Ratan Thiyam with Fourteen Photographs

Manipur Trilogy Ratan Thiyam with fourteen photographs

Published by WordSmith Publishers To my parents who baptized me in the Manipur Trilogy : A collection of three Manipuri plays by Ratan Thiyam religion of humankind

Translator Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh

Editor rupanjali baruah

Publisher WordSmith Publishers 30 Krishnanagar, Chandmari P.O. Silpukhuri, Guwahati-781003 E-mail: [email protected] www.wordsmithpublishers.com

First Published in Assam, India in 2008

ISBN:978-81-906393-0-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Price Rs.300/- US $6.6

Cover Photograph Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh

Design & Layout Playon Design Studio Opp. All India Radio Gate Chandmari, Guwahati-3, Assam

Printed at Bhabani Offset & Imaging Systems Pvt. Ltd. Guwahati, Assam, India Contents Foreword

In the realm of Indian drama, Ratan Thiyam is a cherished name. He has done all Indians proud by his achievements, be it as a playwright, a director or as an actor. His plays have been staged all over the world in more than 40 cities before impressive audiences of 10,000 people at times. He has also received numerous awards all over the world. However the Chorus Repertory Theatre that he set up on the outskirts of Imphal in 1976 will perhaps remain his greatest contribution to Manipur and the vibrant world of Manipuri performing arts. It will remain an everlasting reminder not only of all that Ratan Foreword 1 Thiyam has done for Manipur and for drama, but also of what actors, directors and playwrights of Manipur can do for themselves. To Translator’s Note 3 everyone in his fraternity of the performing arts, he has bequeathed the abiding gift of sustaining self-esteem. Editor’s Note 4 Ratan Thiyam’s plays present a remarkable juxtaposition of Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal 6 traditionalism and the demands that a remorseless technological world makes on all of us. And through this presentation of opposites and The Three Plays conflicts, he puts across the clear message that unless mankind resists war, halts the rat race of a frenetic existence and reverses the destruction Wahoudok 9 of the only planet that we have, there is only doom in store for us. We (Prologue) shall have to keep running from the destroyers of the world in search Hey Nungshibi Prithivi 45 of more habitable territory that will turn out to be increasingly elusive (My Earth, My Love) with each passing day. His lament of the diverse ways in which we have destroyed or perverted the world of today is heard against the Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama 80 backdrop of august presences in the mythical world of Manipuri deities (Nine Hills, One Valley) and damsels, of mothers and wise men. In the ultimate analysis, his plays represent the victory of abiding traditional values over the present Reviews 110 world of wars, conflicts, violence, greed and inequity. Through it all Comments 132 runs the thread of Ratan Thiyam’s intense patriotism. 1 The English translations of three of Ratan Thiyam’s plays - Hey Nungshibi Prithivi (My Earth, My Love), Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama (Nine Hills, One Valley) and Wahoudok (Prologue) Translator’s Note from Manipuri by Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh are a welcome addition to the translations of Indian literature through which alone we have access to the variegated canvas of our rich cultural heritage. Ratan Thiyam, poet, novelist, director, musician, painter and Bijoykumar Singh has done well to retain many of the Manipuri actor has a great mastery over Manipuri, a very old language, far words, expressions and utterances in the original with a glossary at older than many of the other Indian languages that have been born the end, because this is the best way of retaining both the flavour and out of Sanskrit. Periods of Manipuri Literature are counted with force of the original Manipuri, especially for drama. One hopes that reference to the eighth century AD as the beginning, which means Bijoykumar Singh’s translations of Ratan Thiyam’s plays will be well that Manipuri language has a huge treasure of archaic words. received by the literary world. One also hopes that Bijoykumar will In all the three plays, Wahoudok (Prologue), Hey Nungshibi continue to extend his laudable work to translate Ratan Thiyam’s Prithivi (My Earth, My Love) and Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama other masterpieces in the near future. (Nine Hills, One valley) myth is linked with reality. It encompasses a wide spectrum of human evolution right from the birth of the universe, based on the myths of the Mieties to the modern times, broken up in Dhirendra Nath Bezboruah four distinct episodes; the birth of the Universe, the creation of living beings, the outset of human civilization and the modern times. When the question of myths comes, it becomes imperative that the treasure trove of archaic Manipuri words is explored. Here lies the skill of Ratan Thiyam; he has meticulously crafted each line of the dialogues using a liberal dose of choicest archaic words - most of the dialogues in all the three plays are nothing but beautiful verses and odes. It is very difficult if not impossible to carry forward to another language the subtleties arising from the skilful linguistic manipulations. Translator’s job is made all the more difficult if the target language belongs to an entirely different family, which is exactly the case here since Manipuri and English are strikingly different from each other. Effort has been made to keep the strangeness intact and retain the nuances of meaning, style and traditions in the English version. It is hoped that the larger elements of style and imagination, narrative form and vision are carried forward and the readers in English can get a taste of Ratan Thiyam’s skill in linguistic manipulation.

Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh 2 3 undertake this endeavor to publish his collection of three recent plays. And all along from the first arrival of his material to the final editing, Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh has been an inspiring force behind us Editor’s Note who took up the tremendous task of translating the three playscripts from Manipuri into English adding innumerable footnotes and suggestions through email so that our effort becomes easy and effective. Sri Dhiren Bezboruah’s foreword with his candid observation of this genre and particularly his appreciation of Ratan Thiyam’s singular achievements have added a significant value to I am awed and eager to understand the world of rituals, of this collection. magic symbols that summarize the essence of what goes on stage. Finally this collection is expected to give a new direction The messages arrive in sweeping movement of waves from the towards the reading and understanding of the quintessential cadence of words, music, rhythm which invariably lead toward a approaches of Ratan Thiyam and becomes a sharing with the cultural burst of primal feeling. The assiduous movement of the cast emerges accomplishment of Manipur theatre. from a sublime imagination of their creator. Ratan Thiyam’s reticence about the overpowering facet of violence becomes sublimated as he reflects on the value of believing rupanjali baruah that someday the proverbial lights would be lit on his nine hills to take away the shadows that threaten to quell all hope of living. Faces of survivors of violence speak of truth, their utterances are a kind of breathing new faith into those who are wont to remain ignorant of the prevailing triumph of good over evil. Thiyam’s messages dissolve all differences of thought, he turns every episode, be it the past or the contemporary scenes, to enact a splendid epoch. He takes his audiences back into the annals of time where demons, emanation of mystic angels and the horrors of the holocaust seem close to real. He heralds a blissful time though aware that the heretics of death are somewhere lurking near by. His plays show us ways to save us from the inevitable ennui ( the death in life ) which may possess all wretched mortals. Though he refuses to call his plays didactic and yet he is so perceptive of the vital issues, that they gather and raise a shout in all of us and it is inevitable that he should show us a way out of it. The preparation of Manipur Trilogy took less than a year and this has been possible because of two reasons. I believe all good things begin with faith, and I have been reassured over and over again from the day Ratan Thiyam gave his consent that I may 4 5 Chorus Repertory Theatre Imphal

The Company:

The Chorus Repertory Theatre was established in the valley of the small hill state, Manipur surrounded by the great nine folds of mountains guarded by mighty tribes on the top in the easternmost part of India in April, 1976 under the able and dynamic guidance of Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal Ratan Thiyam Located on the outskirt of Imphal, Manipur’s capital city, Award, 1984” (Greece), “Diploma of Cervantino International Chorus Repertory Theatre’s two acre campus has been slowly built Theatre Festival, 1990” (Mexico). (and six times rebuilt after disastrous monsoons) to accommodate a It participated in Pan-Asiatico Festival, 1984 (Rome), Indo- self sufficient way of life with housing and working quarters for the Greek Symposium, 1984 (Greece), East-West Encounter, 1986 company. It is now an important regional and national centre for (Mumbai), Dublin theatre Festival, 1987 (Dublin), Festival of India contemporary theatre. On its anniversary season - 25th years of in USSR, 1987 (USSR), Cardiff International Theatre Festival, 1987 existence, the company dedicated its first permanent theatre called (Cardiff), Glasgow Festival, 1987 (Glasgow), Mitsui International “The Shrine.” It is a 300 seat auditorium conceived and designed by Theatre Festival, 1992 (Japan), Toga International Theatre Festival, Ratan Thiyam with space for set construction and storage. 1994 (Japan), Festival d’ Avignon 1995 (France), International Thiyam’s 1984 Chakravyuha (The Wheel of War) conference on Culture of Peace: The experience and experiments, performed more than 100 times around the globe, thrust the company 1996 (New Delhi), Festival of India in Thailand, 1996, South Asian into the global spotlight.With Uttar-Priyadarshi (The Final Theatre Festival, 1997 (Bangladesh), 50 years of Indian Independence Beatitude), Hey Nungshibi Prithivi (My Earth, My Love) and Day celebration in Sri Lanka, 1997, Festival of Perth, 1998 (Australia), Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama (Nine Hills One Valley) are equally Telstra Adelaide Festival, 1998 (Australia), New Zealand International acclaimed as masterpieces, Thiyam continues his examination of the Festival of the Arts, 1998 (New Zealand), Festival of Nations, 1998 human condition, expanding his explorations of war and power to (Switzerland), 7th International Festival of Scenic Arts, 1998 (Brazil), embrace the search for enlightenment, reconciliation and peace. Indian Trade Fair Exhibition at Dhaka, 1999 (Bangladesh), 50 years Equipped with its most outstanding performances in many of Indian Independence Day Celebration in Nepal, 2000, the Fall International festivals in India and abroad, this repertory has been 2000 North American Debut Tour in the following cities; Kennedy able to earn the prestigious “Fringe Firsts Award, 1987” from Center (Washington DC), University of Massachusetts (Amherst), Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, “Indo-Greek Friendship Ordway Center for the Performing Arts & Walker Art Center 6 7 (Minneapolis/St. Paul), University of California (Berkeley), UCLA Performing Arts (Los Angeles), University of Arizona (Tucson), Wahoudok Duke University (Durham, North Carolina), BAM-Brooklyn Academy of Music (New York). And BeSeTo International Theatre Festival, (Prologue) 2001 (Japan), Barbican International Theatre Event, 2001 (BITE: 01), London (United Kingdom); 3rd International Spring Arts Festival 2002, Shizuoka (Japan) and Toga Festival 2002, Toga (Japan), festival of Bangladesh High Commission of India, 2004 (Dhaka), IIC Experience – A Festival of the Arts, 2005 (New Delhi), Third Asia- Pacific Arts Forum, 2005 (Taiwan), Biennale Bonn: Indien 2006 Synopsis (Germany), Fall 2006 USA Tour presenting public performances at six major cities/venues including Kansas, Berkeley, UC Davis, Once upon a time ...... Lawrence, North Carolina and recently been to United Kingdom for ... There was nothing, total darkness prevailed everywhere - the Barbican International Theatre Event, 2007 (BITE:07), London the black void of space. Almighty Lord cried ‘Hoong’ and gaseous and Toga Festival, 2007 (Japan). halo of seven colours appeared out of nowhere. He went on a creating The repertory has also performed with great success in spree with the help of other gods and goddesses, and created the various places and cities including - London, Delphi, Kalamata, celestial bodies. His sons tried to create an intelligent being, the human Thessalonica, Kavala, Athens, Yaroslov, Leningrad, Minsk, Barisova, being. They failed many times in their attempts. They created fish, Southampton, Omag, Amsterdam, Gainsborough, Bradford, frog, monkey and so forth but their creations did not have any likeness Querentaro, Guanajuato, Cruz-A-Zul, Guaquil, Quito, Havana, to a human being. Almighty Lord released all the creations on earth Manizales, Cuba, Bogotá, Lima, Peru, Holland, Columbia, Thimpu, with specific duties assigned to them. Haa, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Wellington, Zurich, Katmandu, Tokyo, Mother Goddess, who had been watching the process of Toga, Shizuoka, Toyama, Taipei, Yilan, Bonn and many other places. creation intently, told her sons to look at their father and create human being in his likeness. Following the hint given by their mother, human Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal being was created limb by limb in Almighty Lord’s image. Happy days followed the coming of human beings on earth. A time was there when human beings freely mixed and conversed with the divinities. Human civilizations flourished. Everyone enjoyed the bounty of nature. The world was a peaceful place to live in; a perfect paradise. With the passage of time, population multiplied. Pressure on food and natural resources increased manifold. Natural calamities occurred. Disasters struck. Human beings started fighting one another for greater share of the diminishing resources. Advancement of knowledge and technology failed to liberate them from the virtual hell they were trapped in. Wars, diseases and scarcity of food led to political and economic difficulties. Disparity of culture and tradition 8 9 compounded the matter further multiplying the woes of human beings. places. It became toad. Next, they created yet another. This time their The paradise turned into hell. creation slightly resembled human being though not perfect. It was The worried human beings started looking back in time. They nothing but monkey. opened the pages of human history one by one looking for a pragmatic The Almighty described the behaviour of human being and wove solution to their plight. The helpless people called upon their forbears, different coloured clothes explaining the ways of human being. The the seven wise-men lost in oblivion and the seven nymphs who had Divine Mother taught her sons to create human being in the Almighty’s helped in creating human being, to save and release them from their image. Following the advice, human being was created limb by limb, miseries. part by part and the Almighty gave life to it. The play links myth with reality. It encompasses a wide Scene two: spectrum of human evolution right from the birth of the Universe, Divine mothers bless the human being and feed him ambrosia based on the myths of the Mieties, to the modern times, broken up to give him strength. Man and his consort pass their time on earth in four distinct episodes; the birth of the Universe, the creation of happily enjoying the bounty of nature. Their days are full of fun and living beings, the outset of human civilization and the modern times. frolic. It is a time when divinities and human beings mix freely. Peace There is so much to learn from the past. History of mankind is and tranquility prevail everywhere. a treasure trove of knowledge. Relics of the bygone era are Scene three: irreplaceable books of wisdom. Invaluable information is hidden in Population increases, Nature’s resources shrink. Food becomes the culture and tradition of the forebears discarded by the present scarce. Diseases spread, natural calamities occur. Disasters strike. generation blindly. It can certainly play a better role in the Wars break out. Human beings start suffering. Seven Maichous, the development of a society other than attracting tourists. Is it not the Wise Men, foresee a bleak future for mankind. They predict. duty of each and every individual human being to save and enliven Man will turn into beast; man will stop loving man, man will the decaying human societies by taking lessons from history and make devour man. Fire breathing out from the mouths of the rich nations the world a better place to live in? with sufficient arms and military power will start burning the weaker nations.Fortresses will start fighting one another. Fire will start burning Scene-wise Synopsis: with earth as wick and water as fuel. Killing and wanton murder, arrest and kidnapping will happen more frequently, news of wars and Scene–one: devastations will reverberate in all the four directions and eight corners. A narrator propitiates the Almighty by singing His glory to the Wrong pens will start scribing on departmental scrolls forcibly; the accompaniment of the pena (a traditional bow and string instrument) purse of the dignitaries looking after the departments will start bulging. and relating His accomplishments in creating the Universe. Then, he Scene four: starts reading from manuscripts invoking the Divine Mother. Customs and beliefs of the ‘Modern Man’ have changed The Divine Mother suddenly springs out of the book. Her completely. They gaze in awe at the relics of the past, never fully seven manifestations come alive and join in singing the glory of the comprehending the wealth of knowledge hidden in it. But in spite of all Almighty, describing His endeavours. On His instruction His two these happenings the mother earth remains beautiful. It is really beautiful sons started creating human being. First they created a species but it if you have an eye to look at it and courage to protect it. was nowhere like human being. The Almighty released it in water and it became fish. After more experimentation they created another. It turned out to be an amphibian. It preferred to stay in marshy 10 11 On Stage: Ojha Sheishakpa N.Tomba Leimarembi Umabati Wahoudok Maichousing Ibomcha Sorok, Somo, Robindro, Shantikumar, Nimai, T. Ibomcha, (Prologue) Premananda Lai Nurabising Chingkheinganbi, Sushma, Umabati, (Divine Nymphs) Leimatombi, Premila, Dhakeshwori, Sasita, Sunibala Ningol Lakpa / Professor R.K. Bhogen [When the stage lights up, Ojha Sheishakpa1 is seen to be sitting. On Phamnaiba / his left and right two attendants, one holding a pena2 and the other Tengbangbasing N. Tomba, Jilasana, Premjit, holding a pe3 are there. Ojha Sheishakpa starts singing.] Lupachandra, Somo, Robindro, Ibomcha Sorok, T. Ibomcha, Hayi4 hayi hayi Premananda, Nimai, Santikumar, Hayi, Pu Atingkok,5 Your name Chingkheinganbi, Sushma, Lending your quality of exemplary beauty Leimatombi, Premila, to Your next of kin, Dhakeshwori, Sasita, Sunibala, Uncoiling Yourself at the break of dawn R. K. Bhogen, Holen Recoiling again when it gets late Credits: O powerful God Stage Manager: Premananda Slicing like a boat Assistant Stage Manager: Nimai, Lupachandra For creating the Universe Costume Manager: P. Somo You created leaders of seven houses Costume Assistants: Leimatombi, Umabati, Premila, To carry on the lineage Dhakeshwori with sons and daughters. O mighty God Property : Premananda, Nimai, Lupachandra Ha! Lord, Ha! Lord of Lords Music Assistants: L.Tomba, Rakesh, Basanta, Premjit, O Lord, we, humans with short hands, Ajitkumar Like thinking of plucking lotus blooming in Production Manager: Ibomcha Sorok the vast surface of water Program, communication And trying to reach the moon & Administration: Dolendro Will try to relate Your story Assistant Directors Ibochouba Meetei, R. K. Bhogen lost in oblivion. Consultants: Ojha N. Amusana Devi, Unto us, Your humble innocent Ojha Keinatombi Devi ballad singers, Text, Music, Design & Shower Your blessings. Direction: Ratan Thiyam Allow us to receive Your wealth, 12 13 biting on a blade of grass And those who do not believe With a length of cloth in your existence wrapped around our necks, All are equal Lying on the ground like a walking stick, to the Creator of the Universe. We are prostrating at Your feet. Everyone receives the fruit of his deeds. The doors of the temple of Ebudhou8 [Ojha Sheishakpa starts reading Puya6 ] are closed tight The strong body, using all its might Hoong,7 the Lord resides beyond Cannot force the doors open the perception of knowledge. Cool down and think deeply. Truth, beautiful traditions, character ` The rivers flowing in the land of gods Following the duties of life and The crystal clear water the obligations to God with due diligence Purer than the purest gold We have prayed a few flitting moments Carrying heart, the purest of all to the Lord Arranged like flowers For something called displayed on a platter ‘birth as a human being.’ When offered it with a pure heart Bereft of maltreatment The bolts fastening the doors to the weaker sections of the temple of Ebudhou Without torturing Would open on their own. the guiltless ones Without suppressing Hoong beloved Mother! the sentimental thoughts Harvesting clear water Like the birds flying in the sky Goddess of destiny with gay abandon Hey Tampha Wangamlonbi!9 Establish an independent society. Ah! Much adored life of humans, [Leaves of Puya are thrown out one after another. Lairembi10 springs The day soul entered the body out from the Puya. She stands in a dancing pose.] What a divine day it was The Sun shone, it set again Mystical Divine Goddess Many a day makes a month Supernatural Divine Goddess Many a fragmented moon Divine gentle Mother Goddess! makes a full month Endowed with immortality, Many a full month makes a year free from sufferings After passing many a year Allow us to call You Hoong, The soul seeks separation from the body. allow us to awaken You Those who believe in Your might, Lord with the word Haya 14 15 You, who can see all the four directions, Danced on Phaibok16 hills eight barriers and nine boundaries Shaman Kondeng Khutchum danced Without removing the screen, Damsel Toibi Tangka danced my beloved Mother It’s a dance searching for the bloodline Hunting in the Iril,11 It’s a dance searching the family of flowers Catching prey in the Nambul12 The sky danced Getting soaked without rain, In the open space above. getting dry without sunshine Allow us to refer to You as Hoong Ojha Sheishakpa : Hey Almighty God, Lord of the Lords Hoong Hei, Hoong Hei, Hoong Hei. Immortal Sky looking at his two sons - My dear sons, [Lairembi starts dancing slowly. Ojha Sheishakpa moves closer and you two create the living world sings Hoirou13 to the accompaniment of the pena.] First of all, they created something out of soil Aa … Hoiroune … Um and offered it to their Father Hoirou it’s Hoirou … My dear sons, but it is not a human; Aa … Aa … Aa … Aa Since you have created, I’ll give life to it Hoirou Hoirouhe … Nakida Release it in water It’s Almighty’s Hoirou … shey sham To be a substitute of the human beings, Ha heiyane … heiya heiyane let’s call it Ngamu17 Haya hayahe …ae … Nakida Aa … It’s queen’s … ha heiyane shey sham [Toads enter from the downstage right] In the ancient times fire danced all around Hey it continued to dance step by step They created another again Aa fire continued to dance step by step and offered it to their Father Aa it danced in Hayichak14 My dear sons Aa it danced in Hayachak this also does not look like a human. It danced in Langbachak and Khunungchak Release it in the open meadows. It danced because of the birth of Korou15 In the beginning of Enga,18 It danced because of towards the end of Engen,19 the birth of the Universe let it sing in sunken places. Let’s call it Hangoi.20 [Six Lairembis enter from the downstage left and join the dance. The Have you come? two attendants, one dragging the Puya and the other holding the pe, The Almighty said, you Hangoi-sa, leave toward the downstage right.] do not look like a human! Can you turn into human beings? Danced over and over again Can you transform 16 17 yourself into human beings? Hangoi-sa! from the sufferings. Ha! It’s heartening to see, Hangois : Goga goga goga ga … in the days to come the seasonal rain Goga goga goga ga And toads will be tied Can’t turn into human beings, with an inseparable bond. allow us to live in rain, They go on creating one after another but Play and grow up none resembles a human being. Alas what ` amidst wild arum plants may befall, the Almighty ponders. In the end, Goga goga goga ga thinking to create a being most strikingly Allow us to plunge in ponds, resembling a human, monkey was created. swim in lakes Jump near ditches, [A monkey comes in running from the downstage left. Scuffling call for the season’s rain and tussling, he plays with the monkey for a while.] Allow us to play and grow up in mud and slime Ah, what a pity, you, Yong!21 [Thunder roars.] Go, go, stay in forests. Allow us to guard the flowers As a leader of imperfect creations, you will and drive away bumble-bees continue to live long in the days to come. Allow us to sing the song of rain Your greatest break would come when you in ‘the tune of the sky’ help the old couple in planting arums.22 Allow us to play and grow up Whenever a human being does any mischief, in mud and slime everyone would say – Ha, it’s monkey business. Ojha Sheishakpa : Well, well you may go since you refuse [The monkey leaves toward the downstage left.] to turn into human beings In future, if drought visits farm land Ho sons of the Almighty, daughters of the And crops fail, Mother Goddess! when fishes unable to endure Start flipping and jumping around All (in unison) : Yes. Because of thirst, if cattle starts mooing loudly Ojha Sheishakpa : Ho let’s shout Ya Ya. And running around, trees and bamboos All (in unison) : Let’s shout! stop sprouting new shoots At that time you call for the seasonal rain [A procession of Lai Haraoba 23 enters from the downstage right in And save the living beings a row.] 18 19 Ojha Sheishakpa : Ho Ya Ya Ho Ya Gave strength to it Gave soul and breath All (in unison) : Ya Ya Ya And displayed His might. His incarnation Woman : Ho sons of the Almighty, We are reminiscing again. daughters of the Mother Goddess! [The women while running …] All (in unison) : Yes. Is the sky higher He, our Father, is still higher. Woman : Ho Ya Ya Ho Ya Is the earth heavier She, our Mother, is still heavier. All (in unison) : Ho Ya Ya Ho Ya [They hide behind the frames.] Woman : Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya [After coming out …] All (in unison) : Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya 1st woman : Making a loom Woman : To make the villages in this land flourish wove the ways of humans To make the land prosper It’s the colour of beautiful stars. Let’s offer a dance recital. 2nd woman : It’s green silk garment All (in unison) : Let’s offer. It’s the colour of lovely Nongoubi24 It’s white silk garment. Woman : Ho let’s turn. 3rd woman : It’s the colour of rainbow in the sky All (in unison) : Let’s turn. It’s red silk garment It’s silk garment of the colour of peacock [They dance. Except the seven women, Ojha Sheishakpa and other It’s silk garment of pure gold colour males leave toward the downstage left. In the upstage, seven framed cloths are seen. The women stand in between the frames.] [They dance Phi-sharol Jagoi.25 After finishing it …]

Group of women [coming to the downstage] – 1st woman : By a streak of the rays of the sun The Almighty forming a loop Many Gods forming a bead necklace 2nd woman : By the light of the moon The Lord of Lords, Almighty, the Creator To create the living world 3rd woman : By the twinkling light of stars, 20 21 it cannot be subdued. All women : (in unison) Let’s dance. Let’s dance making upper portion and sides of the head. 4th woman : A dense forest, impenetrable by any external source of light 1st woman : Let’s dance making forehead, brows, corners of the eyes and eye-sockets. 1st woman : The forest is human body. All women : (in unison) Let’s dance. 2nd woman : Veins, arteries, muscle and flesh 1st woman : Let’s dance making upper and lower lips, 3rd woman : Stream of blood, flowing in vessels, gum and chin circulating throughout the body All women : (in unison)Let’s dance. 4th woman : The bird called Soul flew in to perch, giving it life! 1st woman : Let’s dance making cheeks and two ears.

3rd woman : Vast expanse of clear brimming water All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. Beauty of the empty space He, our Father has made us see 1st woman : Ho, let’s make the back of the head. Father’s image is cast on it Looking at the image of the Supreme Soul All women : (in unison)Let’s make it. Let’s start creating human. 2nd woman : Let’s dance making neck, shoulders, 4th woman : Please listen to us, O Father shoulder blades, arm pits and back bone. Looking at the sun Turning towards You All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. With our palms joined together Our heads touching the floor we humbly 3rd woman : Let’s dance making upper arm, elbow, pay obeisance forearm and wrist. Hoong hei … hoong hei … hoong hei All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. [They kneel and bow down together] 3rd woman : Let’s make front and back sides of the palm, 1st woman : You, sons and daughters of the Almighty divided fingers complete with nails. and the Divine Mother! All women :(in unison) Let’s make it. All women : (in unison) Yes. 4th woman : Let’s dance making chest with mid-rib [All the women stand in front of the frames in a row.] along with two mounds and cleavage. 22 23 All women : (in unison) Let’s dance. and earrings Became the first settler at Koubru 4th woman : Let’s dance making sides of belly, in the north, abdomen and back. We are paying obeisance to You again and again O Lord. All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. [Turning and dancing in step with the rhythm of the song the women 5th woman : Let’s dance making waist, pelvis, hip and leave. In the centre of the stage only a man and a woman are left navel. behind. They become Ningthou27 and Leimarembi.28 ]

All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. Ningthou: Hou Hey Hou Hey Hou Hey O Yaibirel Shidaba,29 5th woman : Let’s dance making buttocks, anus and Powerful god, genital. All-pervading god! Born as human beings, All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. A rare and precious birth, You have given unto us. 6th woman : Let’s dance making thighs, inner thighs, Hou Hey Hou Hou Hey Hou two knees, lower legs, calves and shins. Meitei Leipak,30 an enchanting land, You have created the golden land, All women :(in unison) Let’s dance. Encircled by ranges of hills, guarded by natives, 7th woman : Let’s make two ankles, feet with soles and Our beloved motherland has been ten divided toes complete with nails. taking careof us; Installing a throne, choosing a queen, All women : (in unison) Let’s make. Let the Lord of destiny, Leader of seven houses, 4th woman : Let’s beseech Atiya Shidaba26 for soul. Administer justice, It’s Your promise All women :(in unison) Let’s beseech. The tradition cannot be broken.

[The woman leaves.] [Soul is put to the creations one by one. All become humans. The women stand on the left of the men.] Herilo Herilo Heiyute Heiyate … … Lyrics of the song: Next to god Long, long ago, in the newly created world The messengers of god, You adorned with gold bead necklace Gifted with all the knowledge of the world, 24 25 O seven great wise-men, our forebears, May peace prevail in the land! who can foresee the future! 5th Maichou : Leader of seven houses [Seven Maichous31 enter one after another and sit facing the king] born as an intellect Fortunate by birth How can I, dim-witted, May you live long! born as a human being, overcome the obstacles 6th Maichou : Fortunate king of Kanglei34 in every step You’re an incarnation and spend a peaceful life, Sent by god please give Who looks after the birth of living beings, your valuable uninhibited advice, Epus!32 Don’t you forget the rationale behind your birth. Maichous :(in unison) Hayum! 7th Maichou : May you be judicious 1st Maichou : At the centre of Kangleipung33 Don’t you show partiality The centre of the land of prosperity to your subordinates When the rays of the sun strikes If the wrong one is favoured When the sky is clear ignoring the truth At such an auspicious hour Generations in future would suffer. O king, you have ascended the throne Don’t you worry! All : (in unison) Hayum!

2nd Maichou : You, head of the males of Kangleipung, [Maichous while walking …] With the leader of women sitting on your left, Endowed with golden complexion, Listen carefully Shining like silver, may you shine in You, head of the males of Kangleipung! Kangleipung! Making small bouquet of flowers To adorn Their ears, all the time, 3rd Maichou : For many a month, many a year Remember the seven Divine Mothers! With peace and prosperity, May you rule! [Turning to the king …]

4th Maichou : Looking after the needs of every family O’ king! Your five souls, Letting the songsters sing Six with your shadow and priests step in rhythm Offering it to the seven Mothers To appease gods and govern with your head bowed down 26 27 Pray for Their help [Lairembis start dancing. After completing the dance …] To bring peace and prosperity to Kanglei, O Pari!35 Living world, it is the play of gods, perform your duties keeping your mind under control, Let’s chant the names of the seven Mothers don’t forget your obligations and Ema36 Panthoibi, Ema Apanthoibi, Ema responsibilities, when the words of truth are Ayangleima, Ema Nangkhalei, Ema sung gods and goddesses residing above and Nangkhaleima, Ema Khunbuhanbi, Ema below would be pleased and start singing Khunthokhanbi. Ougri.39

[Lairembis enter one by one from the upstage left.] Lairembis :(in unison) Dragging long the bow-string of the pena With the sweet tingling of bells 1st Lairembi : We, goddesses, deep in the forests, with Chanting our names, trees as our companions … Making wake-up calls echo in air, What is that you want to say Tell us without inhibition 2nd Lairembi : Vines and creepers as our friends, forests We can either fulfil or refuse your wish as our relatives, water as our mate … We are seven Divine Nymphs Daughters of the Almighty 3rd Lairembi : Giving attention to Khoyum,37 Who had taken part in creation. waiting for orders from Chingu38… Maichous : (in unison) Supreme chief of men 4th Lairembi : Incarnating as fishes, O’ fortunate human incarnating again as birds … With undivided mind Tightly embracing in your heart 5th Lairembi : Tweeting and singing the name of Lairembi while flying across To bring peace and prosperity to Kanglei the vast infinite sky … Say your prayers honestly.

6th Lairembi : Flapping our wings, [Maichous leave] we cover the whole world. King :[Starts calling Lairembis] Ema Panthoibi! 7th Lairembi : O’ beloved king. 1st Lairembi : Yes! Lairembis : (in unison) How can the human beings know the dance of gods and goddesses … King : Ema Apanthoibi! 28 29 2nd Lairembi : Yes! 5th Lairembi : Come, my beloved son, head of the males of Kangleipung, progenitor of all clans, King : Ema Ayangleima! the pressure of ambrosia is building up in me, 3rd Lairembi : Yes! your mother’s body.

King : Ema Nangkhalei! 1st Lairembi : To survive without losing strength in the years to come, 4th Lairembi : Yes! let me feed you my ambrosia.

King : Ema Nangkhaleima! [Humming a lullaby, Lairembis suckle the baby one by one.]

5th Lairembi : Yes! Lairembis :(in unison) O’ beloved son stay back in this land, the future Kangleipung. King : Ema Khunbuhanbi! [Humming the lullaby, Herilo Herilo Heiyute Heiyate, they leave.] 6th Lairembi : Yes! [The king is left alone. The stage darkens. When the stage lights up, King : Ema Khunthokhanbi! Angambas40 enter with their Manais.41 ]

7th Lairembi : Yes! 1st Angamba: Today, I have to head 1st Lairembi : We are the Mothers of Kanglei for the capital of Kangleipung. In keeping with the plan of god, we have to leave you, 1st Manai: Every head-male of the seven clans an innocent human, and all the dignitaries will gather there! behind in the world, lovingly wrapped in our cloth. 2nd Angamba : Our king is generous, intelligent and witty.

2nd Lairembi : After bringing you up so lovingly, 2nd Manai : He tries to consolidate ‘hills’ and ‘plain’. we will be separated, today! 3rd Angamba : Nung-ngou Inthangba, chief of Langmai. 3rd Lairembi : We, mothers, have scores of duties. 3rd Manai : Telheiba, chief of Phunan. 4th Lairembi : The innocent cries of many a baby like you in every corner of the world, calling us, 3rd Angamba : Chief of Makeng, Chief of Chasat their mothers, are being heard now. (Chassad) – it is said, they will be presented 30 31 lengths of cloths. Don’t worry, don’t worry! I will try my best 1st Manai : Angamba, you have missed many names. for you not to be humiliated when you sit in Chief of Maring, Chief of Chothe, Chief of front of the king and his dignitaries, Khayong, Chief of Tonghou, Chief of Ebemma. Maram, Chief of Mapao, Chief of Kharam and my beloved friend Chief of Ayang – all Chanu : Even then, I have never entered that gate of of them too would be honoured by the palace and participated in any gathering presenting them lengths of cloth. of the dignitaries – I am worried, Epu.

4th Angamba : Angamba, do you know where and in whose Ningonlakpa : Ebemma, you are an unmarried woman; beautiful looms are the cloths woven? Meitei Leipak50 is big, there is no dearth of suitors. I am sure you would be attracted to 3rd Angamba : No idea, where are the cloths woven? a young high official. If your eyes meet, your heart will surely be won over. Don’t hesitate, 4th Angamba : Khoisnam and Yumnam, the two families have tell me frankly if it happens; I will hand you started weaving the cloths. over to him after proper verification of his antecedents – saying you may take this 2nd Angamba : Chiefs of the hills will dance merrily, beautiful necklace home and wear it on your let’s also join in the dance. neck.

1st Angamba : Fruits from the hills, flowers from the high [Everyone laughs aloud.] mountains will be brought and displayed in front of Kangla Utra.42 People of the hills and valley will be exulted. Chanu: Epu,You are so annoying!

[Angambas start walking. Chanu43 enters sitting on a dolai,44 followed 3rd Angamba : Who may be the one sitting on the dolai, by her companions, with Ningonlakpa45 leading them.] brightening the wide road!

Ningonlakpa : Hi, Hi Dolairengs!46 Walk faster, we are 1st Angamba : Etao,51 today, I wish to taste a ripe fruit and about to reach Kangla.47 Her elder sister adorn my ear with a beautiful flower, its Wang-ngam Leima has informed that she will fragrance wafting all over the localities. be waiting for Eshu.48 2nd Manai : Hais! She is the youngest queen’s beautiful Chanu : Ningonlakpa Angamba! Please elucidate and younger sister, a ginger lily flowering at the teach me, an unmarried woman, the etiquette peak of the summer. of the royal household, Epu. Ningonlakpa : Eh! What is that you’re saying, Ebemma!49 [The attendants turn to face one another and laugh heartily.] 32 33 3rd Angamba : May it be strong wind, Chekla?56 May the thunder storm arise, Are you separated from your consort, O lovely young princess, Pombi? I wish to exchange a few intimate words. 3rd Angamba : Pallumba, chief of Wakka, Panamba, chief of Andro 1st Mata52 : Eta Ebemma, who are those making noise Chingshomba, chief of the hills there, Eta?53 Tariya, chief of Keirao Huimaching 57 ‘devourer of Tengnou’58 2nd Mata : It may be stray bulls roaming in the midst of Your uncle’s paddy field, an isolated field Kwairamband market. Paddy field at Langmai, a pointed field [All laughs.] O you damsel Your voice shouting Hei 1st Mata : No, it is not, Eta. Echoing to the hillman as Heiya Was mistaken as the call of a bird Please shout once again, O my lovely lady! 2nd Mata - Then it must be something that could not turn into fish but one that had enjoyed the Chanu : Ha Chekla, listen carefully comfort of cool water – a tadpole. I, a damsel With only seven hired labours [She laughs.] Digging in the hard soil of Tumu Cutting the earth 3rd Angamba : Ha bushy-tailed dove of the hills Swaying the arms Wild dove, an unleashed, graceful lady Puffing I didn’t touch your nest, you wild bird your neck I didn’t catch your fledglings, Slackly moving your head you domestic bird Perched on the oak tree Your voice like that of cicada Calling Kru … Kru … Kru Your call like that of Tamna59 I cannot grasp what you’re saying Reminds me of the incarnation of god Call again, Pombi.54 Don’t call, don’t call again, my dear friends.

Chanu : Ha in the densely forested range of hills, 3rd Angamba : Ha lady of Langmai On the steep hillside roaring Ha lady of Langmai like thunder in the sky. O damsel hearing your voice Please tell me frankly, my dear friends. But not seeing your face Shouting like Wangbal.55 Even the road is forked into three Are you separated from your partner, Following which road 34 35 Shall I be able to see you why have you given me, an ancient man, such a O wild dove, tell me my lovely lady. vast treasure of knowledge? When I look, ah! I can see the posterity. Chanu : Ha Angamba, listen, listen On hearing my voice, a damsel’s voice 2nd Maichou : A chak64 after another, the life of a human, two- Losing your way third would be suffering, only one-third would Baffling yourself, O bachelor have happiness. Don’t go toward the south You will reach Wangbren’s60 courtyard 3rd Maichou : O Almighty, our Father, You have made seven You would lose your strength separate houses and nine clans, according to the Don’t go toward the north traditions–we have started following Your faint You will land at footprints. The densely forested Koubru hills The rendezvous of gods 4th Maichou : During the course of history, groups of aliens Take the middle path with the thought of devastating our society Start walking on your tiptoes have inflicted serious diseases on the future Let’s get to know each other generations and poisoned their minds, but me, a damsel kissing like wild birds You have not disclosed the remedy, Perched together like domestic birds O’ Father! Let’s inquire about our age Come walking faster. 5th Maichou : Ancestors and the new generations; a fissure has started developing in the bond between them. [Three Angambas move in closer and hold out the cloths wrapped on their shoulders with both hands. Chanu plucks out the nachom61 6th Maichou : Ancient traditions, its value is on the wane in adorning her ear and throws it down from the dolai. Three Angambas the minds of the younger generations. catch it. Music starts playing ‘Mamang leikai thambal satle (Lotus is blooming in the locality in front …)’62 7th Maichou : Truth will have no place; the ‘flower of love’ will scatter on the ground. [The stage darkens.] Maichous : (in unison) Ah, what a pity! [When the stage lights lit up, seven Maichous are seen to be standing with their backs turned toward the audience. In the background, humming of the tune of Khoigum Nalam 63 is heard. 1st Maichou slowly walks backwards 7th Maichou : Beauty will be wasted in vain. and turns to face the audience …] 1st Maichou : Wrong pens have started scribing on 1st Maichou : Hey Almighty, I’m a human being created by You, departmental scrolls forcibly; the purses of 36 37 the dignitaries looking after the departments frequently, news of wars and devastations have started bulging. would reverberate in all the four directions and eight corners. 2nd Maichou : Ah, what a pity! Common man has started fleeing hither and thither. [Maichous walk all over the stage and artists enter, Maichous turn into statues. They are covered with plastic sheets.] [The cries of people in anguish are heard in the background.] Narrator : This monument is declared as protected under 3rd Maichou : Man has turned into beast, man will stop the Manipur ancient and historical monument loving another man, man will devour man. and Archaeological sites and remains act 1976. 4th Maichou : Fire breathing out from the mouths of the We remained little more than glorified chim- rich nations with sufficient arms and military panzees in how we made our living. Because power has started burning the weaker of the ability to walk erect for millions of nations. years human became Homo erectus and then only forty million years ago became Homo 5th Maichou : At the onset of Langbachak, white cloths sapiens or intelligent man, meaning ‘the wise have started unfurling in rows on man’ in English. It is said to be the first step Koubru.65 The world has undertaken a to civilization. It was at that time, human be- complete transformation. ings slowly changed their habits and sowed the seeds that would sprout as arts and tech- 6th Maichou : Fortresses have started fighting one another. nology. Even most of it turned into reality Fire has started burning with earth as the during the last ten-thousand years; art, mu- wick and water as the fuel. sical instruments, lamps, trade and progress are the examples. It was the sudden whirl- 7th Maichou : Eesh! Every house on earth will start shaking wind of civilization after having been con- like birds throwing up and scattering rice to fined for a few hundred thousand years in choose the whole grains. the Neanderthal age. But the sad part is that all that have been found in the search of the 1st Maichou : Eating habits and living styles have changed. changes in man’s thinking and psyche are a Wise men have gone into hiding. Only a few few fossils and skeleton remains, except it, wise men are left behind. nothing has been found. Impressions of man’s generosity, mind and thinking are not 2nd Maichou : In the race of civilization, in the passage of found in the skeletons. Many civilizations time, grudge among nations have become collapsed in spite of artificial energy, new very frequent. Killing and wanton murder, technologies and medicines. Why are we suf- arresting and kidnapping would happen more fering in this age? 38 39 Narrator : Peace, it must have been very peaceful when 4th Maichou : The stream of thought, tradition and ethics people were honest. built up by men of the bygone era during the last thousands of years is a flood of 1st Man : Who are they? knowledge.

Narrator : They are ancient men. Statues of Maichous. Narrator : The stream flowing down from the high mountain of history crashes with the socio- 2nd Man : Who is a Machou? Do you know? eco-religio-political rocks of the contemporary world and then flows to the future after 3rd Man : No idea. changing its course. The flow of knowledge is perennial but the group who cannot drink 1st Woman : Oh! It must be a story of the bygone period the ‘water’ in the flow cannot become civi- before the outset of civilization. lized and it would be difficult to show their identity. Narrator : Right! Before man turned into beast and tried See, how beautiful is the earth to devour one another; they are the ones who Green, black, saffron and white coloured lived before people breakfasted with the news Ranges of hills. of killings in the morning paper. When they have taken rest, kissing them Clouds are flying whispering to one another. 1st Woman : Sorry sir! Surging waves of the vast blue oceans Are crashing on the sandy beaches Narrator : You ought to be sorry, my dear friend. It And trying to wake them up. seems to be still there amidst us – the beautiful In the dense forests archaic language, traditions, etiquette and Pine, teak, tairen,66 peepal, ethics. Common people have to spend their Wang,67 mango, gooseberry trees, lives, sandwiched between a group of people many kinds of trees seem to be who consider traditions as outdated and watching the fun like children. another group who mix traditions with Small huts are lying religion and politics for their personal gain. at the outskirts of the village. After meeting each of them, 1st Maichou : Without past there is no present. Many small streams are flowing past and meandering through them 2nd Maichou : Without present there is no future. Many epiphytic plants laden with flower, perched on trees 3rd Maichou : Seeds sown in the past should be made to Sunflowers waiting to open their petals flower beautifully and its fragrance should with the rise of the sun be left for posterity. Shy of the rising sun, 40 41 weathered coral jasmine, referring to the Almighty a nocturnal flower, 5 Pu Atingkok – Pu, Great Grandfather; Atingkok, Empty space; roughly translated it means ‘Great Grandfather Empty waiting to bloom Space’; a god of Meitei pantheon at the sight of the moon. 6 Puya – Book of knowledge written in ciphers Magnolia, the lotus of the hills, 7 Hoong – A term used for invoking gods at the start of Lilies blooming in the lake. incantation; also used as an exclamatory word meaning ‘No’ Songs sung by boatmen in the distance, 8 Ebudhou – Forebear, a name often used to refer to the Creator 9 Tampha Wangamlonbi – A goddess of Meitei pantheon in tune with it, 10 Lairembi – Goddess the sweet melodious songs 11 Iril – A river in Manipur of cicadas, crickets and many insects 12 Nambul – Another river in Manipur sung in tranquillity! 13 Hoirou – A typical song sung during Lai Haraoba or a Snakes of different hues mainly formed of festival of merrymaking of sylvan dieties 14 Hayichak – Name of an eon; Manipuris divide the eternity of the 364 images, time into four aeons, Hayichak, Hayachak, Konnachuk (or Giraffe, the long necked; Khunungchak) and Langbachuk Zebra, the striped one, 15 Korou — Archaic name of the Sun Peacock’s dance in rain, 16 Phaibok—Twin Rooster’s wake up call 17 Ngamu or Meitei-Mgamu – A kind of fish, Lata fish/ Snakehead (Channa orientalis) Parrot’s talk. 18 Enga – A month according to Manipuri calendar falling in Paradise is this.There is no paradise better May-June than the earth. Eyes never tiring to behold 19 Engen – Another month according to Manipuri calendar making the mind restless only at smelling, falling in June-July filling the heart with joy only at touching, 20 Hangoi – Toad (Hangoi-sa – plural of Hangoi) 21 Yong — monkey immensely satisfy the tongue only at tasting, 22 A folk tale; in the story, monkeys instigated an issueless old once captivating melody to hear, words fail couple to boil and wrap arum tubers in plantain leaves for to describe it. luxurious growth and helped them in planting it in their garden Look, isn’t the earth beautiful? The monkeys ate the boiled arum tubers and replaced it with wild arums at night 23 [‘Herilo … Herila, Hayute … Hayate’ is sung slowly in the Lai Haraoba – Merrymaking of sylvan deities, a festival 24 Nongoubi – A bird (Centropus sinensis), its call is believed to background. The stage slowly darkens.] be related with the seasonal rain 25 Phi-sharol Jagoi – A form of dance depicting the movements Translated from Manipuri by Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh of weaving cloth 26 Atiya Shidaba – Immortal Sky-god Footnotes: 27 Ningthou – King 28 Leimarembi — Queen 29 1 Ojha Sheishakpa – Master Singer Yaibirel Shidaba – Immortal Supreme Soul 30 2 pena –Traditional bow and string musical instrument Meitei Leipak – Land of the Meiteis 31 3 pe –Traditional temple umbrella Maichous – Wise-men 32 4 Hayi – An opening word used for incantation; also used while Epu – Grandfather or forbear, often used to refer to an elder 42 43 33 Kangleipung – One of the archaic names of Manipur 34 Kanglei – One of the archaic names of Manipur 35 Pari – Son 36 Ema – Mother Hey Nungshibi Prithivi 37 Khoyum – Archaic Manipuri word for god 38 Chingu – Another archaic Manipuri word for god 39 Ougri – A typical song sung during Lai Haraoba (My Earth, My Love) 40 Angamba – dignitary 41 Manai – attendant 42 Kangla Utra – Coronation Hall at Kangla 43 Chanu – unmarried woman 44 dolai – an open litter carried on the shoulders of men, a kind Synopsis of palanquin 45 Ningonlakpa – An official in charge of unmarried women The wheel of time rolls on. The present is a small link 46 Dolaireng – A person engaged in carrying dolai connecting the eternal chain of the past and the future. But, who 47 Kangla – An ancient site in Imphal where the king’s palace is located knows what is in store for us mankind. If we look at the mirror of the 48 Eshu – Grandchild, often used to refer to a youth by an elder past to see the image of the future, the future of the Earth, eaten bare 49 Ebemma – A term used to refer to a younger woman to the bones by the humans, is very bleak, an uncertain gloom hangs 50 Meitei Leipak – The land of the Meiteis in the air. 51 Etao – Friend or companion of a man 52 Mata – Friend or companion of a lady On opening the pages of the history of mankind, horrendous 53 Eta – My friend; a term used to refer to a girl by her friend images of the past unfold one after another. Closer at home, seven- 54 Pombi – Domestic bird year devastation of Manipur by the Burmese is clearly etched in the 55 Wangbal – Thunderstorm history of Manipur. Hordes of children had been suffocated to death 56 Chekla – wild bird with the smoke of burning chilies. Thousands of people tied with 57 Huimaching – Name of a hill cane-splits passed through slits in their ears and palms had been 58 Tengnou – A spiny euphorbia (E. Candelabrorum) 59 Tamna – A mythical bird dragged away as slaves. In other parts of the world, many more 60 Wangbren – A deity residing in the south terrifying incidents had happened. Hundreds of thousands of people 61 nachom – a small bouquet (made of the choicest flowers) had been packed in concentration camps and starved to death by the used for adorning the ear Germans. As revenge for killing, five hundred thousand of their people 62 ‘Mamang leikai thambal…) – A folk song in figurative expression explaining the growth of a girl and her attaining at Stalingrad, Russian soldiers had raped fifty thousand German puberty women. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. The Americans 63 Khoigum Nalam – Kabui (an ethnic group) folk song. retaliated by dropping atom bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing 64 chak – eon; Manipuris divide the eternity of time into four damages of untold magnitude injuring and killing hordes of innocents. eons, Heiyichak, Hayachak, Konnachuk (or Khunungchak) Genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime in Kampuchea has also and Langbachuk marred the history of mankind. 65 Koubru – name of a peak in Manipur; a sacred place to many There is no dearth of such horrendous incidents written with 66 Tairen – A sacred tree; believed to be related with the blood in the history of mankind. Prophecies of wise men for the existence of human life on earth, (Toona ciliate) recurrence of such incidents in future reverberate in the air. Isn’t it 67 Wang – An avenue tree (Gmelina arborea) the duty of the present generation to reform and bring peace and 44 45 harmony to the Earth for a better future of mankind? globe. Unable to bear the ghastly acts of the humans, even nature In the play, seven sisters, celestial nymphs (mythological seems to have shied away from them. characters), weave a cloth, the traditional symbol of love, peace and Dead worried about the gruesome scene on the Earth, the honour, in a loom for offering to the Almighty with a prayer to put a nymphs acting as Maibis, priestesses, try to communicate with the stop to war and bring peace to the Earth. History is personified as an Unseen Force to foresee what the future holds for mankind. old man. The nymphs, who can assume any form, fly around the Puwari, an old man personifying history, relates the prophecies Earth as birds and incarnate as human beings to open the chapters of Nostradamus–the birth of Hitler, the leader of the Nazis; putting from the past soaked in blood. They also fly to West Asia and Europe hordes of people to death by slowly starving them in concentration to see the demolished Ottoman bridge on the Neretva River built by camps; dropping of atom bomb at Hiroshima. Suleyman, the Sultan of Mostar. Puwari re-enacts the scene of the B-29 bomber’s flight to The play ends with the nymphs, symbolising the peace loving Hiroshima to drop atom bomb. citizens of the world, offering the cloth they have woven so Hi-leima, the third nymph flies off to Japan to collect first meticulously to the Almighty with a prayer for peace and harmony. hand account of the war. Assuming the form of pigeons, they fly off to collect dust from the Scene–two: place in Bamiyan where the colossal Buddha once stood peacefully Hi-leima, incarnated as a survivor describes the tragic incident and sprinkle it over Ground Zero, where the twin towers of World of the dropping of atom bomb at Hiroshima and the agonising scene Trade Centre once stood firmly. History crippled with the atrocities in the aftermath that was before her eyes. Trapped under a fallen on women and children is reduced to an open book in a wheelchair. tree, she is immobile. She ultimately manages to free herself and Are the flags of the UN fluttering? flies back home. She reaches home, parched with thirst. Scene–three: Scene-wise Synopsis Puwari fixes crosses at the graves of war victims, offers flowers and reads out the epitaphs. He then pays homage to martyrs. Prologue Scene–four: Puwari pays a visit to the nymphs’ house. They talk about the Opens with Shikaplon Ishei (prayer song in distress) to the sorrowful state of the Earth caused by the never-ending war and accompaniment of the pena (a traditional Manipuri bow and string bloodshed. Yai-leima, the fourth nymph informs about her intension instrument) asking the Almighty for forgiveness. Seven dignitaries to visit Angkor Wat and see the genocide in Cambodia, during the armed with spears and shields perform war dance bidding to narrate Khmer Rouge regime. a part of the never-ending story of bloodshed. A worried Hi-pokpi, the eldest nymph, tries to stop her. Puwari Seven females with golden masks enter slowly, dancing to the forbids her to do so and consoles her by saying that he too is going to tune of the pena. The song in the background introduces them as Cambodia. He pulls away Yai-leima in his cart. seven sisters, celestial nymphs who can assume any form they want. Hi-pokpi muses about the wisdom of the human society and Assuming the form of birds, they had flown all over the world and untold sufferings caused by war. She expresses her desire to listen to carried out their duties, incarnated as human beings. a soothing lullaby. Scene - one: Scene–five: The sisters, while weaving a cloth recount their experiences Yai-leima, incarnated as a widow, a victim of Khmer Rouge and sightings - the frightening scenes of multiple deaths all over the regime laments and tries to nurse her starved and dehydrated child. 46 47 The child, already dead does not respond to her loving care. Cast Scene–six: Puwari : R. K. Bhogen Four of the younger nymphs fly off to West Asia and Europe Hi-pokpi : Shantikumari to see the remnants of devastating wars. Hi-pokpi is worried that Yai pokpi : Chingkheinganbi her four sisters may land into trouble. Hi-leima : Umabati Soldiers chase four women, war victims, incarnated by the Yai-leima : Premila four nymphs. After capturing, they are kept in prison cells and Hikubi : Sushma tortured. Because of the soldiers, their enemies, forcing their way Yaikubi : Dhakeshwori on them, they become gravid. They love and hate the babies they are Yaishra : Leimatombi carrying in their wombs. They take the extreme decision and discard Lanmee (soldiers) : Ibomcha Sorok, Robindro, Somo, the babies after giving birth. Jilasana, Nimai, N. Tomba, Unable to bear the pang, they commit suicide. Mother Teresa Premananda, M. Tomba, enters and accepts the discarded baby. L. Tomba, Premjit, T. Ibomcha, Shantikumar, Lupachandra, Epilogue: Angoutombi Credit The sisters complete weaving the cloth. They cut it from the loom and offer it to the Almighty with a prayer for forgiveness and Stage Manager : Premananda depart. Puwari bids them farewell with a request to spread the Stage Props : Premananda, Nimai, Lupachandra, message of love and peace all over the world. M. Tomba Puwari, says that he has been made a weakling by the selfish nature of human beings, but he will continue to write history on his Costume Asstt. : Somo, Chingkheinganbi, Sushma chest with blood as ink. Puwari is reduced to an open History Book Music Asstt. : Krishnachandra, Manisana, on a wheelchair. L. Tomba, Basanta, Rakesh Luwang, N. Tomba

Lighting Asstt. : Ibochouba Meetei Consultants : Ojha Leibakmacha, W. Keinatombi, N. Amusana Devi

Administration : Dolendro Production Manager : Ibomcha Sorok Assistant Directors : Ibochouba Meetei R.K. Bhogen

Text, Music, Design & Direction : Ratan Thiyam 48 49 death will come tomorrow, it’s not foretold one who is born once Hey Nungshibi Prithivi will not die twice. (My Earth, My Love) [They perform war dance with spears.]

Khousarol (Song accompanying the war dance) Prologue Moving like the wind, sitting like a stone free to do as You wish, O Lord today, on this day, our Forbears, in Your lap we, seven males [The stage is dark. Shikaplon Ishei (prayer song in distress) is heard are bidding to relate to the accompaniment of the pena, a traditional Manipuri bow and about the never-ending incident called ‘War’ string instrument.] a part of the history when cruel blood Lyric : O Lord has started flowing like a river. Lord of the Lords O Mother Goddess [The stage darkens.] in Your divine courtyard we, Your humble servants, [When the stage lights up, the dignitaries leave slowly, toward the are offering a length of cloth Down Left.] please accept it wholeheartedly, O Father [Seven Celestial Nymphs slowly start dancing. Pena (a ballad sung forgive our sins to the accompaniment of the pena) is heard in the background] save us from making mistakes, with these words Pena : Hayi Haya Hey at Your divine feet Aa Haya Hayum we are paying obeisance Hayahey, it’s about the creation of the Earth O Lord. from the bamboo leaves, long ago the song of flowers, the sublime message, [Along with the song the stage lights up slowly and seven dignitaries, hides among the bulls armed with spears and shields enter.] the whining of the spinning top has not reverberated yet The dignitaries : Hayum Hey, Haya Hey [repeat seven times] a fine cloth being brought from afar death will visit today, it’s not known 50 51 the ultimate Immortal Voice it had fallen down, fallen down, fallen down. has created the mind of human beings, it’s about it. In the blue sky, Dawn has broken, it has become day. across the mask of clouds, The brilliant Sun has risen in the east all over the nook and cranny of the Earth, lighting the hills thrown by nine senior Gods flying in gay abandon, my six sisters, and caught by seven Celestial Nymphs. Yaipokpi, Hí-leima, Yaileima, The names of the seven Celestial Nymphs Hí-kubi, Yaikubi and Yaishra, are Hí-pokpi, Yaipokpi, Hí-leima, Yaileima, I, your elder sister, am calling, have you Hí-kubi, Yaikubi and Yaishra. heard? Today, on this day Dusk has fallen, the Sun has reached the O Lord, let me relate the story of (western) hills, the adventures of the seven Celestial Nymphs come back flying to Father’s courtyard, who can assume any form they want. Mother’s charming cottage Assuming the form of birds, kukru ku ku ku ku … kukru ku ku ku ku … they flew all over the world and carried out their duties, [Six younger nymphs enter.] incarnated as human beings.

[The eldest nymph, in the form of a bird, remains perched on a loom. All of them (in unison): What’s it, The other six nymphs turn into birds and fly way. The stage darkens.] Echemhan (eldest sister)?

First Scene Nurahal : So, you have returned home?

[The stage lights up. The eldest nymph is weaving a cloth. While All of them (in unison) : Yes, we’ve returned, Echemhan. weaving, she starts singing.] Nurahal : My six younger sisters, you have travelled Nurahal : Ingenlei (a kind of orchid with short lived under the canopy of blue sky, (Hí-pokpi, flower), flowering in the hills, withering away flapping your wing, the eldest nymph) in vain, it’s a pity, it’s a pity, it’s a pity. where did you go?

One nymph : Seven-year devastation is over. Chorus : I didn’t wither away at my pleasure. Genocide by suffocating with the smoke of [in the background] ‘Cause of the wind’s blow, I had fallen down, burning chillies is also over. I had thought, fallen down, fallen down. the time of slitting ears with cane-splits was over but there is no stop to war. The Earth, Nurahal : Nor I, the wind, did no harm. eaten bare to bones by its children would ‘Cause of reaching the end of its life, one day be annihilated, definitely. 52 53 Second nymph : In this gruesome age of savages, we, the O lovely flower, I love you. weaker section, women and children, would Ah! Cloth used for wrapping my petite baby, become their beast of prey. spread out in a loom, Third nymph : Amidst the frightening and unfathomable O flower used for making cloths, tortures and extermination. thrown with the right hand, caught by the left hand, Fourth nymph : Vanished are the humans of yesterday, their thrown again with the left hand hard-earned wealth love, righteousness, and caught by the right hand, beauty, benevolence, humility and respect. dancing is the spindle in tempo with the ramming of the comb. Fifth nymph : The smell of blood is in the air; dead bodies O flower joining in the dance, sans clothes are piled up in whichever I call you cotton-flower, cotton-flower, direction one looks at. my cherished friend My sister, my precious, youngest of all! Sixth nymph : Dying while standing upright, sitting, lying prostrate, face up, sideways and upside down, Yaishra : What’s it, Echemhan? before one could shout, after shouting, after (youngest nymph) moaning unable to bear the excruciating pain… Eldest nymph : Born after us, we six sisters, I love you most dearly. Nurahal : Enchanting hill, Thongakren, Tell me my dear sister, the abode of dead, a burial mound, today, following your five sisters, rendezvous of a hundred lovers you have flown in the sky, and their departed beloveds flapping your wings, rendezvous of a hundred beloveds across the hills, passing over lakes. and their departed lovers. Did you meet any desirable mate, When the soul is ready to depart, which of your treasured friends, the face covered, did you talk with? a white cloth spread out to screen, O flower accompanying along the journey Yaishra : It’s only this, Echemhan! to Thongakleima’s abode, A petite flower was blooming, O flower consumed by fire a small frightened one. on the funeral pyre The lovely tiny flower along with the mortal remains, was quite enchantingly beautiful. O flower, my dear friend, Unable to control myself, who had accompanied me, I had extended my hands when I stepped on this world, to pluck and adorn it on my ears. 54 55 But at that moment, all of a sudden, I, your Mother, am here. I heard a soft and melodious voice. O priestess, my daughter Taking me to be a human being tell me your yearning. the flower lamented... For a moment at least don’t touch me, a flower, try to appease Leimarel Shidabi, please don’t pluck me our Immortal Mother, I hate the stench of humans. among the gods, Lainingthou, the Almighty I don’t want to be touched by humans. the nine Gods, our Elder Brothers Full of greed is your world, and the seven Celestial Nymphs. brimming with enmity. O priestess, don’t persist. You, who had taken part Without pacifying, let’s not talk. in torturing and killing, For a moment, at least for a moment please don’t touch me with your hands try to conciliate. smeared with blood. Once … while soul was floating in space, I hate you, air and light were created. O human being. Luminous and soft-spoken Sun grew up … Young priestess, My beloved attendant, [She cries rolling on the ground.] tell me without hesitation, O priestess, O human being. Eldest nymph : Why are you crying, my precious sister? It’s not the likeness of a Celestial Nymph to cry. Stone slabs from the north Human beings have themselves broken their will stand erect across Sanjenthong bridge. age-old traditions, good manners, courage, A royal palace will be built with it. character, rules and regulations. They are Fish will serve the royalty. fighting among themselves and killing each Hedges will eat leaves. other like wild beasts. If you don’t believe Chinga, a hillock, will become a market. me, go to the Almighty’s abode and ask Him, Splinters of the boulders of Chinga, go to Mother’s place and try to communicate will walk and lie down with Her to seek Her prophecies. on lanes and by-lanes. Know this. [All the six nymphs leave and the light goes out. When the stage No tree and bamboo lights up again, the nymphs are seen to be calling in and trying to will stand along the main roads. communicate with the Unseen Force.] Water will not know its destination. Majestic trees, standing on its belly, Laimangphamba : (communication with the Unseen Force) will fall down upright. O priestess of the Earth Flies will swarm the markets. why are you afraid, At Moirangpung, a gravid woman 56 57 will be injured by wild animal. Ah! How anguishing, holding a pen in his The fox will excrete on a gold dish. hand, Konok Thengra, a scholar, had Know this. earnestly written the Puya, postulating the Gold will lose its lustre. passage of time. All the scholars, dead Gold-plated stuff will replace gold jewellery. worried about the condition of the Earth, had There will be no certainty of faiths. departed for the heavenly abode from their Women will come out of enclosures. respective native places, one from Heibi Without master, many servants will be there. Makhong at Nambol, another from Tera Without father, many children will be born. Angouba Makhong at Langthbal, yet another Know this. from Ukol Heikreng Makhong at Hiyangthang Ke … Kekru … Moirang … Kekru and many others from Tera Keithel, Maklang Infiltrators will dilute and subdue Heibi Makhong, Uyung Utoppi, Langol Heirit the sons of the soil. Makhong … Precious and sacred traditions, kept open, will sink silently. Hi-Leima : O intellectual, muttering the names of Articles brought from outside scholars, you seem to be familiar to me, an will flood the market omniscient Celestial Nymph, who are you? Come, my dear ones, Tell me honestly. Tell me, whether you are a let’s run away riding on horses. supernatural or human being. Among your Forbears, I, an Immortal Spirit, will not leave behind any prophecy. Puwari : Ah! It’s heart-rending! It seems you have forgotten me only because [Having completed their communication with the Unseen Force, the I could not come to your place often with nymphs leave one after another. Among them, Hi-Leima assumes munchies to please you. the form of a bird and perches on the loom. Puwari walks in, pulling a cart loaded with dead bodies and many other articles.] Hi-leima : He-es!

Puwari : Ke … Kekru … Moirang … Kekru Puwari : I’m Puwari. Infiltrators will dilute and subdue sons of the soil. Hi-leima : Oh! Oh! It’s you, Epu (grandpa)! Precious and sacred traditions, kept open, will sink silently. Puwari : I’m painting pictures of human beings Articles brought from outside through the ages, right from the pre-historic will flood the market. period to the present age; the horrible stories Come, my dear ones, written on my chest are taught in schools to let’s run away riding on horses. be learnt by children like you; I’m ‘History’ Gold nails, useless splinters. who has been traversing through aeons 58 59 picking up dead bodies, over and over again, Daybreak at Pacific of those killed after torturing in the struggle Untold damages would be caused by the for power, those killed in battlefields– fathers, Japanese by pouring down bombs at uncles and brothers. War is not over yet the Pearl Harbour, USA. Earth will have to suffer more killing, USA would immediately declare torturing and extermination of human by war on Japan. human themselves. During the renaissance, The heavenly dart will stretch its course Nostradamus had prophesied – Death in the speaking; a great achievement The proud nation brought low Hi-leima : What did he predict? Please, tell me, Epu. by the stone in the tree Rumours of a monstrous human being Puwari : About the break out of the First World War purge, then expiation. in the history of mankind and the inhuman tortures and genocide during the Second On the 6th of August 1945, early in the World War. Nostradamus said – Beast, insane morning the Americans would drop atom with hunger, will cross the river. Most of bomb at Hiroshima, a city of Japan. the field will be against Hister. The great leader will be paraded in a cage of iron while the [Puwari is busy in making something out of the articles in his cart. Germans see nothing. Hi-leima flies away.]

Hitler, the leader of the Nazis, who had killed Hi-pokpi : Hi-leima, my cherished sister, has flown innumerable men in concentration camps, away across the nine ranges of hills, leaving would be born at Hister in Austria. Benito behind Meitrabak (one of the archaic names Mussolini, Hitler’s most trusted friend would of Manipur). be paraded in public in an iron cage. By Towards the east where the Sun rises, the raping fifty thousand German women, place rumbling with cries of agony amidst Russian soldiers would take revenge for the smoke of war. Assuming the form of a killing five hundred thousand of their people human being, she would reach the island. at Stalingrad. What the future holds for the Earth!

Shortly after sunset Hi-Leima, my dear sister, do you hear me? Battle is engaged Turn back, come to me, let’s talk intimately! a great people doubt the outcome Brought low, the sea port no longer answers [Puwari has finished his job. He comes to the Down Centre and Bridge and tomb are in two different places. starts talking.]

Dusk according to Greenwich Time Puwari : In the evening on the 5th of August 1945, to 60 61 be able to fly wherever we want, we fitted the explosion of a bomb was heard. Along ‘Little Boy’, the atom bomb on Enola Gay, with it, in front of me, Pikadon–many bright the B-29 bomber named after our Lead Pilot circular objects flared up before my eyes and Major Cloth Etherly’s mother. Among us, the sky darkened. The whole of the city was twelve crew members, Naval Captain William covered with a mushroom shaped huge D. Parsons is the one responsible for cloud, coloured like that of an elephant. In dropping the bomb. the centre of the cloud, an enormous white column climbed up high in the sky and spread At 0245 hours, on the 6th of August, we took far and wide. Throughout the day, massive off from the Italian Air Base. spiral clouds hung above the city. Then all At 0300 hours, we checked the trigger for of a sudden, rain came down in torrents dropping the bomb for the last time. without stopping. Amidst the shower, the temperature came down drastically. Though, At 0605 hours, we flew over Iwo Jima, it was mid-summer, those who had escaped towards Japan. from the inferno, some scantily clad and At 0741 hours, we received weather clear some wearing thin clothes, were shivering report of our third target. with cold. At 0904 hours, we changed our course to the west. Amidst the stampede of naked and blood- At 0915 hours 30 seconds we dropped the smeared people, innumerable men, women bomb. and children died. The injured persons were [Light goes out.] wailing and crying for help but no one came to their rescue. Green pine trees were reduced Hiroshima Scene to charcoal. All the orchids that were blooming on the branches of trees had also [When the stage lights up, Hi-Liema is seen to be trapped under a been reduced to cinder. fallen tree. A Samurai is sitting on the platform. Hi-Leima is wailing.]

Hi-Leima : Where am I? This excruciating pain is mak- Amidst the heartfelt cries of agony, cherry ing me immobile. I saw many children like blossoms, chrysanthemums, fragrance of me going to school after the siren sounded lotuses and lilies, charming image of the ‘All Clear’ signal. Moon reflected on the calm surface of water, melodious calls of cuckoos and the Mama! Mama! Mama! enchanting globular scarlet Tayal hanging on creepers in bamboo-groves are about to fade I heard someone shouting ‘Banzai! Banzai!’ away from the lines of Haikus of Basho, on the road. Then a loud deafening boom of Shiki, Issa and Buson. 62 63 O my Earth, my love, how a World War has In our hearts you are always near. harmed you so much! Puwari : [At the sixth grave] [Still sobbing, she turns into a bird and flies away. Light goes out. Not forgotten, When the stage lights up again, Hi-Liema, parched with thirst and my dear husband hunger, is seen to be limping back home.] While in life and memory last I will remember thee. Hi-leima : I’m dying, I’m dying. Please save me. I’m dying of thirst, a drop of water, a drop of Puwari : [At the seventh grave] water, please. Water, water … water. In the shadow of his wings [Music starts playing in the background. Her sisters embrace her Our beloved one rests. and take her in. Light goes out.] [Just after finishing, he climbs on his cart and salutes. Bugle sounds Cemetery in the background.]

[When light comes on, Puwari is seen to be fixing crosses at the cemetery and offering flowers at the graves.] Puwari; 23 RD JAN 1944 AGE–26 855528, K.A. ROSSER, ROYAL ARTILLERY Puwari : [At the first grave] 25TH JAN. 1944 AGE– 25 At the going down of the Sun LIEUTENANT W. POPPLETON OF KENYA And in the morning we remember him. 1ST DEC 1945 AGE –23 1337530 FLIGHT SERGEANT RJ COOK Puwari : [At the second grave] PILOT, ROYAL AIR FORCE 8TH NOV 1945 A loss no victory can repay MAJOR E. HOCKINS Always in my thoughts. 1ST ROYAL BAT, 9TH JAT REGIMENT AND INDIAN PARACHUTE BN. 26TH MARCH 1944 AGE–20 Puwari : [At the third grave] CAPTAIN A.T. JOHNSON, 14TH PUNJAB RERGIMENT AND In the loving memory. INDIAN PARACHUTE BN. 26TH MARCH 1944 AGE –29 MAJOR R.J.P. LOCK, ROYAL ARTILLERY Puwari : [At the fourth grave] 26 TH MARCH, 1944 AGE –29 A silent sorrow 1256573 LEADING AIR CRAFTSMAN Time has not lessened. J.A. HAYLETT, ROYAL AIR FORCE

Puwari : [At the fifth grave] [Bugle continues to sound. Light goes out.] Not a day do we forget you Nurabi’s House 64 65 [When the stage lights up, Nurabi (Hí-pokpi, Nurahal, the eldest Puwari : Deep in the core of your heart, you seem to nymph) is seen to be weaving cloth. The sound of the pena is heard] be brooding, my chid. It’s long since I had taken rest, peacefully taking a drag from a Puwari : [From outside] Hi … Hi … Hi-pokpi! Eldest sister, nganthak, or have I tasted fine brew for a aren’t you in? Yaipokpi! long time. The unsettled current of time is drifting and carrying me along, I’m often drowned in the flow of blood. Where’s it, Hi-pokpi : Hee, who’s it? It sounds like Epu! give it to me. Yes, I’m in Epu. [He makes a banana leaf cone, puts the nganthak inside it and drags a puff] [Puwari walks in, smiling, dragging along a cart.] Hi-pokpi : The Earth is suffering like anything, Epu. Many a month has passed, The story of killing never ends. War after many a day has gone war, war-mongering cowards–I’m at a loss, but you have come Epu, how will the future generation survive to my humble place only today. amidst the smoke of revenge, punishment and genocide. Puwari :[Lays down the cart.] Puwari : Ah! How right you are! O Hi-pokpi, where Ha, I did come on the Earth will cool breeze blow when last year at the festival of there is no love, kindness and respect and Goddess Khamlang. while superficial glittering, enjoyment and greed have subdued the pure unembellished [He starts dancing. They together laugh heartily.] faith? I, your grandpa Puwari, am also dead tired on pulling the cart of time loaded with Hi-pokpi : [Sulking slightly] dead bodies.

[All of a sudden without paying heed to her five sisters’ request I know, I know, Epu. Come and sit for a Yailiema flies away.] moment, please. Rest for a while, enjoy a puff of tobacco from the beautiful nganthak, Yailiema : I’m leaving for Angkor Wat, the place of slender at the middle, after placing a live- innumerable temples. I’ll fly over the main charcoal and making banana leaf into a cone; road metalled with dead bodies by Khmer and take a sip of clear fine Manthak brew Rouge, enter the body of a half-dead woman, kept in slender Tangkhul gourd-bottle. reduced to skeletons because of starvation and bear the pain of tortures as nature dictates [Puwari takes the brew and drinks it] a woman. 66 67 Hi-pokpi : Epu! Yaileima has flown away without time plays riddle. paying heed to our request not to go. Please One Euphues and one Sphinx stop her, Epu. Wait Yailiema, my dear sister! remain all the while. And happiness comes after suffering or vice Puwari : Don’t stop her. Don’t worry, my child. Let versa, her fly, flapping her wings for a while; let overcast and clear sky one after another. her perform the duty of a human being. I too Vyasa did not write the Mahabharata will leave and follow her. The Kulen Mountain without war. in the north, the Tonle Sap, a large lake, in Then, (without war) Helen, the gorgeous, the south, the lovely Siem Reap river would not have emerged from meandering through the three hillocks, Phnom the blood-smeared expanse Bok, Phnom Bakheng and Phnom Brok– of Iliad and Odyssey. Emperor Yacovarman’s (Yasovarman) Then, Draupadi would have remained temple complex, Angkor Wat–I will cross it, with her tresses let loose, taking big strides to pick up dead bodies, unable to wash it with blood. killed by their own kinsfolk, from the Do you hear, the Emperor called ‘War’ battlefields made to flood with blood by has vowed to devastate the Earth? Khmer Rouge; to record Pol Pot’s gruesome Wake up, open your eyes. murders with blood as ink, amidst the smoke How much would the Humans have to suffer over thousands of graves. Come, let’s go only for the sake of a small section’s gain? together Yailiema, my child. Many desire for mountains of ash while ranges of sparkling-white mountains of snow [Puwari pulls away Yaileima in his cart. Light goes out.] are there? Why soldiers in camouflage, imitation of [When light comes on, Nurabi is seen to be muttering something green leaves, are let in to destroy the beautiful while weaving cloth. In the Up-Stage soldiers are moving slowly in green fields and thick forests with bushy a field flooded with blood.] canopies of green leaves? Where shall the fatherless children of war, Nurahal : The Earth rotates around the Sun. born of women, deceptively called Humans are revolving on the axis of time. prostitutes, go? Satellites called History, Geography, Science, In every eon, at the birth of ‘Time’, one Literature, Vision, Politics, Economics, ‘Earth’ devoid of morning and day, with the Religion and Society are floating sky covered by the vultures, turned by human in the vast space called Life. beings, is created. In every morning, day and evening, In the garden of heaps of dead bodies, one is the cloud of Life turns red, white and blue. searching for varieties of flowers – Black, In the red, white and blue sky, White, Brown, Aryan, Non-Aryan, Hairy 68 69 Group, Races with facial hairs and without. speaking unintelligibly; their voices have The child, barely ten-year old, the future started echoing on the walls of the palace in generation, has been sold off in the market Phnom Penh city. by the followers of war who made him carry Your chest has been blown apart with the heavy loads–his legs have been crushed, his blast of mines kept concealed in fields and hands are paralyzed, worms have made nests meadows. All the remaining half-dead ones in his heart, every night he vomits blood. have been deafened and become dumb. His doll, his intimate, has left him. Oh! Khmer Rouge Oh! Mother, let me listen to your soothing lullaby. holding the reins of the country! Tha … Tha … Thabungton Those who have come towards the palace Nacha Morambi Pobige … when the first rays of the mellow morning Sun Tha … Tha … light up the Mekong river, its flow has turned red after mixing with blood oozing out of the (Moon, O Gentle Full moon Let me carry still warm dead bodies-everything in sight is your child, a dolly, on my back …Moon, coloured with blood. O Gentle Full moon…) Hey War! I hate you! Kampuchea Empty is the stomach [The stage lights up slowly. Souls are dancing. Roars of wild animals but on the shoulder rests a gun. are heard, intermittently. A statue of Buddha is there. Severed human Carried around are broken guns. heads are scattered everywhere. A woman in tatters with a small Ceaseless is the sound of bullets escaping bundle on her back, carrying a child in her arms, comes in running.] from the tips of barrels. Throughout day and night, fireballs play Woman : Husband murdered, house put on fire and amidst the cries of agony. gutted down, all my close relatives and dear You never give us anything worthwhile. ones killed– where shall I go with the starved The disabled persons whose hands and legs child? Ah! Cambodia, my motherland, my have been amputated, orphans who have no love! Mother, do you hear me, your beloved one of their own, beggars, destitutes, daughter? Once, the golden ears of paddy prostitutes, disease and malnourished played with gaiety in green fields, on your children who are to be brought up by women lap. Today, all the highways have been turned widowed at a tender age, into killing fields. It has become a dance- carrying all of them, platform for the souls turned into vultures. where shall we go, where? In the air of Kampuchea, laden with the stink Listen, my precious, open your eyes. of rotten human flesh, nothing is there except I’ll feed you my dried up ambrosia. the cry of agony, burdened with ceaseless Don’t keep your eyes closed, sufferings, the surviving few have started what happened to you? 70 71 Come on, open your eyes Nurahal : Today, I saw a bad dream – a bad omen. Four Why is your body cold like ice? of my sisters had flown towards the west. In Even though, I have not taken a single morsel what sort of trouble they could have landed … of food for days together and my stomach has stuck to my backbone, let’s try to squeeze [After a while, barking of dogs is heard. Some women come running out at least a drop of milk, my child. panting. Soldiers with dogs run after them. The women run away with the soldiers chasing them behind. From down left, the soldiers [The child does not move.] bring in four women caught by them, beating them all the while. The soldiers torture the women after keeping them in prison cells. Light What happened? What happened to you? goes out.] Cry, cry out – at least once, cry out, my child, [When light comes on, gravid women are seen walking to and fro, Cry out once, my precious … my child has with heavy steps and disillusionment in their minds.] refused to cry, do you hear me? First woman : War, you have made us prostitutes. [After sobbing and crying, she turns into a bird and flies away. Light War, you have made us prisoners. goes out.] War, you have made us bonded slaves. Never-ending story of revenge and invasion [When light comes on, Nurabi is seen to be weaving cloth. Four of in the fight for supremacy, her sisters enter.] women and children are fed to War, the Demon. All four (in unison) : We are going towards the west, to every The epic of the Earth and voluminous corner of Europe. We will follow the course chapters of thousands of pages would not be of the Neretva river and see the demolished sufficient to describe the woes and sufferings Ottoman bridge built by Suleyman, the Sultan of women alone. of Mostar. How I, a weak and helpless woman, had to bear the deep internal anguish [After saying these, the four sisters fly away. Light goes out.] with my mouth shut tight when enemy’s murky blood forced its way and started flowing in the stream of pure and [When light comes on again, Nurahal is still weaving cloth. Soldiers uncontaminated blood flowing in my body! are drilling in the Up Stage.] Awk … Awk

Nurahal : War, there is no end to the news of war. Not [She feels nauseous and holds her stomach.] a single day passes without the news of Look, this is war’s gift! killing. What a pity, human beings! [Some soldiers drill and move from right to left in the Down Stage.] [Shows the interior of her womb.] 72 73 The lump of blood growing day by day, With what face can I stand the result of the meeting of enemies, before my husband and relatives? what name shall I give it? I hate myself for being alive. ‘Mother’s Precious Lump’ Each follicle all over my body has become a or ‘Enemy’s Child’. spring and impure blood I’m in a dilemma. has started to gush out. Oh! I’m at a loss. O Goddess of death! Submerged in my blood, Embrace me; take me in your lap! growing in my womb whenever it moves [She looks at the baby and puts it down.] I feel as if it is calling, “Mother … Mother.” No, no, it can’t be. With your smiling face, It’s a leftover of some inhuman and kicking your legs and moving your hands, characterless one. don’t look at me, Leftover, khak thui I can’t bear it. You, enemy’s child, [She spits out aloud in hatred.] look, I am leaving. Let me go – enemy’s child. Second woman : Khak thui My precious lump, I’m leaving.

Third woman : Khak thui [Still sobbing, she leaves. Light goes out.]

Fourth woman : Khak thui [The stage lights up. Four bodies of women are hanging with ropes from the branches of a tree. In the Down Centre, a baby is lying on First woman : Why don’t you die in the womb. the floor. Mother Teresa enters from right, followed by her entourage Why are you torturing me, and walks slowly towards the Down Centre. She picks up the baby. over and over again? In the distance, four women turn into birds and fly away. Mother It’s unbearable – it’s unbearable. Teresa leaves slowly towards the left, carrying the child in her arms. Mother! Mother! Mother! Light goes out.]

[Shows the actions of giving birth to a child.] Epilogue

[Holding the baby in her arms] [When light comes on Nurahal is seen to be weaving cloth. Her Tell me, tell me! sisters are standing near her.] The Jordan, Euphrates or Ganges, taking a dip in the river of which faith, Nurahal : O boat, O boat, you seem not to be moving. how can I purify my defiled body? I’m taking the Almighty on board. 74 75 O boat, you’re not taking the short-cut, the Almighty, karenga, karenga. let’s pray to Him for putting a stop to war O Goddess, assuming the form of a boat, and bring peace and prosperity in perfect lulled on the boat, on your lap, harmony on the Earth. with the Almighty, our Father, keeping vigil, we carry humans, like small children. Others : Let’s pray. But, the enmity among the humans never ceases, [They put down the cloth as an offering.] the war for supremacy never ends. They leave behind nothing Nurahal : O Lord except rivers of blood. Lord of the Lords Let’s finish weaving the cloth. O Mother Goddess Let’s cut it. in Your divine courtyard we, Your humble servants, Others, (in unison): Let us cut, Echemhal. are offering a length of cloth please accept it wholeheartedly, Nurahal : Let’s dance incorporating in the movements O Father forgive our sins the duties of a human being right from the save us from making mistakes, first cry. with these words at Your divine feet Others : Yes, let’s dance, Echemhal! we are paying obeisance O Lord. Nurahal : Let’s restore it by pulling along the breadth. I, an Immortal Spirit, will not leave behind Others : Let’s restore it, Echemhal! any prophecy.

Nurahal : Let’s hang it out on the clothesline. [She comes under a spell.]

Others : Let’s hang it out, Echemhal! [She falls down. After a while, the nymphs turn into birds and fly away. Puwari comes crawling after them. He wraps himself with Nurahal : My younger sisters, let’s proceed to the the cloth, they had offered.] abode of the Almighty. Puwari : Fly away, O birds! Others : Let’s proceed, Echemhal! After collecting dust from the spot in Bamiyan, where the demolished colossal Nurahal : Offering this cloth to our Father, image of Buddha once stood, the Creator of living beings, sprinkle it all over the corners of the Earth, 76 77 where war has not seen the end, Do you want kidney? with a message of Peace.. Do you want heart? Also make an offering Hey flags! of a few flowers and fruits You flags are suited at the place called Ground Zero, for fluttering in the wind of Peace; where the Twin Towers tell me what should I write? once stood side by side. I, Puwari, have been made a weakling The nature of human beings, by the selfish nature of human beings. to think and act for their benefit only, But, I will continue to write has crippled me, your grandpa Puwari. history on my chest But, I will continue to write on my chest the with blood as ink. events of history with blood. Hey birds, let’s meet again. Let’s meet again, O birds! … [Light goes out.] Oh, my dear flags! Hey flags, all of you, [When light comes on, an open History Book is seen lying on a why is United Nations, wheelchair. On the platform, flags of the UN are there. Birds, frozen formed by all of you coming together, in flight, are also there. Light goes out slowly.] to make the world a better place to live in, hiding behind the shadow of only the rich countries? Translated from Manipuri by Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh Punishment is given to only the weaker countries, why this partiality? Why do you remain silent when powerful countries are invading the weaker ones? Have you seen the children, in every nook and cranny of the world, whose food supply has been cut off? Have you seen the hordes of sick and diseased people who have been denied medicines? See dogs and humans are fighting for bread; fathers are selling their children in markets; human beings have sold off their kidneys; to survive people are selling blood in hospitals. 78 79 the mothers to help them write a new book of knowledge drawing upon the ancient scholars, ancestors and ojhas (preceptors), who Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama had been the pillars of wisdom. As they complete their book that contains the wisdom of freedom, peace, religion, politics, economics, human rights and duties for the present times, the deity emerges (Nine Hills, One Valley) from water in the form of Hiyang Heren, the traditional Dragon Boat and carries away the Seven Wise Man who leave behind the book of knowledge for the younger generation. In the Epilogue, Mothers relate to their children their past Synopsis history and the unwelcome changes that have taken place in the recent times. The Mothers sing lullabies to console their children A mystical land comprising of nine concentric ranges of and plead with the Wise Men to return. Lamps are lit on the hill tops hills encircling a valley, an erstwhile paradise exists in a secluded and in the valley to enlighten and remind the people of their past corner of the earth. Unfortunate turn of events through the passage glory to bring back the peaceful days once more. of time has deprived it much of its glory. In the Prologue, Seven Old Women, the sentinels guarding the cultural traditions of the land invoke the evil spirits and try to propitiate them to leave their land and let the people live in peace. They call upon the Wise Men, who have faded into oblivion, to save them. In the first scene, Seven Wise Men, thought to have vanished and gone into deep slumber, turn in their sleep after seeing a disturbing dream, a bad omen. They awake to decipher the dreams, recognize the crisis that haunts the land, but goes to sleep again. The story of the fall of the country is presented in the form of a sequence of Raasleela, exquisitely performed by a group of dancers, revealing its rich repertoire of rhythms, postures and gestures; rudely and brutally disrupted by Time appearing as a demon that slashes the dancing wrists, symbolic of the destruction of art and culture. In the second scene, the Seven Wise Men wake up again to see their dreams turned to a horrible reality. The Wise Men are disheartened to find that their beloved land has transformed completely while they had been asleep. Time has almost completely devoured their children along with all their cultural traditions. Genocide, political instability, venality, unemployment and extortion by unlawful elements–news of happenings around the globe filter in. The Wise Men come forward to protect and save their people from the miseries. In the third scene, they call upon the celestial nymphs and 80 81 Cast Maichou puren: (Head Maichou) P. Somo Maichousing : (Maichous) N. Tomba, Nimai, Robindro, Chinglon Mapan Tampak Ama T. Ibomcha, Premjit, Santikumar Mamasing: (Mothers) Chingkheinganbi, Sushma, Umabati, Leimatombi, (Nine Hills, One Valley) Shantikumari Matam/pakhangba: lbomcha Sorok Anouba Meesing: Bhogen, Premananda, Jilasana, Lupachandra, Dhakeshwori, Premila, Chingkheinganbi, Sushma, Umabati. Leimatombi. Shantikumari Lairembising: Dhakeshwori, Premila, [When the stage lights up, many broken chhatras (traditional decorated Chingkheinganbi, Sushma, flag poles erected at temples) are seen to be lying scattered here and Umabati Leimatombi, there. From the left, seven old women enter one after another. They Shantikumari bring along articles for Saroi Khangba (a ritual performed to appease Credits the evil spirits) and place the articles in proper places on the floor at Stage Manager: Premananda the down stage. They start propitiating.] Assistant Stage Managers: Nimai, Lupachandra Stage Props: Premananda, Nimai, The chant : Sixty-one Thangjing Sharoi,1 Sixty-one Lupachandra, M. Tomba Marjing Sharoi, Sixty-one Wangbren Sharoi, Costume Manager: P. Somo Sixty-one Koubru Sharoi Costume Assistants: Dhakeshwori, Umabati, Premila Salairen residing above in the sky, Thongaren Music Assistants: Krishnachandra, L. Tomba, residing below the ground. Nine Basanta, Rakesh Luwang, Manisana Laibungdhou, 2 seven Lai Nura 3 three- Lighting Assistants: Ibochouba Meetei hundred sixty-one Umang Lai4 Production Manager: Ibomcha Sorok residing in four directions, eight corners and Administration: Dolendro sixty-one appointed places, Assistant Directors: Ibochouba Meetei, R. K. Bhogen You all supernatural beings, Publicity: K. Kiran this year there are five Saturdays in Lamta5 Consultants: Ojha N Amusana Devi, So, we seven have come to offer You Ojha Birjit Ngangomba, Your delicacies Ojha Keinatombi Devi Come on Script, Music, Design Seven lumps of puffed rice, seven tobacco & Direction: Ratan Thiyam leaves, seven cotton balls, medlar-leaf salad, 82 83 seven varieties of fruits, seven varieties of seven lines are for the seven Celestial Nymphs. flowers, seven dakshinas,6 small tubers of We have closed the hundred and eight doors arum and ginger, we will prepare rice-beer, leading to the land of the Dead. We have opened come and eat to your fill. the hundred and eight doors leading to the land After eating it, of the Living. You, sword, return to your sheath. You cool down and return to Your abodes. [After completing their duty, the old women shout triumphantly and If You start grumbling again, make an offering of ‘dance recital.’] it will result in inflicting injuries on Lamshenba, Tushenba, Lamaba Tumaba, [They leave, dancing all the while and the stage darkens. When the Leirak-Shathouba, Khongban-Lalumba, stage lights up again, their sons are seen to be running to save their Yenakha-Paodaba, Yenakha-Paodabi. lives. Four mothers run hither and thither all over the stage to call in You who have brought their sons and save them.] the ‘Unsettled Treacherous Time’ to this land, 1st Mother : Come running my sons to reach my bosom, Hey! Evil Supernatural-beings. run faster - We have offered ‘Your Delicacies’; we have laid down your stuff, 2nd Mother : Come running my sons to reach my bosom, We have suffered to the extreme; run faster - the wails of pain and grief have made the ears bleed. 3rd Mother : Come running my sons to reach my bosom, We are dying of hunger and thirst. run faster - You liberate us from this agony. Wipe away darkness, 4th Mother : Come running my sons to reach my bosom, bestow on the future generation run faster - knowledge and courage to enable them to step out in ‘light’. 1st Mother : Thousands of mothers are waiting at the gates It’s Thangjing sword, Marjing sword, with flaming torches in their hands for the Wangbren sword, it’s the sword brought return of their beloved sons and daughters - forth from the immortal mother, Ema Leimaren Shidabi’s body. It is the sword used 2nd Mother : You, paupers, who have gone out to earn your by the brothers, Yoimongba and livelihood in this chaotic land. Thaothingba, to cleanse the three arteries the Iril river, the Imphal river and the Nambul 3rd Mother : With all the means cut-off, our society is river - We will draw nine, five and seven lines starving and becoming thinner and thinner on the centre of the earth. The nine lines are for with the passing of each day. My children! You, the five lines are for the humans and the We have to manage to stay alive somehow. 84 85 4th Mother : My children! A trap in front of you and an O Omnipotent One, on the coming of arrow ready to shoot behind you - you have Langbachuk9 after Heiyichak, Hayachak and to escape from the trapped life and run away. Konnachuk, in this world, when there is chaos, ‘when the wrongs have subdued the 1st Mother : Run, come running my small children with rights,’ when the close ones have turned all your might after escaping from this betrayers, and when might has become right, frightening world keeping you bound to reach please carry us, Your progeny, on the deck your beloved mother’s gate. of Your boat and lead us to the land where Run, come running, come running fast there is truth, beauty, love and no suffering, crossing the path full of thorns. Come running Lainingthou.10 with the hope of staying alive. Run, come Hey! Maichous,11 who are the pillars of running. knowledge, where are you hiding?

Mother : My dear son - your umbilical cord has not Mothers : (in unison) Where you are hiding. yet been cut, you have not yet performed your duty of life, you have not yet been washed of the smell of your mother’s ambrosia, your Mother : O Fathers, who are sleeping, covering nappies are not dry yet. yourself with Puyas12 as quilts.

Mother : What happened my precious son, don’t sleep Mothers : (in unison) Wake up, why don’t you save your children? yet, it’s not the time for sleeping, why have you remained silent? [Mothers and their children leave. When the stage lights up, Maichous Mother : Haven’t you heard you mother’s call? Call are seen to be sleeping upstage. They start waking up.] me Palem7 once, my precious son. 1st Maichou : Hee! What’s this? Mother : Don’t lose courage, don’t forget life is a battle Today, I saw a bad dream. It’s not good. - get up, start running. Peepul tree was on fire; dead bodies were floating in a row in the river; for how long Mother : In this land where might is right, don’t be we, Maichous, have been sleeping, how many dispirited, don’t depend on others. Get up my years have passed, how many eons have children. gone? O Maichous, are you listening?

[The children get up and they walk with unsteady steps supported by 2nd Maichou : Hee! What’s this omen? their mothers. They leave towards the down left.] I feel a muscular spasm in my left arm; my left eyebrow is also quivering. Hee! I hear Mother : Hey Ebudhou!8 O Supreme God of humans, the call of my sons and daughters echoing 86 87 through the nine ranges of hills. 3nd Maichou : In this eon called Langbachak or Kali, forts will be constructed with fire, water and air 3rd Maichou : Hei! Hei! Who is the stranger who has come forming a grid. to occupy the land? Don’t they know, we, the enlightened ones, are there. 4th Maichou : The ‘forts’ will start fighting one another. The earth will start burning like a wick fed 4th Maichou : Maichou, cool down. No one has come to with water as the fuel. our beloved land, it must be only a dream 7th Maichou : The eastern gate will be opened, the western 3rd Maichou : Even if it’s a dream - no one can interfere gate will be closed. with our women, children and land. 1st Maichou : The crowd will throng at Angaithel market. 5th Maichou : Hee! Hiyang Hiren,13 fully loaded, was The screen hiding the seven Maichous will be moving around. O Maichou, today, I saw a drawn apart. very bad dream. I have heard the sound of wrong footsteps in the land. 6th Maichou : Luwang Maichou from the east will meet Mangang Maichou from the west. 6th Maichou : O my sons! O my grandchildren! Don’t take Nongphan Thengou and Leiphan Thengou, 3rd Maichou : Akharam Thadoi, the maiden from the south, the footsteps of martial arts as the ultimate will come to take the bead necklace. means, people’s minds are divided, all are irritated, be cautious the land is heading for 2nd Maichou : Pakhangba 14 will growl and rumble in utter chaos that will result in war. Nungjeng Pukhri,15 famine will visit the land. The earth will be put to test.

7th Maichou : The sound I hear is that of a mournful voice, 4th Maichou : Khurai Tungon Wa, Langlam Langsoi Wa, children were swimming in the river of blood, Mirant-narat Wa, Meeren Tomraba Wa, Lam with no one to save them they were calling Tuppa Wa, Kishi Thaba Wa,16 the contents for their mothers before being drowned. of the language, don’t they know, it is the language that can be used for conversing with All : (in unison) Ees! Hayum - God. This eon has become a different eon? Ebudhou, what is this, your prediction? 3rd Maichou : Chektap, Lambal, Pamang, Shukham, Puklei, Loikhom, Talthen, Tenpak, Wangba, 2nd Maichou : I have heard, there are some who are Chukpa Thengou Khongchat Phidup - we instigating the brothers to create chaos in the could not teach you the complete martial arts land. Ah, my beloved grandchildren! steps, my chidren! 88 89 All : (in unison) Haikupleng Phiraithang, Thangkoklen Shyam’s beautiful form, Shangpumba Thang, Mapathang sporting a crown of peacock feathers Kong-eeba Thang, Lutung Kupleng Thang, on his head, Chingbang Kinaiba Thang, two earrings in his ears, Langbum Shidaba Thang, Hokichumbaba has outshone the fresh-laden clouds. thang, Phirai thang Kong-eeba.17 Shyam has surpassed the blue lotus in beauty. The crown, tilting to the left and the flute, 4th Maichou : Different styles of brandishing the sword and shinning on the left, handling the spear are not for killing humans, are harping on for Radha. nor for hunting animals. He is attired in Sana-Phige21 at his waist. With each step, Kunja22 is flapping. 2nd Maichou : It is only for praying to the Almighty with With each step, Kunja is flapping. devotion for granting peace and prosperity Shyam has surpassed the blue lotus in beauty. to the land and consoling the mind. [All of a sudden, the Maichous awake.] All : (in unison) Ho!

1st Maichou : Our ways and traditions do not agree with 1st Maichou : Hee! What sort of a dream was it, brothers? that of the new generation. Even the dream As if to show off his might the demon called we saw was bad, let’s go to sleep again. Matam was cutting off the hands performing the intricate movements of Bhangi dance at All : (in unison) Ha … Hayum! the wrists.

1st Maichou : Hee! What is that you are saying … Chekap [Maichous go to sleep again. In their dream, they see many Gopis18 Thengou, Leilam Thengou, Akao Thengou, performing Bhangi dance. The demon called Matam19 amputates Lambal Thengou, Shukham Thengou, Tanten the hands performing the intricate dance movements at the wrists Thengou, Akhom Thengou23 - steps bor- and throws them away. The amputated hands start dancing. A rowed from the seven Thengous and the frightened Matam starts laughing in astonishment. The Gopis, with hand movements, Champra Okpi, Champra their hands amputated, continue to dance.] Khaibi, Lashing Kappi, Khujeng Leibi24 were combined by His Highness Chingtha- Accompanying song: ngkhomba, the pious king, in consultation with wise men to choreograph the ‘fragrant Shyam has surpassed the blue lotus in beauty. garland of Bhangi.’ Look Sakhi.20 Look Sakhi. 3rd Maichou : It has been named Ras, a combination of Shyam has surpassed the blue lotus in beauty. many rasa25 . 90 91 [The Maichous start remembering Ras Purnima.26 ] orchids grow abundantly on the trees, have started vanishing. 2nd Maichou : On the full-moon night of Mera,27 when the All : (in unison) O cherished flower moon is in its complete form, the melodious O touching flower sound of performing Ras dance to the blooming on the hillside accompaniment of the Moibung28 echoes in You, enchanting flower, all directions… are wasted in vain.

4th Maichou : The traditions like the old thatched houses 4th Maichou : Melei Leisna Nungjumpan that have been blown away by the wind of Kadamba, you enchanting flowers the present trends … our dance forms and It’s a pity to have been wasted without finding music that we were so proud of, our show- a place in the bouquet. piece in the world, have been discarded like Kyamlikphang, the traditional gold necklace, 3rd Maichou : The chapter of Khongjom Parba32 is over. lying neglected on the ground. The venues for Lairik Thiba Haiba and Wari When the land was in its full glory, the kings Liba33 have become smaller in size. and princes used to honour the exponents by offering gold plates, silver plates and Khamen 5th Maichou : Gostha Leela34 Chatpa29 with the polite words. “Ha, Epu30 , you make the land prosperous”- it is no longer 2nd Maichou : Goura Leela35 heard. The land has become a garden neglected by the present day dignitaries. After 4th Maichou : Khutlang Eshei36 nurturing it with a meagre amount of manure, they are saying they will make it bear fruits 1st Maichou : Bashok37 abundantly. 5th Maichou : Moirang Sai38 1st Maichou : Ha, Um, it is the story of long long ago when Waka was creating the earth… 2nd Maichou : The beautiful Ngangoi Pareng 39 of Meitrabak40 made up of the sparkling beads 5th Maichou : Yakairol, Naheikhol, Mingkheirol, Leigi of Moirang Parba41 is scattered around on Leirol31 are no longer heard, the bow of the the surface of time and wasted. pena has also started breaking. All : (in unison) Ah! Much adored oval-shaped land where golden rice plants sway forming 6th Maichou : The abodes of Lainingthou and Lairembi, undulating waves, surrounded by lush green forests where a land encircled by nine ranges of hills Kwaklei and Khongunmelei, the beautiful like a necklace studded with gems, 92 93 O beloved golden motherland, 2nd Reader : Afghanistan, Kabul, Kandahar, Tora Bora, the best of all. Bamiyan Buddha. 1st Maichou : Wise Men! There is chaos in the land. Before the land is completely devastated, we have 3rd Reader : Iraq, no nuclear weapon, US attack Hill to save it by following the prophecy of the Brasa, Baghdad, Shiya-Sunni fight, Iraq Almighty. prisoner Gwanstanamo Bay, Cuba.

4th Maichou : Let’s proceed to the beloved land to write an 1st Reader : A large number of young US soldiers’ dead easily understandable Puya ‘on the back of bodies brought back from Iraq. time’ as the scroll, with the knowledge of the olden Puya as the ink, a new Puya that 4th Reader : April eleven, Two thousand two, Tunisia, carries a lot of meaning, one that can be suicide bomb attack. carefully followed by the new generation. 1st Reader : Karachi May eight, two thousand two, [The Maichous leave riding on horses. People of the present generation terrorists kill eleven French naval engineers slowly enter the stage from the left and walk towards the right. The in bomb attack. Maichous are seen to be sitting on the stage again. Four persons are reading newspapers. Newspapers are thrown in from the left and 2nd Reader : September twenty-four, two thousand two, right of the stage.] Gujarat, India, Akshardham temple attach kills thirty-four people. Le Monde, Washington Post, La Figaro, Liberation, NewYork Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, London Times, National 3rd Reader : Indonesia, Bali October twelve, Herald, Japan Times, The Tokyo Post, The Statesman, The Times two thousand two, nightclub bombing, two of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Indian Express, The Telegraph, hundred two dead. Assam Tribune, The Sentinel, North East Times, Imphal free Press, Poknapham, Sangai Express, Yakairol, Huyen Lanpao, Kangla Pao, 4th Reader : October twenty-three, two thousand two, Janastra, Jugantar, Anand Bazar Patrika, Moscow Theatre seized, one hundred … twenty hostages, forty terrorists killed.

1st Reader : August seven, nineteen ninety-eight, Dar-es- 1st Reader : May sixteen, two thousand three, Morocco, salam, two hundred twenty-five dead, injured Casablanca, bombs kill forty-one injured over four-hundred. over one hundred. Matrix of terror, United States of America, nine eleven, 2nd Reader : Istanbul, November fifteen and twenty, two suicide hijackers crash four aircraft into the thousand three, truck bomb kills fifty-seven World Trade Centre and Pentagon killing and wounds seven hundred. nearly three thousand people, Ground Zero. 94 95 3rd Reader : Madrid, Spain, Eleventh March, two 4th Reader : Border tax, thoroughfare tax. thousand four, bombing for trains killed hundred injured one thousand five hundred. 1st Reader : Protests, strikes.

4th Reader : May twenty-nine, two thousand four, Saudi 2nd Reader : Economic blockade. Arabia terrorist killed twenty-two people in oil compound. 3rd Reader : Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

1st Reader : Beslan, Russia, September one, two [Maichous come up to the down stage, waving their cloths thousand four, rescue operation, three in the air.] hundred fifty dead, one hundred seventy- two children dead. Maichous : (in unison) Hey, Almighty God Afloat in empty space 2nd Reader : Seven, seven, two thousand five, London Fond of gentle wind bomb blast, rush-hour attack kills over fifty Immortal cosmic cloud people, bus and train blast. Trying to learn your melodious tune Eleven, seven, two thousand six, Mumbai Chanting the name of the Almighty Blast, more than 200 people died, thousands We, your innocent progeny, injured. Your seven humble servants Will write a new Puya 6:30 p.m. Khar; 6:23 p.m. Bhandra; 6:23 On the page of this topsy-turvy eon p.m. Mira Road; 6:24 p.m. Jogeshori; 6:24 Tell us your divine prophecy p.m. Matunga Road; 6:28 p.m. Boriveli; 6:33 Our beloved Grandfather, p.m. Mahim. treat us with compassion.

3rd Reader : Manipur. Bribery, corruption, no factory. [Maichous saying the following words move backwards to occupy their earlier positions.] 4th Reader : No industry, no employment, no job. Maichou Lorembam Kongangthaba, 1st Reader : No quality education, Disturbed Areas Act, Gonok Thengra, Langol Lukhoi, Moirang Inner Line Permit. Lalhanba, Debi Pa, Kharam Thadoi, Shamurou Chikhong42 2nd Reader : No foreigners, no tourism, tax … tax … O Seven great Wise Men tax … sales tax. forgive us for our mistakes, Saying this, 3rd Reader : Underground transport tax, food tax, goods we, small children, tax. who have not been 96 97 enlightened with knowledge, 3rd Maichou : Those who try to stay away from the group And travelled around the world, and pass through the forest of life would land Your seven humble servants in the jaws of the tiger. Try to live together; are paying obeisance. you will get other’s help.

[Maichous lift their mats and move around.] 7th Maichou : Don’t burden the weaker ones with loads more than their capacity, they will not be able 2nd Maichou : Know the incarnation of a fleeting moment. to bear it. Even if they can’t do outwardly, Earth, space, sky, sun, moon, star, air, they would eproach inwardly. sunlight, nature, animals, living, non-living - all are playthings of Time. Human beings are 6th Maichou : In the land where there is no justice, groups slaves of a king called Matam.43 We do not of thieves will sway. know how to describe and explain Matam in detail - but Matam exists, He is associated 7th Maichou : In this world, no rich and powerful country with us, we feel His presence. We are would allow to live in peace the countries or constantly made aware that He is there. human beings who wish and try to control chaos and live in harmony. 5th Maichou : At times Matam takes the forms of love, beauty, kindness and gentleness but most of [Maichous place their mats and sticks at appropriate places. They, the time He takes the forms of brutality, one then walk around dragging their cloths.] who instigates people to hate and kill one another; selfishness, one who instigates Maichous : (in unison) In the battle of life, to overcome the woes of friends to split-up; a bickerer; one who is the half dead souls standing on the sticky jealous of others’ land; a gossip-monger; an floor splashed with blood, to make the indolent person and a torturer. Matam is a younger generation understand their culture, friend of Puwari.44 And, a queen called customs and traditions, to be able to give a Rajniti45 is his first wife. strong blow to the changing trends of the world, drive away the spirits of evil knowledge, put the daggers in the sheaths. 4th Maichou : Beware, Matam brings both suffering and happiness. Human beings keep themselves [Maichous with swords in their hands drive away the parishioners in the ‘prison of discontentment and of evilspirits standing guard in all directions. At the same time each suffering’ they have built on their own and of them spreads out their respective scrolls.] try to live as a ‘smelly’ human. An independent way of life has to be devised to 4th Maichou : Let’s chant the names of our seven Mothers. escape from it. Like a brave soldier, they have to fight and try to win the inner conflict. All : (in unison) Let’s chant. 98 99 4th Maichou : Panthoibee. more wearisome if the meaning of independence is not comprehended. 2nd Maichou : Apanthoibee. In the new age, independence comes in many forms. Independence starts with self. 6th Maichou : Ayangleima Panthoibee. 5th Maichou : Arrogance, vanity, deception, indolence, laziness, 5th Maichou : Ngangkhalei. imprudence, fright, fatigue, loss of self confidence, reluctance to work thinking it will be of no use - 7th Maichou : Ngangkhaleima. only that person who tries to escape from all these will be an independent man. 3rd Maichou : Khunbuhanbee. 3rd Maichou : But if a society wants to be an independent society 1st Maichou : Khunthokhanbee. it has to do away with murder, loot, torture, violence, illiteracy, not taking others seriously, [The seven Mothers come out dancing and leave after blessing the Maichous.] keeping bad company, imposition of orders, subduing others, working with a political motive, 4th Maichou : Hey seven Mothers the habit of taking undue advantage, having a who can turn into a human being number of self-proclaimed leaders. who can incarnate into a Goddess who does not have a father 7th Maichou : Forcibly extracting information, subduing others who does not have a mother physically, making a decision without giving others You, seven marvellous mothers. a chance to say, if a society can be built up without these then the society can be called an independent All : (in unison) Please be seated on the pen. society.

2nd Maichou : Don’t say ill of others with jealousy when you 1st Maichou : Looking from the economic point of view, see their economic independence of a society means–a [Starts writing] beautiful belongings that they have earned with society can be said to be economically independent hard labour–try to question yourself. only when it can escape from the governance resulting in unemployment, lack of job, venality, 1st Maichou : Teach the tender babies to beat the rhythm of a wide gap between rich and poor, empty food peace by imbibing in their heads the song of love stock, incompetent persons occupying the key even before they start learning to walk. posts, poverty, people suffering from hunger, muffled discontentment flowing down as tears 4th Maichou : Human beings deprived of independence, a society from the eyes, lips parched with thirst. that is unable remain independent, a country that can’t remain independent is full of woes but it is 2nd Maichou : Looking from the point of view of 100 101 worshipping or religion, “Hey … Ho … Hey … Ho” is heard.] [Starts writing] the beautiful word independence means–religious 4th Maichou : “Hey Ema!46 Endurable earth, to blow away the independence can be achieved if one can escape stink wafting out from the smoke coming from from– the unfair jobs and sins; causing harm to graveyards on your surface … people with different faiths believing that the sayings of God or His disciple he believes in is the best one, 1st Maichou : Not to keep the unclaimed dead bodies long in the all others are useless; the numerous systems mortuary, to stop brothers from killing one another touchable and untouchable. 2nd Maichou : To do away the thirst for blood from the minds of 4th Maichou : As a human being, personal independence is ore human beings and replace it with the thirst for water important and better than political independence. One cannot be said to be independent only by not 6th Maichou : To chase away the wails of a child separated from depending on others. Independence can be achi- his or her father, a mother separated from her child, eved only when a country as a whole can make widows separated from their husbands from this progress and become civilized. land …

6th Maichou : In English when a country is a calm and quiet, and 5th Maichou : To bring a world full of light, devoid of darkness mind is completely at rest, it is called ‘Peace’. Even for the future generation … though people speak about it quite often, not many are working to bring it into reality. A man who is 7th Maichou : To bring a bright future for the depressed generation not endowed with compassion and forgiveness by putting an end to their woes … will never get peace of mind.

3rd Maichou : Only when we can rout out completely from our 3rd Maichou : With prayer to the Almighty minds the feelings of revenge, anger, envy, let’s make a beautiful new ideal world, arrogance and over-ambition, we will get peace. manured with goodness and love, where gentleness and peace prevail. 4th Maichou : One who is truthful is beautiful both physically and mentally. If one is compassionate, then his [One by one the Maichous place their scrolls in a neat pile, one above another. character is good. If his character is good then his Then they join in the people shouting “Hey … Ho” in the distance. Still shouting, family is peaceful. If each of the families is peaceful they move to the downstage and stand in a line. All of a sudden in the upstage, then a society or a nation can have peace. Hiyang Hiren, the traditional dragon boat, appears with roaring noise. The Maichous move in and pay obeisance, then leave riding on it, shouting, “Ho … Hayo … Ho … Hayo.” Meanwhile, nine ranges of hills appear on the stage. [After completing their writing, the Maichous take up their scrolls. They start Crossing the hills, four mothers each with a baby on her back, run after the howling and move around. From backstage, the sound of people shouting, Maichous, looking towards the direction they have gone.] 102 103 Mothers (in unison): Ho Epu, Ho Epu… 1st Mother : Living like frightened people who have sought a safer haven, 1st Mother : Ah! You’ve gone far again away from the scene of the battle, leaving behind the book of knowledge, leading a wretched life, who have never tasted after enlightening us, the unfortunate generation, the finer side of life … with the knowledge of living. Come back Epu, we, your descendants, are 3rd Mother : Those who wanted to live fruitful life waiting for you. vanish in vain.

Mothers : (in unison) : We, your descendants, are waiting for you. 4th Mother : In the land shredded to pieces, sinking with each movement 1st Mother : Our beloved father as the nine ranges of hills is courageously guarding our beloved mother, 2nd Mother : No one is allowed to use his or her head, taking the form of the valley, is embracing her even if it is there. sons and daughters in her lap. The Puyas of the Maichous are standing as the pillars of knowledge 1st Mother : No one is allowed to speak, three-hundred sixty-four forms of Ebudhou are even if they can speak. showing the good and bad omens. 3rd Mother : No one is allowed to walk, even if they have feet. 4th Mother : The gong of Shree Govindaji’s bell is echoing on the full-moon night of Mera47 We’re pursuing the path to civilization 4th Mother : No one is allowed to see, by performing Jalakeli, Rasleela even if they have eyes. and holding Heikru Hidongba. 48

3rd Mother : An ideal community, its people once very 2nd Mother : No one is allowed to hear, friendly, jovial, impartial and compassionate, even if they have ears. where have they gone? 1st Mother : The humans, living without souls, have turned into 2nd Mother : On which God’s curse black oak trees standing on the hillside after the for their inability to answer wildfire, unable to express their pent-up sorrows and explain which riddle with heartrending wails. they are heading towards devastation moving faster and faster 2nd Mother : But, we, enlightened with a new knowledge, will like mayflies attracted be able to build a land full of happiness, with a by the flame of a lamp. bright future. 104 105 Mothers : (in unison) Look, look … you, my dear son, my precious to bring peace son, my dear daughter, my precious daughter … to make human beings live in harmony 1st Mother : Dusk has fallen, the crimson sun to put an end to war has set behind the hills. to let the dwellers of hills and valley co-exist in this land 2nd Mother : Look, manifesting as the history of many eons, encircled by nine concentric ranges of hills the peace of many ages, let us place lamps as offerings for peace. the hilltops are standing. [Suddenly lamps are lit all over the stage. Everyone leaves the stage; 4th Mother : How worried are the ranges of hills the stage is completely deserted. The stage darkens. When the stage at the thought of separation from the valley lights up again, musical instruments play the song - “We would not for a single night. be able to repay you for your ambrosia, Hey compassionate Mother” in the background.] 2nd Mother : Night dew has turned into tears of bamboos and trees, Translated from Manipuri by Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh look, my precious son. Footnotes: Mothers : (in unison) My dear son, my dear daughter, my precious daughter 1 Sharoi - Evil Spirit Hoom … Hoom … Hoom … Hoom 2 Laibungdhou - celestial brother Moon … moon … tender moon 3 Lai Nura - celestial nymph Let me carry your dolly-child on my back 4 Umang Lai - sylvan deities Strap it with a cloth 5 Lamta - A month according to Manipuri calendar (falling in Drop a bunch of figs, tender moon March-April) It has fallen in the stinking gorge 6 dakshina - Gift (usually of money) If it has fallen amidst urine 7 Palem - beloved mother Who will eat it? 8 Ebudhou-Forebear, often used to refer to God Herilo Herilo 9 Langbachuk- Name of an aeon; Manipuris divide the eternity Hayute Khutlaite of time into four aeons, Heiyichak, Float downstream like the wooden pestle Hayachak, Konnachuk (or Khunungchak) and Langbachuk My dear son … 10 Lainingthou - Supreme God 11 Maichou - Wise-man 12 Puya - Book of knowledge written in ciphers [The four mothers move to the Down Centre, let the babies sit on 13 Hiyang Hiren - Traditional Dragon Boat their laps and place lamps as offerings.] 14 Pakhangba - The Snake God 15 Nungjeng Pukhri - A sacred pond in Kangla, the seat of power In the vast spherical world in Manipur 106 107 16 Khurai Tungon Wa, Langlam Langsoi Wa, Mirant-narat Wa, religious books and explaining the inner meaning; Traditional way Meeren Tomraba Wa, Lam Tuppa Wa, Kishi Thaba Wa - forms of telling stories of code-language 34 Gostha Leela - Ballet or dance-drama depicting the activities 17 Haikupleng Phiraithang, Thangkoklen Shangpumba Thang, of Krishna and his friends as cowherds Mapathang Kong-eeba Thang, Lutung Kupleng Thang, 35 Goura Leela - Ballet or dance-drama relating the story of Chingbang Kinaiba Thang, Langbum Shidaba Thang, Gouranga Hokichumbaba thang, Phirai thang Kong-eeba Langbum 36 Khutlang Eshei - a form of singing folk-song Shidaba Thang, Hokichumbaba thang, Phirai thang Kong-eeba 37 Bashok - A form of singing religious songs at temples, the - names of draggers or swords singers often dance while singing 18 Gopi - Milkmaid; companion and devotee of Lord Krishna 38 Moirang Sai - Another form or style of singing folk song. 19 Matam - Time 39 Ngangoi Pareng - A traditional necklace 20 Sakhi - friend or companion of a girl 40 Meitrabak - Archaic name of Manipur 21 Sana-Phige - Golden silk cloth 41 Moirang Parba - Narrative verse relating the story of the 22 Kunja - the folded end of dhoti (Indian male attire) let loose in legendary characters Khamba and Thoibi sung to the front accompaniment of a traditional percussion instrument 23 Chekap Thengou, Leilam Thengou, Akao Thengou, Lambal 42 Maichou Lorembam Kongangthaba, Gonok Thengra, Langol Thengou, Shukham Thengou, Tanten Thengou, Akhom Lukhoi, Moirang Lalhanba, Debi Pa, Kharam Thadoi, Shamurou Thengou - names of martial arts steps Chikhong - Names of Maichous or Wise Men 24 Champra Okpi, Champra Khaibi, Lashing Kappi, Khuieng Leibi 43 Matam - Time -names of the intricate movements of hand in Manipuri dance 44 Puwari - History 25 rasa - taste or flavour 45 Rajniti - Politics 26 Ras Purnima - full-moon day when the traditional Ras dance is 46 Ema - Mother performed 47 Mera - A month according to Manipuri calendar, falling in 27 Mera - A month in the autumn, according to Manipuri lunar October-November calendar 48 Heikru Hidongba - Traditional boat race 28 Moibung - traditional musical instrument shaped out of conch 29 Khamen Chatpa - Traditional printed silk cloth used for rewarding someone for a great fit or achievement 30 Epu - Grandfather, often used to refer to an elderly person as a show respect 31 Yakirol, Naheikhol, Mingkheirol, Leigi Leirol - Verses sung to the accompaniment of Pena, the traditional bow and string instrument 32 Khongjom Parba - Narrative verse describing the battle of Khongjom sung to the accompaniment of a traditional percussion instrument 33 Lairik Thiba Haiba; Wari Liba - Traditional form of reading 108 109 certain deaths, dragon boats emerging from water, traditional dancers glittering in the light as they spin, choruses of wailing women, and Reviews ritual drummings. Either way, it is fascinating, even if the call for peace is likely to be ignored.

Drama is timeless!

Amongst the senior directors invited to perform at the festival Guardian Unlimited (NSD theatre Utsav, 8th Bharatrang) the Manipuri director Ratan Nine Hills, One Valley Thiyam and his Chorus Repertory,Imphal made an outstanding Barbican, London contribution with their Nine hills, One Valley which, in the words of the director, “is a poem by birth, a collage of many thoughts and a Lyn Gardner presentation of contemporary ideas without a conventional plot-a document of a restless society and its political turmoil where the It starts with a thump, a tinkle and a rustle. Seven bent sufferers are only poor people.” The sheer brilliance of the production figures emerge from the darkness, turning and swaying like stately with its sensitive lighting and muted colours with a slash of red spinning tops. They call upon the seven sleeping men to awaken and denoting the blood spilled by Time in its ruthless march over the save the land from the evil spirits. So begins the Chorus Repertory land, destroying in its wake the culture and aspirations of the Manipuri Theatre of Manipur’s Nine Hills, One Valley, which combines ritual people, drew a standing ovation. and sacred dance in a beguiling 80-minute piece of theatre. As dramatic as the show, or perhaps more so, was the hap- Manipur which means ‘jewelled land’ is a remote hill state pening when erstwhile NSD director, Ebrahim Alkazi went up on in the north-east India. It is breathtakingly beautiful but economically stage to felicitate Ratan with this words- “What greater joy can there and politically weak and riven with violence. The Indian military has be for a teacher than to see his student surpass him, in this evening’s a large presence to deter the separatist forces who are rebelling against performance, Ratan has achieved more than what I have in my en- its annexation in 1949 by India. tire body of work.” You need to know this to get any kind of grasp on Ratan Thiyam’s production, which offers up a plea for peace that culminates PUNE NEWSLINE in the stage ablaze with tiny lights of hope as lamps twinkle across The harmony of chaos the valley. The show is always stunning, but like the place and culture it depicts, it can seem remote. With woven reed mats representing Prologue, his latest theatrical offering, shows its close rela- the nine hills that surround the capital, Imphal, and soft hues of red tion with his previous play Nine Hills, One Valley. Both the plays are and blue and black, this is theatre which creates a strong sense of part of the Manipur Trilogy which is interwoven with a strong the- geography even when its meaning remains elusive. It is worth reading matic concept and focus on Thiyam’s interpretation of a drasti- the programme thoroughly before you begin. cally changing world and need for acquiring traditional wisdom. Alternatively, you could just let it all wash over you as a “The human race has come a long way, especially due to technologi- series of exquisite images: young men rushing blinding towards their cal advancements, but in the course of our development, we have 110 111 somehow lost touch with our emotions. The more we become ad- experience in life and also think of the world around”- says Thiyam. vanced, the more our society is forgetting its traditions, roots and Featuring over 30 actors, Hey Nungshibi Prithivi explores the dif- the importance of human relationship”- says Thiyam. ferent aspects of conversation and tries to answer the question; has The other play in the trilogy, My Earth, My Love, depicts the human race truly been civilized? celestial nymphs visiting different war and conflict-torn parts of the The play also reaffirms the point that the real victims of war world and witnessing what the horrors of war are doing to the human and terrorism are women, children, the aged and the invalid. Thiyam race. “The play is an outcry against the unbearable socio-political- uses strong expressions and props such as an iron cage with a doll economical-religious fracas which eventually result in war,” the that represents the stomach of a pregnant woman, a victim of rape playwright says. Experimentation is the core of Thiyam’s to hit his audience hard. productions, but the essence of Manipur stands out sharp and clear. Directly or indirectly, his plays try to connect Manipur’s instability with similar conditions in other parts of the world and vice versa. The Theatre of Ratan Thiyam “As an artiste, it is important to choose your style of expression according to your experience”- says Thiyam who uses his Kavita Nagpal creative urge to search for that wisdom which will help bring about peace to human conflicts. “Without past wisdom, there cannot be a Contemporary in thought, technically dashing, with themes stable present and without a balanced present there won’t be a sen- featuring universal concerns expressed via a dramatic idiom rooted sible future. The question is what should we give today’s younger in tradition, yet inventively creative and continuously experimental is generation? A war-torn, highly unstable future riddled with umpteen perhaps an appropriate description of Ratan Thiyam’s theatre in brief. insecurities?”- he asks pointedly. In play after play, these elements surface skilfully placed in context So, while conceptualzing a play, he often thinks of himself to time, concern and content. Another distinctive feature is the con- as someone living on a remote land (mostly Manipur) and how his nection to his social milieu and how it transcends Manipur to include surroundings affect him. “My roots help me evolve creatively. I am the world. just taking ancient knowledge and presenting it to our future genera- Hey Nungshibibi Prithivi (My Love, My Earth), Ratan’s tion, in the form of my art and my art is the constant evolving proc- latest play staged at the 6th Bharatrang Mahotsav is a complex weav- ess of my identity”- says Thiyam, who hopes some day to stage a ing together of episodes of violence and destruction in human his- play on a peaceful and almost Utopian Manipur sans any conflict or tory across time and space to illumine a concern for peace. The turbulence. But he clearly states that his plays do not carry any play, in a way, is a quintessence of Ratan’s anxiety that he has felt advice: “my plays are only meant to give some precious food for over several years. In his earlier plays (Imphal Kurusi/Let’s go to thought to the audience, I just share my views, feelings and concern Imphal and Imphal Imphal) the disquiet was provoked by the eco- through my plays with the people”- he clarifies. nomic and political situation in Manipur. The educated unemployed youth in Manipur is legion. Things have come to such a pass that ALL HE IS SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE many survive plying cycle rickshaws and they are so ashamed of this degradation that they conceal their identities, thus we have many My Earth,, My Love the play serves as a wake-up call to the bandit-like masked rickshaw pullers in Imphal. Drug addiction is audience that individuals must make a concerted effort to combat violence. rampant; HIV and AIDS victims are there in large numbers and if the “The script is really my mind. So what you see on stage is what I young do not perish thus there are ethnic battles often engineered by 112 113 powerful satraps to snip off their lives. of the dialogue, evidently in Manipuri, one can follow the play with His Manipur is eternally present in Ratan’s dramas, even in those ease-here lies his skill. Every available space of the vast stage is so based on stories from the Mahabharata. miserly utilized using a very limited number of stage props or none at all, not even a single inch of space is wasted, a rare feat that can be Statement for Peace achieved only after meticulously carrying out a time and motion study. Saturday Sentinel The Bard from Imphal /LIFS T. Bijoykumar Singh Can what happens in a remote corner of India affect the rest On March 20,2004, Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi saw of the world? Ratan Thiyam of Imphal, Manipur ensures that it does the birth of a new play, Hey Nungshibi Prithivi (My Earth, My Love), through the visual texture of his plays, which are both dream and a production of Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal. A rare coinci- nightmare. The renowned director and his 26-member Chorus Reper- dence, on that very day, Ratan Thiyam became the first person to tory Theater were in the US recently, touring New York, North Caro- receive the prestigious B.V. Karanth Smriti Puraskar, recently insti- lina, Kansas and California. Nine Hills, One Valley is an elaborate tuted by the National School of Drama, New Delhi. The award is tapestry of startling music, movement and imagery that evokes con- given to a graduate of NSD, in the age group of above 50 years in cern about war and peace and social justice. recognition of their contribution in the field of theatre. It carries an “I grew up touring with my parents in my childhood.So you amount of Rs. 50,000, a citation and a memento. can almost say I was born and brought up in costume boxes and Chorus Repertory Theatre, nestled in a secluded corner in green rooms”- recalls Thiyam of his childhood with his parents who the north-eastern part of the country has already spread its mes- are noted Manipuri dancers. The difficulties of this nomad existence sages all over the globe, their productions have won many awards in had determined Thiyam never to enter the performing arts, but some- India and abroad. how the performing arts found him. From working as a writer, he Hey Ningshibi Prithivi is yet another masterpiece of Cho- moved into theatre, going on to become director of the National School rus Repertory Theatre but with a difference. Their earlier plays have of Drama in Delhi. been adapted from folklores, epics or writings of great masters. But Later he created his noted repertory company, where he ex- Hey Nungshibi Prithivi is wholly created by them, everything right pressed the burning issues through performance arts, emphasizing from the story and script is their own. It is charged with allegorical the limited resources and the unrest in his home town, and by exten- even esoteric overtones and Ratan’s fantastic visions of peace and sion, the same grief and inequities that exist in many parts of the prosperity blend with the most ghastly acts of humans. It is an en- world. As the critic of Frontline put it, “Thiyam’s visual spectacles tirely new concept in theatre. have always been unrivaled. It has epic sweep but also becomes as Ratan, in his own inimitable way, has used the stage as a personal as a sonnet. It billows into a universal lament, and warning.” canvas to paint his plays. His signature, depicting a play as a master- Indeed, though Nine Hills is in the Manipuri language and uses piece of painting, is deeply imprinted in every scene a ‘live painting’ Manipuri dance and martial art elements, the unsettled state of the world with profound depth. Gestures, body mevements, emotions articu- ensures that everyone everywhere can relate to it. Says Thiyam- “War lated through voice, not words, highly charged sound, appropriate and terrorism are making a lot of orphans, widows and physically chal- costumes, soothing music and effective lighting aptly carry the mes- lenged people. Theatre is one of the most potent and powerful art forms sage across the audience. Without understanding even a single word to express these concerns.” 114 115 As he points out, it is about sharing the emotions and the suf- Director Thiyam calls Nine Hills, One Valley a document of a rest- fering- “Unless you share it together, there will be nobody to think about less society and political turmoil where the sufferers are only poor it. Without a collective vision, without collective thought about peace as people. our target, it will be far away. There is a big question mark about what we are leaving behind for future generations. We want to leave them a The Telegraph, Guwahati better, brighter earth and for that we have to work a little bit harder.” October 30, 2005 The Hills are alive A Call From The Land of Seven Sisters HT live Correspondent. Seven sentinels overlooking the realm of nine hills and a valley invoke the evil spirits of the land, in an effort to pacify them Wednesday was rather interesting for people who enjoy thea- and bring about peace and harmony. The demonic Time then takes tre. The extraordinary event was the staging of Nine Hills, One its toll on the people, while terror and trauma rule supreme. Hapless Valley by The Chorus Repertory Theatre, founded by the renowned mothers wail and plead to the Wise Men, trying to save their children former director of NSD, Ratan Thiyam. amid such chaos. But the wise ones have, by then faded into ob- The play, entirely in Manipuri was about the violence and livion. All they can do is turn in their sleep and herald the ominous loss of cultural identity currently gripping Manipur, the state sur- times that are to come. Finally, lamps are lit across the valley to rounded by nine hills. Through the play, director Thiyam intends to remember the good times, and to symbolize a ray of hope that still send a message to restore the lost glory of his native land. exists in these dire times. Nine Hills, One Valley, begins with a group of old women In the context of modern theatre, this script may appear to performing an invocation ceremony to drive away the evil spirits be routine, but where exactly does one place a production which responsible for the turmoil in their valley. They ask the seven wise happens to be an admixture of modernity and age-old cultural mo- men for their help. The men have just woken up after having dreamt tifs? Where on the cartographic chart does one point one’s finger of Time cutting away dancers’ wrists, a reference to the death of when tradition and individual talent meet on stage? arts in the valley. They rewrite the book of knowledge to enlighten Manipur. and protect their people. Consider the above script, written by Manipuri director Ratan Despite the incomprehensible language, the play sent out a Thiyam, as the second part of a trilogy which began two years ago message loud and clear. The aggression and turmoil were depicted with My Earth, My Love, titled Nine Hills, One Valley, the produc- by the use of visual (dim lights) and sound effects, the latter used to tion premiered at the India International Center (IIC) in New Delhi a bare minimum. One could clearly make out the anguish being de- on Wednesday. It was, in many ways, a perfect end to a week-long picted when, for example, the traditional dancers’ wrists are cut off, cultural festival called the IIC Experience, which was held at the men and women read newspapers with descriptions of violent inci- centre this week. dents in various parts of the world and the mothers wail after the The production was, in Thiyam’s own words, “a collage of wise men are carried away by the sea demon, trying to calm their thoughts, which began as a single poem and went on to take its children with the light of hope. current stage form, it reflects my own expressions, and my opinion The 25-year old Chorus Repertory Theater has won ac- on development that happens at the expense of spiritual depth, in this claim at major international festivals, including the Fringe Firsts Award restless world.” at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival (1987) among others However, to give his production a unique look and feel, 116 117 Thiyam packages his content in a form that is distinctly ethnic. Most formed in 1976 by Thiyam, went on an experimentation overdrive, of the play stands out for its superb Manipuri choreography, that as did Kanhailal and many others. In the hands of these pioneers, draws from classical Manipuri dance and tribal martial arts, traditional Manipuri theatre witnessed a renaissance of sorts and gave the world costumes, folk music and local props. It is painstakingly executed more to see and appreciate than the traditional Lai Haraoba Meitei and the end product, to say the least, is gripping. dance form or early 20th century renditions. Thiyam is not the only dramatist from Manipur to have given “But even while giving in to change, the Manipuri School such a radical dimension to Manipuri theatre, still regarded in certain achieved a feat that few others were able to. While welcoming mo- critical circles as a naive representation of conventional narratives. dernity, they were careful not to disown their traditions. At a time Theatre person H. Kanhailal and Aribam Syam Sharma who was when regional theatre from other parts of the country was trying known for his films also redefined the visual and performing arts change in form in an attempt to embrace modernity, Manipuri thea- emerging out of Manipur ever since the Seventies, when the seeds tre stuck to using its tradition to its advantage.”- says N.K.Sharma, of Modernism were planted in the local intellect. director of Delhi-based theatre group Act One. “The movement took off because of masters such as Thiyam “This”- says Sharma, “brought about a dichotomy in and Kanhailal, and of course, the government of Manipur which Manipuri theatre, a fact that is yet to go down well with many thea- played an active part in promoting local arts”- says Ram Gopal Bajaj, tre critics. While I feel there is nothing wrong with amalgamating former director of the Delhi based National School of Drama. In a the past and the present, the Manipur experiment still has not found land blessed with diversity and positive thinking, the initiative suc- due approval in the mainstream. Cosmopolitan India has tried in- ceeded in bringing about a dynamic growth in the domain of per- stead to patronize it and in the process looked down upon it. It is forming arts. ironic though, given that the West has been quite receptive to the The diversity that Bajaj refers to has perhaps been the great- Manipuri experiment all along. The reason for the approval from the est gift to Manipur, a state that mainstream and insular India would West may be that foreign audiences always want to view and judge have difficulty in locating. “In the old times, Manipur, which had a Indian productions in an oriental frame, which Manipuri theatre has.” major Meitei population, witnessed an influx of the Vaishnavite sect” “Perhaps, time will take its course, and public opinion will -explains Thiyam. change. I have watched the movement from its elementary stages The unison brought about an amalgamation of two cultures and I think the outlook has been very positive, it will surely go on to as well. Then, in more recent times, Manipur was to play second earn due recognition one day.”- says Bajaj. home to immigrant Bangladeshi Muslims. Understandably, it enriched Going by the response of the audience at the India Interna- the local culture and gave it a host of facets. tional Centre on Wednesday evening, Thiyam got a standing ovation Apart from the dominant strands, countless tribes formed a and a pat on the back from cultural scholar Kapila Vatsyayan. One vital cultural base of Mainpur. “Their native music, dance and mar- would say much of the battle has already been won. It is just a tial arts only added to Mainpur’s ethnicity”- says Thiyam. Taken in matter of time before the curtains rise. its entirety, the cultural pool of Manipur with all its depth provided the perfect backdrop to Manipur theatre which needed adequate ex- EXPRESSNEWSline ploitation. New Delhi /Wednesday Though modern Manipuri theatre began to take shape in the October26/2005 early decades of the 20th century, it was not until the Seventies that it underwent a metamorphosis. The Chorus Repertory Theatre, Ratan Thiyam never really comes to the point; somewhat 118 119 like the storyline of his plays, which, as he puts it, begins as a thought, proves irresistible.The ticket holders had to cleave through the hu- develops like poem, takes the shape of collage of thoughts. His latest man wall of the hysterical optimists who thought they could some- production Nine Hills, One Valley is being premiered today at the how slide in, though tickets had been sold out weeks earlier.Finally, Indian International Centre as part of the IIC Experience, a festival the hall witnessed that phenomenon known as gate-crashing. Only of the arts. this time it was not metaphorical but literal. His Chorus Repertory Theatre is just back from performing A Star Nite? A rock show? Not at all. It was the annual at the Asia Pacific Festival in Taiwan where Uttarpriyadarshi was international theatre festival organised by the National School of Drama staged. In the past, Thiyam’s plays have been described as depicting (NSD), New Delhi (January 2-14). violence explicitly, something that perhaps he or his group cannot Bharatrang Mahotsav featured a work where Ratan Thiyam escape, being based, out of Manipur. paints the sorrows of Nine Hills, One Valley, a new masterpiece. But he does not use violence like a subject. The play is not Previous editions had premiered Ratan Thiyam’s creations as pano- about Manipur, he reiterates- “I may be in Manipur, but my mind is ramic, colourful, always global, shining with ideals. But this year’s traveling all over, from America to Iraq to ground zero. I don’t have Nine Hills, One Valley was something else. It invoked myth and a story to tell, this (the play) is how I think Nine Hills....has no legend with a primal cry of despair, ravaged by political turmoil, storyline, and is like a collage of thoughts that deals with issues of Manipur finds itself stripped of culture and tradition.The Seven Wise peace and restlessness in the world. One cause for the restlessness, Men who had gone to sleep after mapping the land’s glorious future or the lack of a collective philosophy of peace is that we have alien- are troubled by nightmares. They awake into the horrors of the ated ourselves from our culture and traditions. We have created gi- present, they rewrite the future of the land and depart for their final ants, like terrorism, and then lost control of them.” Thiyam’s play destination on the mythical Hiyang Hiren or Dragon Barge. Mothers brings together the past, the present, to foresee a future for our appear with children, singing lullabies which turn into dirges. But the children. act of creation itself signals hope, as do the images of flowers grow- Nine Hills....is the second in a trilogy that the director is ing out of the ruins. Suddenly, the nine hills twinkle with lights and working on. The first play in the trilogy that was released was the valley is filled with lamps. Blue despair melts into golden dreams My Earth, My Love where the common thread is his exploration of of a better tomorrow. peace and restlessness, but ask him about the third segment in the Thiyam’s visual spectacles have always been unrivalled, he trilogy and Thiyam breaks into a smile. uses dialogues as rhythms and chants, while the singing voices spell moods. The new production has all these attributes. It has something Frontline more and that something arises from the fact that Nine Hills... relies vol-23/issue03/Jan28-Feb10/2006/ less on pageantry and more on poetry. India’s National Magazine Theatre Indy: The Independent Weekly Protest, lament, celebration Raleigh ‘Durham Chapel Hill NC’/ November 1/2006 Communication Breakdown Gowari Ramnarayan Nine Hills, One Valley almost connects with Western audiences This year’s Bharatrang Mahotsav, the eighth edition of the theatre festival organised by the National School of Drama in Delhi, Byron Woods 120 121 evil spirits in the hope that they will leave them in peace. “Why don’t A late dispatch, from the theatre of the (unintentionally) you hear us? they ask, why don’t you save your children?” absurd, says that a group of survivors who have witnessed, firsthand, Their further slumber is disturbed by portentous dreams. the consequences of globalization and ethnic strife upon the rural The Rass Lila, a classical Manipuri dance in which a group of maids’ regions of a distant country have gathered together and flown, at forsaking earthy responsibilities are forgiven because they pursued great expense, to our land. Krishna, is suddenly laid waste by a fearsome demon, Time, who A magnificent hall is rented, so they may tell the public appears in crimson and cuts the celebrants down in mid-dance with what they know. Since their knowledge is considered precious, their his sword. Further on, amidst a steady rain of rolled-up newspapers appearance is advertised and tickets are sold to the event. The great flung on stage, men in office chairs read a litany of disaster head- night arrives. An upscale (if somewhat modest) audience takes their lines, tellingly, in English. seats. The house lights dim, the curtain rises. The Maichous’ response is striking to Western eyes. At the But the mood of anticipation in the room slowly changes close of their creation, they had left behind something of a user’s after they walk out on stage: someone has neglected to remove the manual for the world; one that was encoded and placed in secret gags that have been secured and apparently locked in place around locations. Gazing on the chaos that has overtaken all, they resolve to their mouths. intervene by rewriting the book, drastically simplifying the text, plac- Over the next 70 minutes, unseen hands occasionally loosen those ing it in terms that all men and women can readily understand. The gags, letting individual guests be understood for 10 to 20 seconds difficulty is that the story in this case is being told in an early form of (and up to a minute in some places, or even two) before squelching Meitei, a language all but unknown to American audiences. them again. To be sure, the twin choruses of women and men deliver For their part, the witness is not unremorseful: in the face the extensive lines of this mythical metaphor with more than enough of this obstacle, they use pantomime and stylized movements to outrage and desperation to make their audience really want to know communicate sections of their story. Still, it is clear that, under these what they are saying. Over and over again, a single sentence on circumstances, the group can convey only a fraction of their com- screen is all we are allowed to understand from impassioned mono- plicated message at best. logues and choral passages lasting several minutes. In other places, Actually, no muzzles adorned the actors of the Chorus Rep- super titled words flash on and off screen. ertory Theatre of Manipur, India, during their production of Nine Thiyam’s tale contains striking choreography and a number Hills, One Valley on thursday night at UNC’s Memorial Hall. But of vivid stage images. The labor of the women in the fields is clearly given the linguistic barricade between the performers and the audi- represented in the sinuous movements of the opening scene. The ence, a barrier needlessly exacerbated by poor technical choices, the candles that rest in the palms of women in the final moving image effect remained much the same for a good part of the evening. convey hope in a time of darkness. Given the plot of director Ratan Thiyam’s new theater/music/dance work, this frustrating turn proves particularly ironic. Indian Show proves worldly The Maichous, a mythical group of wise men who retreated Topeka(KS) Capital-Journal/ from the world after perfecting its creation, are awakened from a Nov 4/2006 long sleep to find all is not in order. A chorus of women whose villages have been overturned by environmental catastrophe and eth- Chuck Berg/ Special to the Capital-Journal nic schism are concluding a fruitless ritual, offering food to plaguing 122 123 While India’s thriving movie scene has taken the world by lean and evocative score whose sonic waves embellished and trans- storm via Bollywood musical adventures and in blockbuster co- ported the women’s quest for peace for their children. productions by Indian Americans such as Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Thiyam, taking pity on his tortured souls, provides a happy Wedding,’ Americans have had relatively few opportunities to savor ending in the form of a new and accessible book of knowledge the particular delights of Indian theater, which made the Lied Center’s dealing with freedom, peace, religion, politics, human rights and the programming of Nine Hills, One Valley that much more special. duties of man. Written and directed by the celebrated Ratan Thiyam and Although some might object to Thiyam’s perhaps wishful performed by the magnificent Chorus Repertory Theatre, which thinking, the arts have always provided a special place for the ex- Thiyam found in his home state of Manipur India,1976, Nine Hills, pression of hope. One Valley is a poignant allegory dealing with the universal themes In an era of unprecedented and precipitous change, it is of good versus evil, individual versus collective duty, the relevance good to have poets such as Thiyam to add perspective to the real of history and the impact of modernity. politic of Friedman and Dobbs. In tandem, they just might be able to Such issues are also among the curry-and-rice of influential help lead us to the wisdom necessary for building a better world for political, economic discourses on globalization, including Thomas all. Friedman’s best-selling ‘The world is flat’ and the nightly outsourcing (Chuck Berg is a professor at The University of Kansas .He commentaries of CNN’S Lou Dobbs. can be reached at [email protected].) Thiyam, by reframing the issues of modernization through the lens of his native culture transcends the usual polarized terms of The Hindu the globalization debate by means of the poetics of Manipuri speech, Idiom of identity music, movement and myth. Set to the beat of a literally different drummer, Nine Hills, Ratan Thiyam’s evocative Nine Hills, One Valley dealt with One Valley unfolded like a dream. A tale of seven old women seek- the crisis in Manipur. The North East was well represented at the ing a better future for their sons and daughters, the play ponders Bharat Rang Mahotsav with two plays each from Manipur, Assam over the future of a mystical land in which traditional, cultural values and Kolkata, one from Bangladesh and another from Nepal. It was and history have been marginalized. inevitable that one of the plays was by Ratan Thiyam’s Chorus It’s a simple premise, motifs of old and new are the stuff of Repertory Theatre for no National Theatre Festival is complete without epic tales, as well as coming-of-age stories. However, by encoding a Ratan Thiyam play. The renowned director was here with his latest the narrative in the specifics of Thiyam’s remote homeland, the old production Nine Hills, One Valley, his response to the recent upheavals is made new to the Indian audiences. in his state. Often accused by fellow theatre activists of not taking a Thiyam’s minimalist staging infused his tale with wonder. political stand on issues, Thiyam communicates his thoughts in His seven old women moved with a deliberate slow-motion effect language characteristic of him with a theatre language using exotic that underscored their suffering . Their lament, as all the dialogue, spectacles, powerful images, haunting sounds and symbols and was rendered in Manipurian, the bare essentials of which were trans- beautifully choreographed movements. lated as projected super titles. Though the play does not have a conventional plot, it has a The effect for non-Manipurians was magical since the flow, thin but evocative storyline. The seven mothers of the land who rhythm and texture of the dialogue combined with shimmering bells, guard the culture and traditions of this earthly paradise surrounded punctuating drums and declamatory wind instruments to form a by nine hills wail over the way evil has traumatized their land and 124 125 hampered artistic and intellectual expression. tory Theatre, the best of some 20 local performing groups, is tour- Thiyam conveys the plight of the artist through a stunning ing its production, Nine Hills, One Valley around America and inter- visual in which Manipuri dancers have their hands cut off and the nationally. Sponsored by the Asia Society, it kicked off at New York’s severed hands continue to dance. The women appeal to the seven Brooklyn Academy of Music in October. wise men to wake up from their sleep and save their people. The In a slow motion prologue, this chorus created stylized wise men are shocked by the violence and bloodshed that wreck tableaux with chants, reminiscent of Greek tragedy, performed in their land and the decay that has crept into the art forms. They drive Meitei with minimal English super titles. Thiyam chooses to empha- away the evil spirits and rewrite the book of knowledge in a simpler size the impact of his stunning visuals and the aural effect of his language so that the common people are able to follow their words poetic language over translation and meaning, and he opts for poetic of wisdom, before sailing away in their dragon boat. The play ends allegory over a convectional linear narrative plot. with yet another beautiful spectacle of lamps being lit on top of the Often, the violence is evoked concretely with flowing red nine hills symbolizing the ray of hope for the future. Through a fabric symbolizing blood. Allusions to amputations are made in a series of surrealistic, dreamlike experiences, Thiyam probes the sick- gory scene depicting luminous dancers’ graceful hands dripping red; ness that ails his land and looks for a solution in the soul rather than in another surreal scene, amputated limbs sprout plantlike from a in politics. grotesque earth. Some mothers wail over dying sons, others nurse swaddled infants; the images are heart wrenching and raw. Newsweek International The troupe itself is unusual. Thiyam, the son of Mainpuri Nov.6 /2006 master dancers, studied at Delhi’s National School of Drama before The Hills Are Alive returning to Manipur in 1976 to found the company on a two-acre A talented Manipuri troupe goes on tour in the West. plot outside Imphal. The group is a self -sufficient multi tasking community of holistic actors who farm, cook and eat as well work Vibuti Patel together. In 2001, the troupe built a 300-seat auditorium on their land. Thiyam, who returned to head the prestigious NSD from 1986 For 40years, the tiny hill-state of Manipur in the remotest to 1988, is rooted in both ancient tradition and contemporary theatre corner of northeastern India (bordered by Bhutan, Burma and Bang- trends. Often compared with directors like Peter Brook (who visited ladesh) has been embroiled in bitter strife between its various ethnic Manipur to see Thiyam’s work ) and Ariane Mnouchkine, he crafts communities, and between Indian military forces and separatist in- epic, vivid spectacles that draw upon the history of his homeland. surgent factions. If the conflict within that state is not as well known His last play, The Final Beatitude was set in ancient India at the time to outsiders as the one in Kashmir, it is only because Manipur is when Emperor Ashoka’s conquests first created the nation. Hum- isolated and alienated from the rest of the country, the army is a bled by the enormous loss of life that his wars caused, Ashoka re- constant presence, curfews are common in the capital city of Imphal, pents and becomes the world’s greatest Buddhist monarch. street violence is bloody and young men are regularly picked up for Nine Hills, One Valley is staged by 26 actors, musicians and danc- interrogation or worse. Against this conflict-ridden backdrop, how- ers, and as they embark on their international tour, they are sure to ever, Manipur boasts some of India’s richest cultural traditions in give the world a vibrant picture of their homeland, in all its pain and classical dance, theatre, literature and poetry in Meitei, a language glory. that is both ancient and alive. Now cities in the West are getting a taste of the region’s dazzling theatrical talents. The Chorus Reper- 126 127 Times of London I do not know because still I am exploring, what is theatre? How can April 16,/2007 we use the weapon of theatre to attack the system?” The director is always right This bold assertion of the democratic nature of theatre is all but invisible on the ground of the Shrine, designed and built by Thiyam Tomorrow the latest production by Ratan Thiyam opens in himself in 1981. His mixed company is picked from local work- London. shops and all the actors must be unmarried when invited to join the company. “We must be able to work away from all other concerns”- Lucy Powell meets one of theatre’s greatest directors. Thiyam says. Depending on the project, they may also live in the Shrine, trained in traditional disciplines, from martial arts to yoga to Meeting the Indian director Ratan Thiyam is an unnerving ancient storytelling techniques, they also cook, clean, do the garden- experience. “Some questions do not answer” is this revered auteur’s ing and make tea. opening gambit as he welcomes me into his office in the Shrine, the He is the son of Tarunkumar Singh, a guru of Manipur dance head quarters of Chorus Repertory Theatre in the northeast Indian and the director of Bollywood talkies until 1942. His mother, Bilasimi state of Manipur. was Tarunkumar’s disciple and Thiyam as he says was “born and One question is whether it would be possible to interview brought up in costume boxes and until the last moment of her preg- any of his 26 strong company, a request met with a bemused si- nancy, my mother was dancing.” lence. The arrival of black tea does not disturb his flow of thoughts, He so resented the experience of his early years that he he is oblivious to the trickle of people who routinely arrive, genuflect swore he would have nothing to do with the performing arts. But in and walk backwards out of his presence incredibly enough, these 1971, ostensibly to further his writing career, he enrolled in the Na- quietly respectful people are his actors. tional School of Drama in Delhi. On graduation, he returned to Thiyam is an Indian guru cut from traditional moulds, one Manipur and in 1976 founded his theatre company from his bed- of the most influential directors on the subcontinent. His Buddhism room in his parents’ house. A year later, Chorus Repertory was inspired Uttar-Priyadarshi examined the aftermath of the wars of representing India in international festivals. The company had its king Ashoka the Indian empire builder. It introduced Thiyam to first big hit in 1984, with Chakravyuha, a dramatization of the wars America and England in 2001, eliciting comparisons with the likes of of the Bharatas. Peter Brook and Tadashi Suzuki. When his latest show, Nine Hills, In interview and in his work, Thiyam returns again and One Valley opened in Delhi in October 2005, it was hailed as his again to concepts of democracy an collectivism as means of attack- most elegant and affecting work to date. ing violence and oppression yet his personal control over Chorus But, along with countless awards, he has earned his share Repertory is absolute, he is absolute, he is paymaster general as well of detractors. He has been accused of ‘orientalising’ India dramatiz- as artistic director of the company. ing a traditional culture that India’s booming capitalist economy is I am guessing that this apparent discrepancy between his fast leaving behind. He was a pioneer of the ‘theatre of roots’ move- theory and Chorus Repertory is one of the questions Thiyam will ment, which sought a return to authentically Indian forms of per- decline to answer. But, before I have settled on the least insulting formance in the postcolonial era. “For me”- Thiyam retorts, “it is way of wording it, he assesses it with a smile- “whatever I have important that theatre does not become an intellectual art form for done, I have done out of necessity,”- he says, “we developed a educated people only. For the common people to follow your ideas, holistic attitude to theatre because we had to. I am a writer and a I think you need the support of tradition. Whether I’m right or wrong, fundraiser, everyone in the company has more than one skill. If we 128 129 want to succeed, we have to know how to do many things, or we identity. It is interesting, too, that the seven women should also recall are going to pay for our ignorance. In India, it is not enough to have the choruses in Greek tragedy who bear witness to and suffer the a good idea. You won’t survive here on a good idea.” consequences of conflict. Whatever the rest of the company thinks, Thiyam’s man- Nonetheless, the universal nature of this story cannot agement style remains a mystery . But one Manipuri musician is compensate for the monotonous use of ritualised dance, visual willing to venture this much- “outsiders are afraid of him, of his ego. symbolism, a pace that verges on the funereal and incantatory verse. But it is a great honour to work for him. Ratan Thiyam put Manipur Despite the direct references to modern poverty and insurgency, on the map and in some ways, he puts India on the map and he this is a plea for change that feels dogged by its enslavement to the brings a lot of money back to the region.” past. Not only the public theatre, but an artist’s library, the restoration of an ancient shrine and the design of a new museum are all the unsung fruits of Ratan Thiyam’s labour, and yet even such mildly tempered praise as the one from his musician could only be bought with a firm promise of absolute anonymity. the entertainment guide London/ April 19/ 2007 thisislondon.co.uk

A Tale of Trouble and Strife from India Nine Hills, One Valley Barbican Theatre Dir: Ratan Thiyam Cast: Chorus Repertory Theatre of Manipur

Description: The isolated landscape of Manipur is the setting for a rich, exciting theatre and music treat, in which seven wise men awaken violently from eternal rest and find that their prophecies have come true, but that paradise is in turmoil. Performed in Manipuri (Meitei) with English subtitles, script and direction from Ratan Thiyam.

Visually ravishing Nine Hills, One Valley

Melding traditional theatre practices and folklore motifs, the Chorus Repertory Theatre articulates a very 21st century cultural dilemma here: how to modernize a region without losing its cultural 130 131 Comments ‘It was a dazzling show of skill artistic design energy, and not merely the ‘A rare gem of theatrical art and a show of technical and choreographic kinetic sort. Each scene, each movement left one spellbound.’ brilliance, Thiyam takes the audience on a voyage into the human con- -The Hindustan Times, India. science. His language is universal.’ - Bangkok Post (Bangkok). ‘The most overwhelming element however is the use of rhythm. Singer and percussion set the dramatic pulse for each section - the hectic cacophony of ‘Anyone with a serious interest in the arts would find this show riveting and battle or the slow cyclical rhythms of meditation.’ rewarding... so rich are the many elements that speak directly to our common -The Independent (London). humanity.’ - The Evening Post (New Zealand). ‘There are battles and procession of banner waving soldiers, undulating ‘The work is highly structured and builds from a meditative beginning to military choreography, thrilling exhibitions of martial arts. The music is exqui- vivid peaks of action and great beauty before falling back into the reflections site. Now this really is something worthy of a great International Festival.’ of the spirit.’ - Financial Times (London). - The Advertiser (Australia). ‘This is truly great theatre. It is not an easily digested show, not something ‘Rich, hypnotic and beautifully crafted, this topical yet timeless production for the tired or the lazy, but its stylized beauty, the precision of its actors and is yet another feather in the cap of the Barbican’s increasingly indispensable dramatic tension of the story staged by an imaginative director makes it BITE season of international theatre.’ profoundly satisfying and in the end highly exciting.’ - The Daily Telegraph (Britain). - Glasgow Herald, Glasgow. ‘In red fabric to simulate the whirlpool of blood that engulfs him, the simple ‘From the slim text of a few pages of Bhasa, Thiyam created an amazing sub- imagery proves powerful and clear.’ text, elaborated upon the episodes and developed the play with highly charged -Tucson & Arizona (USA). visuals, bathed in imaginative lighting and costumes of arresting colours.’ ‘Thiyam’s direction underlined the tension between the individual and socio- - Indian Express, India. religious order. Thiyam’s home audience wouldn’t miss the reference to ‘This elaborate display of aggression, rendered in mime, in elegant slow Manipur’s own political turbulence.’ motion movement on the spot, and dancing patterns across the stage picked - San Francisco Chronicle (USA). out in pools of light make of battle a ritual rather than a generalized brawl.’ ‘Its brilliant costume and stylized movements appeal to the eye, its music and - The Guardian (London). use of the human voice to the ear, its philosophy to the imagination. Its story ‘The soldiers swirling real swords like lightening flashes through the air, is alien and yet familiar. The battle between good and evil does not only exist crashing noisily on their opponents’ weapons with a passionate, artistic in all societies but in every individual.’ valour which leaves one frightened, breathless and amazed.’ - The Dominion (Wellington, New Zealand). - Irish Times. ‘It would be exceedingly hard to single out some among the cast as out- ‘Visually stunning, this wonderful production is performed in a montage-like standing since each one performed with high degree of dramatic proficiency style, linking music and performance with dance, pageant and martial arts.’ under the able guidance of Thiyam.’ - Fulhan Chronicle. - Tadashi Suzuki (Japan). ‘The energy and intensity of the performance was exhilarating. A thrilling ‘Intensely theatrical and atmospheric, hypnotic parable about good and evil, theatrical event.’ or rather, how good can triumph over evil.’ - West Australian (Australia). - Washington Post (USA). 132 133