Adhikarimayum Radhamanabi Devi, the renowned Manipuri dancer, performed in the city recently at an event organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi. Born on January 13, 1979, Radhamanabi started dancing at the age of seven and had been immensely influenced by the Hindu culture and dance forms in the state. She was trained in Manipuri dance at Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy in Imphal and later obtained PG Diploma in Ras Leela and Lai Haraoba, two forms of traditional Manipuri dances. At present, she is an assistant professor at Manipur University.
Radhamanabi’s formal education in dance started when she was in Class VII. She did her Masters in Manipuri literature and later PhD. The subject of her research was Manipuri Dance in the 20th century. The 39-year-old dancer told The Shillong Times on phone from Imphal — it was difficult to reach her on phone or through email as there was ban on internet in the state after trouble broke out in September — that most of the people do not know that Manipur has many forms of dances, besides Ras and Lai Haraoba. “Even I did not know before I started my research,” she confessed.
Radhamanabi has travelled across the country, carrying with her the culture and dance tradition of Manipur, which is otherwise known to most citizens as a conflict zone and Irom Sharmila, besides Mary Kom.
The dancer, who was apologetic about not being able to reply to calls or emails, talked about the violence in Manipur and its impact on art and culture. She also expressed her keenness to experiment with contemporary dance. Excerpts from an interview.
Who influenced you to become a dancer? Who would you like to thank for the achievements?
No one in my family was a dancer. However, we are Brahmins and our ancestral house had a temple of Radha-Krishna where we celebrated Jhulon every year. During the celebrations we would sing and dance. So I was really influenced by that. Also, the influence was there at our village school, which followed Hinduism. We hardly had a Catholic school in the village. During Saraswati puja, we would have cultural programmes and I was encouraged to participate. To be honest, I never like dancing when I was a child (laughs) but my parents pushed me to continue dancing and they appreciated my talent. They encouraged me to participate in competitions. So all the credit goes to my parents
Manipuri dance has always been known to the mainland despite NE’s distance from the rest of India. Why do you think it has been possible?
No doubt there are some internal similarities between Manipuri dances and other Indian classical dances. Also, religion plays a major role and the influence of Hinduism can be seen in our dances as well as the classical dances. Manipuri dances are based on bhakti. For example, Lai Haraoba comes from the Meiteis.
Have you ever felt that the conflict in the state is stunting your growth as an artist?
Yes, the violence has affected not only art and culture but also education to a great extent. The continuous bandhs have created hurdles for artists. Our children are also leaving the state for safer pastures.
Have you ever thought of expressing your angst through your art form?
The two forms of dance that I have specialised in are traditional and I cannot experiment with them. I like Ras Leela and train students in this dance form. However, I want to experiment with contemporary dance that will allow me use a different language through the art. Creative dance is also needed.
How was your experience in Shillong? How is the feedback usually in other northeastern states? (Radhamanabi was in Shillong in September to receive the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017)
In Shillong, the crowd was not big because the city is more influenced by western culture (laughs). But I had been to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh where the audience is always impressive.
How is the influence of western culture in Manipur?
Yes, yes, the influence is increasing there too but I can say it is a 50-50 mix of western and traditional dances. However, if you ask me about Manipuri dances, they are still popular among youths. Earlier, we had only diploma in dance but now there are proper dance courses in colleges and the university. We have many students from Manipur studying in Rabindra Bharati University and Santiniketan. Dance has many prospects now unlike in our times.
What are your other likings?
I like singing too but am not a professional. I sing occasionally. I have also published a book recently.
How does your family support?
I am married with two children, one a baby. I get a lot of support from my husband and mother-in-law. We do not have the trend of keeping maids in Manipur so we have to do all by ourselves. It is difficult when you have a job. But everyone at my in-laws’ place come forward to help me in every way they can.