Kanhailal, Singhajit receive Akademi fellowship, Priti Patel honour with award
Kanhailal's Memoirs of Africa to be staged on Oct 11
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Manipur Information Centre

New Delhi, October 09 2012: THE PRESIDENT of India Pranab Mukherjee conferred the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2011 at a special ceremony today at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

Eleven eminent personalities including Manipuri dance personality Rajkumar Singhajit Singh and theatre personality Heisnam Kanhailal were conferred with Akademi Fellowships and thirty six artistes including well-known Manipuri dancer Priti Patel based in Kolkata received the Akademi Awards.

Earlier Pandit Ningthoukhongjam Khelchandra Singh from Manipur received the Akademi Fellowship in 2006 .

The Akademi Fellowship carried a purse money of Rs 3 lakhs, besides an Angavastram and a Tamrapatra whereas Akademi Award carried purse money of Rs 1 lakh, besides an Angavastram and a Tamrapatra.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards were the highest national honours conferred on performing artists, gurus and scholars of the performing arts of the country.

Heisnam Kanhailal, Priti Patel and Rajkumar Singhajit

Born on 3 November 1932 in Imphal into a family of dancers and musicians, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was initiated into the traditional arts of Manipur first as a student of Pung, the Manipuri Mridanga, under Ojha Hanglem Iboton Singh.

He went on to specialize in Manipuri dance under the renowned Guru Amubi Singh, and also obtained proficiency in Kartal Cholom under Guru Thangjam Chaoba Singh.

Singhajit Singh moved to Delhi in the 1960s, teaching Manipuri dance at the Triveni Kala Sangam and leading its dance repertory.

In 1998, he established his own institution in the Capital, the Manipuri Nrityashram, where he continued to impart training in Manipuri dance.

Several of his students made a name for themselves at the national and international level.

Singhajit Singh moved to Delhi in the 1960s, teaching Manipuri dance at the Triveni Kala Sangam and leading its dance repertory.

In 1998, he established his own institution in the Capital, the Manipuri Nrityashram, where he continued to impart training in Manipuri dance.

Several of his students made a name for themselves at the national and international level.

Singhajit Singh had distinguished himself both as an outstanding performer and choreographer.

His choreography was enriched by elements incorporated from various forms of performance of Manipur such as Thang-ta, Nata-sankirtana, Lai-haraoba and Rasleela.

He performed around the world, participating in national and international festivals together with his wife Charu Sija Mathur, herself a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi award.

He also conducted lecture-demonstrations to promote appreciation of Manipuri dance and authored an introductory book on the subject.

For his service to Manipuri dance, Rajkumar Singhajit Singh was honoured with the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad Award (1975), the Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman (1975), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1984), the Padma Shri (1986), the Fellowship of the Manipur State Kala Akademi (1995), and the Kalidas Samman (2004) .

Born on 17 January 1941 in Imphal, Heisnam Kanhailal was one of the original voices in contemporary Indian theatre.

Working at the grassroots since the 1960s, he had crafted an individual idiom of theatre out of traditional resources to give expression to Manipur's discontent and anguish in our times, creating masterly parables of contemporary history.

Active in theatre from his schooldays, Kanhailal joined the National School of Drama in Delhi in 1968, only to leave the following year to establish his group Kalakshetra in Imphal.

Tamnalai (1972) on the subject of youth unrest was his first play under the Kalakshetra banner, which set the tone for the work that was to follow in later years.

In masterpieces like Pebet (1975), Laigee Machasinga (1978), Memoirs of Africa (1985), Karna (1997), and Draupadi (2000), Kanhailal perfected a lyrical style distinguished by minimal physical expression, supple movement, and a certain playfulness that set off the often grim content.

These plays attracted wide attention and critical appreciation in theatre circles in India and abroad.

He had since been working with a cross-section of people, actors and non-actors, to create a new theatre focused on Manipur's plight in the modern world.

This experimentation had led to the performance of Nupi Lan, based on Manipur's Women's War of 1939, in which market women from Imphal took part.

Similarly,Sanjennaha was performed by villagers of Umathel in southern Manipur, and Thanghou Leh Liandou performed by tribal youths of the Paite community of Churachandpur district.

Shri Kanhailal also directed plays by other playwrights, such as Rabindranath Tagore's Dakghar.

He staged his plays in many places and conducted workshops in theatre in Kolkata, Delhi , Mumbai, Chennai, Mysore , Guwahati, Agartala, and Patna .

He also travelled abroad to Japan , Egypt , and Singapore .

For his contribution in the field of theatre, Heisnam Kanhailal was honoured with the Manipur State Kala Akademi Award (1982), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1982), and the Padma Shri (2003). He was also awarded an Emeritus Fellowship (1998) by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Born on 28 February 1960 in Indore , Madhya Pradesh, Priti Patel was initiated into Manipuri dance by Guru Bipin Singh, Darshana Jhaveri, and Kalavati Devi.

She also received training in the art under Guru Thingbaijam Babu Singh, and studied aspects of Lai-haraoba and the martial arts of Manipur under Ojha Kumar Maibi, Ojha Gaurkishore Sharma, and Ojha Khelchandra Singh.

She studied the aesthetics of Manipuri dance under the guidance of Maharajkumari Binodini Devi.

Further, she studied stage lighting with Tapas Sen and took training in movement therapy at the Lesley College in Boston , U.S.A .

With such comprehensive training and a performing experience of almost thirty years, Priti Patel emerged as an accomplished and committed artist in the Manipuri dance idiom.

By incorporating elements of traditional Manipuri arts �Thang-ta, Lai-Haraoba, Sankirtana, and Rasleela � in her choreography, she gave a new look to her dance.

Her noted choreographic works include Malem � a homage to mother earth, Khuman � the Black Sun, Agni � the Sacred Fire, and Surya Gati.

She performed her dance widely at festivals in India and abroad.

She established the Anjika Centre for Manipuri Dance and Movement Therapy in Kolkata and Imphal, where she imparted training to young dancers and conducted research and documentation on dance.

Priti Patel received several honours in appreciation of her work including the Mrinalini Sarabhai Award for excellence in classical dance conferred by Darpana Academy of the Performing Arts, Ahmedabad (2000), the Uday Shankar Dance Award (2000), and a Certificate of Excellence from the Manipur State Kala Akademi.

A seven- day Festival of Music, Dance and Drama featuring Fellows and Awardees of the year was also inaugurated by the Union Minister of Culture Kumari Shelja this evening at FICCI Auditorium here.

Memoirs of Africa directed by Heisnam Kanhailal of Kalakshetra , featuring Heisnam Sabitri will be staged on October 11 at 6 pm at Meghdoot Theatre.

Priti Patel's Manipuri dance performance will be held at FICCI Auditorium on October 15 at 6pm and Nayika Mala choreographed by Rajkumar Singhajit will be staged on October 16 at 6 pm at FICCI Auditorium.