For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA that will attempt to understand the evolving cultural identity of the Tangkhul Naga community through an ethnographic and performative exploration of the Luira Festival and its iterations in four diasporic sites - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Shillong, further drawing up a comparative analysis with Luira celebrations at Ukhrul in Manipur. The outcome of this research will be a monograph and audio-visual documentation of the festival events. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA, along with the final reports, will be the monograph, audio-visual recording of the festival from five different geographical spaces, excerpts of the interviews from the field, copies of brochures, photographs, and lyrics of songs. Project funds will pay for contract fees, travel and living, documentation, hire of equipment and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA, which will study the sociopolitical and cultural history of Manipur between the 1960s and 1970s through the work of a group of poets known as the ‘Angry Poets of Manipur’. The project will attempt to understand poverty, unemployment and corruption during this period through their writing and through detailed interviews with them. The outcome of this project will be a set of audiovisual songs based on the poetry and interviews. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be a set of audiovisual songs and documentation of the interviews from the field. Project funds will pay for contract fees, equipment hire, books and stationery, and travel.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Workshops, Residencies, Seminars which will create a music workshop on the folk and traditional music and culture of the Chakpa community in two villages, Phayeng and Leimaram, 30 km from Imphal. The workshop will bring together the few living Gurus and experts of the Chakpa cultural practices, and young artistes of Manipur who practice folk and traditional arts. The outcomes of the project would be the workshop, photographs, a collection of songs, and a new contemporary performance by the participants. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photographs, collection of songs, workshop notes and audio-visual documentation of the workshop and performances. Project funds will pay for travel and living, professional fees, venue hire, honorarium and stationery.
For the implementation of a Foundation Project by IFA under Productions, to create a physical poetry performance that critiques the efficacy of six mega hydro projects in Manipur that fell short of their intended purpose. Based on detailed research into the ramifications of the Khuga, Khoupam, Singda and Thoubal dams, the Loktal project and the Dholaithabi barrage project, this work will be an artistic response to a flawed and degenerate political system. The outcome of this project will be the physical poetry performance. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA from this project will be still and video documentation of the process and the final production. Project funds will pay for professional fees, production, equipment hire, venue hire, honorarium, printing and publicity, resource persons’ fees, travel, and purchase of books and library fees.
For the dissemination of a musical performance where the songs explore notions of Manipuri identity embedded in the lives, literature and folklore of the Meitei diaspora. This performance is an outcome of an earlier project supported by IFA and seeks to take the music to six locations across Assam and Bangladesh in an attempt to reconnect with the places and the people whose stories the songs embody. The project also attempts to enliven traditional performance spaces, generate further conversations around Manipuri identity and thereby become a bridge between Manipur and its diaspora. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be photos and videos of the performances and discussions. Grant funds will pay for travel and living costs, professional fees, equipment hire, honorarium and accountant’s fee.
For the creation of a musical performance based on notions of Manipuri identity that are embedded in the literature and folklore of the Meitei community, particularly that of its diaspora spread across Assam, Tripura, and Bangladesh. Through extensive field trips and interviews, the project will explore histories, stories, and songs of the Meitei community and its subsequent migration, to understand the constructions and erasures of identity—both within and outside of Manipur. The performance seeks to generate fresh perspectives on the current sociopolitical landscape of the state. The outcome will be the performances.The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the Final Report will be an audio CD, documentation from the field trip, stills and video recordings of the premiere performance. Grant funds will pay for honorarium, travel and living, professional fees, a premiere show, studio hire, documentation, production of a CD, research material, and an accountant’s fee.
For research into the aesthetic theory in the Anoirol, an ancient Meitei text on the art of movements, abandoned in the mainstream discourse of the performing arts. The study will explore various aspects and beliefs on past and future life associated with ecological preservation and its deep-rooted animism as prescribed in the text. The enquiry will emphasise the critical need to read Manipuri dance by the principles of discourses in its own indigenous context rather than homogenising it through the prism of foreign texts like the Natyashastra. The outcome of this project will be a monograph.
For the creation of a performance based on the traditional Manipuri Meitei ballad Phou-Oibi. Telling a legendary story in a non-traditional, open-air setting, the performance will explore the musicality of the string instrument pena, as well as draw from the Manipuri performing forms of Moirang Sai, Moirang Parva, Sankirtana, Wari Liba and Lai Haraoba.
