TODAY -
Lai Haraoba - Discursive Practices & Cultural Contestations - Part 6 (The Sacred Space Of The Lai Haraoba) |
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By: Rekha Konsam * |
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The Lai Haraoba opens up a social space. What takes place within this space is largely constituted under the authority of the organising committee of each festival site. For analytical purposes, the site can be demarcated into ritual and non-ritual on the basis of its usage.
The non-ritual space literally opens out as the ritual closes in. This is an aspect of the festival that has not merited much attention. It lends an interesting hue just beyond the manifest ritual focus. While the ritual arena is imbued with its richness of the ancient Meitei tradition, the non-ritual is ensconced in the contemporary individual, social and political context. It is perhaps the increasing visibility of this space, used for entertainment, that has lent the notion of the Lai Haraoba as being increasingly ‘secularized’. Without doubt this is a much later addition to the festival. The non-ritual space in different sites can be seen as contributing towards a public culture. It is an arena where different trajectories of local and regional interests, forces of modernity, globalization, indigenization and micropolitics of space intersect. While the items presented are drawn from a multiple range, symbolic boundary is being reconstituted within this spatial idiom. Arguably, there is a reassertion of cultural autonomy vis-à-vis the overwhelming ‘mainstream’ influence, in content if not in form. Thus, while plays and ballad based on indigenous folk culture are popular, those on Hindu religious themes do not form a part of these presentations today. Again with the ban on Hindi films, music and the public usage of the language, sound tracks and performances based on popular Hindi music are tabooed while those of Manipuri and even English numbers are watched with fervour. The least controversial of the ‘secular items’ seem to be—traditional dances, ballads, the indigenous theatre Shumang Lila, etc. This reassertion, however, needs to be situated within global flows of culture, of an image wherein the twin processes of globalization and indigenization are constantly at play. Bharucha’s observation, set a few years ago, reflects on the dance rendition of a young girl dressed as Madhuri Dixit which regales the audience while a young man’s rendition of a Michael Jackson number is enough to disrupt the day’s celebration. [ 18 ] Today, in view of the socio-political scenario along with the younger age of the organising committee, Dixit by virtue of her iconic status as representing the national imagery of commercial cinema may no longer remain an option in terms of performative roles. One wonders, what would be the fate of Michael Jackson? Would he still suffer the same fate? Related Articles/Pictures:
to be continued ... * Rekha Konsam wrote this article for Eastern Quarterly . This article was webcasted with written permission from Eastern Quaterly on August 07th, 2007. |
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