History of the Manipuri style

Coming from the state of Manipur in the northeast region of India, this style never fails to impress with its lyrical movements. It takes the mind on a peaceful and quiet journey which is almost a prerequisite for happy human existence.

The land of Manipur boasts of a tradition beginning as early as 154 AD . A copper edict of the period says that the then ruler of Manipur created the mridangam(a double sided drum) and cymbals for dance.

The people of the land were called Meithei and they performed many ritual dances which belonged to a locally practised religion. The jogoi or circular dance performed by them is the precursor for the present day Manipuri style. In 1714 AD a ruler changed the course of history, he was Pa Meiba or Pamaiba. This king embraced the Vaishnava sect and he ruled that earlier cult be discontinued. Many devotional dances in praise of Vishnu came into being. However the earlier traditions were also nurtured quietly by the common people. The king's grandson Chintan Khomba or Bhagyachandra (1764 AD)became a Vaishnavite and brought in a period where the Ras and Sankeertan styles of Manipuri dance were formed. It is during this time that the Ras dance of lord Krishna became one of the favorite dances of the people. The photograph shows the Jhaveri sisters in Vasanta Ras playing the Holi. This is a festival where Krishna and the gopis throw powder colours and coloured water on each other.

Krishna is said to appeared in the dream of the king and shown him his divine dance. As an offering to Krishna the king had natmandaps or small halls built in temples where the dance could be performed. He introduced beautiful costumes and even created a dance composition called the Bhangi Parang.
King Gambhir Singh in 1825 AD made a few changes. Bhangi parang was divided into two compositions the 'goshta parang' and the 'gostha brindavan parang', which were vigorous in nature.

In 1850 AD, king Chandra Keerti Singh added some compositions and was instrumental in introducing 64 pung dance or drum dances. This is a current photograph of Ranjit Singh and his group in the dance called Pung Cholom doing spiral turns with the pung or drum.

With the advent of the British the Manipuri dances fell into bad times and were discontinued except in a few places. Later after the British left slowly the dance has regained lost foothold and remains to this day the lifeblood of the Manipuri people.

The most well known performers and teachers are the (late) Guru Bipin Singh, and Guru Singhajeet and his wife Charusheela.

In Bombay the famous performers and teachers are the Jhaveri sisters - Nayana,Suverna, Darshana and Ranjana Jahveri. They continue this tradition at their institution 'Manipuri Nartanalaya'. These artists have spread the beauty of Manipuri dance all over the world and have been honored both nationally and internationally on this subject. The credits and copyrights for all photographs on this site are with the Jhaveri sisters.