The Tamil Nadu chapter of the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) in association with Thiagarajar College of Engineering brought to the city the heritage dance of Manipur – the Pung Cholom.
It is the traditional dance of Manipuri performed at all social and devotional ceremonies as an offering to God.
As the conch was blown to a roaring sound, men dressed in white dhotis and turban made a graceful appearance on the stage. They simultaneously danced and drummed the Pung (drum) that hung around their neck with slight sway of their hands and took the audience by surprise when they flipped the turbans off their head with a swish.
What started as a gentle rhythm soon paced up with thunderous beats and so did the moderate movements that gradually turned into vigorous acrobatic stunts. The synergy among the dancers was impeccable while they danced in pairs and groups. The tapping of legs and clapping of hands by the dancers synced with the music played with the Pung. Each of them blessed with an athletic built added zing to the performance.
The packed auditorium fell into silence and intermittently burst into rapturous applause watching the energy-packed performance.
Dhol Dhulok Cholom, an informal dance performed at festivals like Holi, was also featured at the show. The theatre reverberated with cheers and claps when the central dancer threw himself up in the air twisting and twirling to the peppy drum beats. It was a never-seen-before feat!
The troupe that gave the scintillating performance consisted of national and international artists from the Institute of Manipur Performing Arts. For the past three weeks, the group has been touring the State giving performances in various academic institutions across cities. “Practicing and perfecting Pung Cholom involves tremendous amount of training and energy,” says Soibam Boy Singh, the lead artist of the group. Performing for the past 20 years, he gives full credit to his guru Padma Shri Sougaijam Thanil Singh, the former Director of Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, for training him to this level.
“It is important to preserve and rejuvenate the traditions and cultures of our nation and we plan to have such shows every year” says Dr. V. Abhai Kumar, Principal of TCE.
Dr.R.Vasudevan, Dean of Extra Curricular Activities points out that the Arts Club at TCE supports music, dance, crafts, theatre and yoga. “We need to promote the intangible aspects of Indian culture on a global front,” he says.
The event coordinator M.Kameswari says, “In a diversified country like ours, youngsters should be aware of performing arts of other regions. Events like these pave the way for cultural exchanges and understanding of each other’s cultures.” SPICMACAY is a voluntary movement reaching out to millions of students across 1,500 institutions in 800 towns in India and 50 towns abroad. It seeks to inspire the youth through experiencing the rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry of Indian and world Heritage in order to influence their way of life and thinking.
