Give any theme, provided there is a good choreographer and competent artistes
to put heart in it and also the music properly set, then the play comes
to life. This is what one experienced at witnessing the presentation
of Wainu Pareng, the latest in the repertory of the Production Unit
of the Academy at its hall.
The long
and short of the story (based on a folk-tale) is this: A male crane
(Wainu in Manipuri) and Kadamba by name, wings all the way to Kabo (now
Myanmar) in search of a mate and there he meets Kadambi a female crane.
After their return to Manipur, the two find this place far from being
peaceful, hence they fly back to the home place of his partner. There,
the two soon are blessed with an offspring, but their happiness is short-lived
as the young falls into the trap of heartless hunters. The hapless mother,
particularly, becomes disconsolate and has nothing but to rue her own
fate.
Here, the artistes with a degree of versatility execute with ease the dance numbers
simulating the characteristics of the tall, long-necked and long-billed
flying aquatic birds with limited costumes to represent them - the synchronised
craning jerks, slow and flitting strides, play-acting of mating pairs,
gliding on the wings, shuffling of the fledgling and grief of the winged
parents. All this speaks volumes of the labour that might go into it
all and here unlike in Keibul Lamjao, over sentimen-talization is much
avoided. For human beings in the form of animals should conform to the
character of the latter. No less is the choreographer's keen sense of
observation and the skill of licking the sequences into shape. The background
music blows in a fresh puff of delight being the result of the music
director's resourcefulness and his deft handling of a good ensemble
of instruments. But it is preferred that he confines the melody, the
tune within the precincts of traditionally recognised local music and
avoids the temptations of the strains of Hindusthani/Western music.
The light and sound (tape recorded) are very carefully handled so as
to be of salutary help to the progress of the play. But the introduction
of a quaintly dressed character symbolizing mother Nature (as shown
in the top picture) is not demanded as she is of little use in the
plot and also the director's attempt to read much into the story baring
all beforehand as printed in the hand-bill. It is advisable to leave
as far as practicable to the spectator's imagination. And Kadamba, Kadambi,
names of the birds are not definitely Manipuri.
The present
production has an edge on the Unit's previous one Keibul Lamjao as there
everything had to be improvised on account of the lack of a story line.
It shot into limelight because, apart from the nimble-footed Ibemu and
her associates as dancing deer of its sheer topicality.
Whereas Wainu
Pareng based on a folk-tale, part of the treasure trove of Manipuri
folklore, is already charged with dramatic elements. As there are variations,
the identity of the source of the tale with at least the location should
have been given. The write-up of the production leaves much to be desired
in point of language, style of presentation and the print itself. In
fact, it doesn't match the excellence of the performance as well as
the prestige of the institution. I think, there is no harm in hiring
an experienced hand to do this part. Lastly, it shall be a tall claim
on the part of the Unit to appropriate to itself the epithet 'the best
known repertory of Manipuri Dance and Music in the country.' For we
cannot deny the place of R K Singhajit Singh who has been producing
well-knit and decent ballets/dance-dramas as a choreographer and director
based on the traditional arts of Manipur, under the banner of Triveni
Kala Sangam, New Delhi for more than four decades with random collection
of artistes on a shoe-string budget unlike those hand picked of the
Academy. Chorus Repertory Theatre's productions of international repute
are not obviously legitimate dramas, but dance-dramas of sorts drawn
on the rich mine of Manipuri performing arts.
However,
on the whole, the impressive performance of the artistes far outweighs
any other shortfall in the production.
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