such, in order to inject more vibrancy and life into the folk song genre, she decided to go for some experimental form to work along with the Manipuri folk song pattern. The fundamental objective, as she confessed, of her ambition remained that while trying to revive and popularize this form of art, she shouldn't distort its original true essence. The beauty of the skeleton of our traditional folk song (the soul) must remain intact and yet she attempted to infiltrate some healthy changes too in its structure.

The artist expressed that she feared doing experiments on this complicated form of art. But at the same time, she told that it was the most needed requirement imposed by time and change. It was very difficult to bring in some changes to this folk art form but she had to try since, she disliked the fact that this form of art (and the artists associated with it) was typecast through a series of frozen stereotypes by the majority. She consequently attempted to compose those kinds of tunes that will create the most unique yet natural sounds of music. Her vision now thus was to harness the best's sounds of Mother Nature and make it complement the Manipuri folk song. When the word, "original" doesn't connote anything original at all in today's time and era, she desired to live with her twin/double aim or vision of preserving the original element of folk song and protect it as much as she can, from any kind of metaphorical cultural war waged against its existence in our midst.

In the concluding part of our conversation, she expressed her utmost thanks to the advanced ways of organizing workshops that are according to her, a perfect kind of forum for different people (young and old) to come together and discuss or analyze this art form at best possible ways. She also extends her happiness in observing that many young and talented contemporary singers are learning the importance of the essence of Manipuri folk song and they have come forward and expressed their desires to learn it.

In her concluding statement, she requested the concern authorities associated with the aim and objective of preserving the cultural heritage of our state, to include encouraging this form of art in state their welfare plans and programs. While performing as much as she could in popular platforms like AIR (Imphal), Theatre Festivals, Annual Function at Doordarshan to name just a few, the artist is devoting most of her time in training young people.

Certainly I'm glad that I met her and felt so inspired. May be there are many in our small state who are doing their best in preserving the cultural beauty of our land - our home. I will continue searching for them and write more about them. I do hope that there are readers who await such writes about good people who took a stand for the society and did something different for the betterment of the society.

Read a Profile on Lourembam Bedabati here