Lai Haraoba Festival bridges borders: Meitei culture to take center stage in Bangladesh
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 30 2026:
The Mutua Museum will lead a three-day Lai Haraoba festival dedicated to Makong Leima Lairembi at the Manipuri Cultural Complex in Adampur Kamalganj, Moulvi Bazar, Bangladesh, from April 8, 2026 .
The museum's team is set to depart from Imphal on April 5 for the event.
At a press conference today at Manipur Press Club, museum director Mutua Bahadur announced full funding from UNESCO Dhaka, covering priests, priestesses, Pena performers, travel, lodging, and meals.
The primary objective of the UNESCO support is to help the Meitei community residing in Bangladesh become self-reliant in continuing their traditional 'Umang Lai Haraoba' practices, he added.
Bahadur also highlighted UNESCO's months-long training in Pena playing, dance, and music to address local shortages in materials and expertise.
He shared that post-festival, a special ritual in Sylhet will invoke blessings from deities Pakhangba, Yumjao Lairembi, and Nongsaba for peace and prosperity.
Efforts are also underway to include the 'Umang Lai Haraoba' in the list of Intangible World Heritage, following the successful inclusion of 'Nat Sankirtan' a few years ago, Bahadur said.




