Story tellers fest
Source: The Sangai Express

New Delhi, January 23 2015 : Eighty nine years old renowned ballad singer Nameirakpam Ibemni, a recipient of Padma Shri from Manipur will present Khongjom Parva at the 3-day Kathakar-International Storytellers Festival to be held at the Amphitheatre of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath here.

The festival to be organized by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Nivesh will commence from January 30 and go on till February 1.The festival will be from 4 pm to 8 pm.

Morning sessions will be held from 9 am to 12.30 pm during the festival for school children.

The first day of the festival will witness a panel discussion on storytelling preservation and techniques followed by stories of Silk Route of Mongolia by Sarah Rundle of United Kingdom; Villupattu by Prof Vettavarayan, cultural troupe from Tamil Nadu of India; and the Firebird and other stories from Russia and eastern Europe and The Three Swords - a Scandinavian folktale by Emily Parish from United Kingdom.

The second day will witness The One-eyed Lad and the Ugly Little Princess by Daniel Hall from Hungary; Swedish and Norwegian folktales and myths by Emily Parish from United Kingdom; Baithak ni Bhavai by Nayak Baldevbhai D from Gujarat, India; and Stories from the Silk Route of India by Sarah Rundle from United Kingdom.

The last day will have presentation of African folktales by Godfrey Duncan from United Kingdom; Love � a recycling tale by Daniel Hall from Hungary; Khongjom Parba by Padma Shri recipient Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi from Manipur, India, and African folktales by Godfrey Duncan from United Kingdom.

Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi was born in July 1926 at Wangkhei Ningthempukhri Mapal to Kshetrimayum ningol Keina Devi and Khumanthem Chaoba Singh, a noted exponent of Khongjom Parba.

She started learning traditional Manipuri music at the age of six under the tutelage of Guru Yumnam Natum Singh, a known singer of Nata Sangeet.

Besides Nata Sangeet, she also learnt other genres of Manipuri music.

Ibemni Devi, reported to be the first female to play Khol, Mridanga and Dolak in Manipuri folk theatre, is credited with the composition of over 150 ballads which have been aired by the All India Radio and Doordarshan and performed at many events.

She is the founder of Khongjom Parba School (1964), and has also established two choir groups, one in 1964 and the other in 1972.Kathakar-International Storytellers Festival aims to generate awareness on the traditional methods of storytelling in different parts of the world.

Traditionally, folk tales, epics and community history were communicated orally with gestures and expressions to leave a lasting imprint on the listener's mind.

It was also a method to inculcate moral well being in human beings.

Though novel concepts of storytelling have been introduced in contemporary times, the traditional methods are still alive.

IGNCA in collaboration with Nivesh attempt to preserve them for future generations.

Villupattu from Tamil Nadu is an ancient tradition in which stories are narrated using a unique musical instrument � a bow (Villu) placed on a mud pot.

The lead singer beats the pot while singing and co-singers play active listeners uttering appropriate oral responses to the song in between.

Baithak ni Bhavai from Gujarat is a popular folk theatre from western India, specially Gujarat.

Khongjom Parba, a style of ballad singing from Manipur using Dholak that depicts stories of heroic battle fought by Manipuris against the British in 1891.Emily Parish from UK is a performance story teller who explores ancient art of storytelling within a contemporary context.

A Swedish National, she will be sharing folktales from Europe, India and Africa.

Sarah Rundle from UK is a performance story teller and actor from West London, UK and specializes in community story telling.

Performing for seven years on various themes, she will be presenting stories from Silk Route at the festival.

Godfrey Duncan from UK was born in Guyana and raised in West London, UK.

He has been working as professional story teller since 1981.Daniel Hall from Hungary studied in Developmental Psychology and is a performance artiste who has mainly worked in the field of English theatre.

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