SANGAI - A Tribute to Manipuri Cinema and Culture - 2 days cultural event at IISc, Bangalore concluded successfully

SIGMA *

SANGAI - A Tribute to Manipuri Cinema and Culture - 2 days cultural event at IISc, Bangalore

Sangai – A Tribute to Manipuri Culture & Cinerma has been a grand success with all the supports from the well-wishers of Manipur. The first day of the event kicked off with a Poster exhibition where visitors got to see a glimpse of Manipur. It was followed by a short Manipuri film which highlighted the past, present and future of film making in Manipur. Many a curious audience got their taste of one of the best Manipuri Cinema, "Mami Sami" which was screened as the main item of the day. After the screening of the movie, the audience had a lengthy interaction with the Director of the movie, Mr. Lancha Ningthouja.

The 2nd day of the event got to see hundreds of visitors crowding around the Poster exhibits enlightening themselves about Manipur. Once the formalities of inaugurating the event were completed, the cultural show started with a melodious performance on the Manipuri string instrument Pena. After that, masterpieces of Manipuri Dance was performed one after the other leaving the audience spellbound by the sheer beauty of the music, graceful moves and rhythm. The awe struck audience couldn't stop clapping when the seemingly impossible "Cucumber Cutting" was performed successfully with surgical precision without a single mistake much to the relief of the audience.

A slide show entitled – “Manipur, the forbidden Paradise” was shown highlighting the natural beauty, unique flora and fauna, culture and various interesting aspects of Manipur. The slide show than moved onto showing the problems of the present day Manipur but highlighted the fact that in spite of all the troubles, Manipuris continue to excel in various fields. The slide ended with a message saying that with a united effort, Peace will once again reign in Manipur.

The Pung and the Dhol Dholok Cholom stole the hearts of the audience when the artistes started playing the drums while simultaneously doing such graceful and vigourous acrobatics. Thougal Jagoi, Thang Ta, Shim Lam Dance and Maibi Jagoi all received thunderous applauses from the audience. Finally when Basanta Raas was performed, the entire hall went into a strange sense of tranquility, of peace, devotion and an inner enlightenment which is the kind of effect you feel when you watch this dance.

SANGAI - A Tribute to Manipuri Cinema and Culture - 2 days cultural event at IISc, Bangalore :: Pix by Busho RK

At the end of the event, upon invitation by the organisers, many an enthusiastic audience came up the stage and took photographs with the artiste. Everyone went home with a smile on the face, a lingering taste of one of the richest culture of the world.

SIGMA is extremely thankful to all the people who came out and made the event a grand success. We thank the Director, Department of Arts and Culture, Government of Manipur, for generously supporting us with a group of 19 professional artists. We are also extremely thankful to our sponsors – “E-pao, Cobigent and IISc Campus Xerox” and people who donated to the event with a hope for a better Manipur. We are grateful to all the artistes who gave a splendid performance. We can’t thank Mr. Lancha Ningthouja enough for coming over to tell stories of our beloved “Ema Manipur” through his movie “Mami Sami”. We are thankful to all our well-wishers and with everyone’s support we hope to bring to you more of such events.

You can read more on SIGMA and this event here