Two-day long Manipuri Dance Festival concludes

The first day began with a lamp lighting ceremony by the guests and organisers in order to pay respect to the dance maestro, followed by a transcending performance by the 'Pung' players of Srimangal, Sylhet. The highlight of the programme was the performance of Smt. Bimbavati Devi, the daughter of Guru Bipin Singh and Kalavati Devi. She is one of the world's most celebrated Manipuri dancers today. Among her performances, Abhisarika was the one which she was most excited about. “I saw Preeti mashi (Guru Preeti Patel) perform it which was choreographed by father and always wanted to perform it,” she said to the audience. She had re-choreographed the performance and performed it on stage for the first time. The audience was spellbound by the brilliance of her performance, after which she mentioned her mother Guru Kalavati Devi as the “terrible critic” who still monitors her performances. Bangladeshi dancers Sweety Das Chowdhury, Samina Husain Prema and Warda Rihab also performed on the first day.

Bimbavati Devi, Photo: Prabir Das

 “Through the practice of our culture we can fight superstition and barbarity in our society,” said Whip Shahiduzzaman Sarker in the inauguration ceremony. The programme was also attended by Director of Music, Dance and Recitation of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Md Sohrab Uddin. Leading dance critics of India, Dr. Sunil Kothari and Smt. Leela Venkataraman were present during the event. It was jointly organised by dancers Lubna Marium, Sweety Das Chowdhury, Samina Husain Prema and Warda Rihab.

The two-day festival was a tribute from the Bangladeshi students of Guru Bipin Singh. However, the one year long festival will continue in India till August 26 of this year.

Samina Husain Prema, Photo: Prabir Das

Warda Rihab, Photo: Prabir Das