An introduction to Manipuri dance
A short guide to the form Sanjib Bhattacharya has practised for four decades — and to the words used across this site.
Manipuri dance is one of the classical dance traditions of India, born in the northeastern state of Manipur. It is devotional at its heart: much of its repertoire tells the ras lila, the divine dance of Radha and Krishna, and it grew within the Vaishnavite worship of the region’s temple courtyards.
Two qualities run through the form — the vigorous tandava and the graceful lasya — carried by the rounded, continuous line of the body and the soft articulation of the hands. Its pulse is the pung, the barrel drum, and in pung cholom the dancer plays it while dancing. Beneath every gesture runs abhinaya, the art of expression, and the devotional thread that gives the movement its meaning.
Carried from those temple courtyards to concert stages across more than twenty countries, it remains, above all, an offering.
A glossary
- Manipuri dance
- One of the classical dance forms of India, originating in Manipur in the country's northeast. It is devotional in character, centred on the Vaishnavite worship of Radha and Krishna.
- Vaishnavite
- Belonging to the devotional tradition of Vishnu and his avatars, especially Krishna — the religious world from which Manipuri dance grew.
- Ras Lila
- The divine dance of Krishna with the gopis, the cowherd maidens of Vrindavan; the central theme of the Manipuri classical repertoire.
- Pung
- The barrel drum of Manipur, played with both hands — the rhythmic heartbeat of a Manipuri performance.
- Pung Cholom
- The drum-dance in which the performer plays the pung while dancing, moving through leaps and turns without ever breaking the rhythm.
- Cholom
- A vigorous, rhythmic dance style within the Manipuri tradition, as in pung cholom (drum) and kartal cholom (cymbals).
- Kartal
- Hand cymbals used in Manipuri devotional performance, and the basis of kartal cholom.
- Tandava
- The vigorous, dynamic aspect of dance, associated with strength and cosmic energy.
- Lasya
- The graceful, lyrical, gentle aspect of dance, associated with tenderness and beauty.
- Abhinaya
- The art of expression — conveying emotion and narrative through gesture, face, and movement.
- Mudra
- A symbolic hand gesture used within abhinaya to carry meaning.
- Nata Sankirtana
- Congregational temple singing, drumming, and dance from Manipur — a living ritual tradition, inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- Tala
- The rhythmic cycle, or metric framework, that governs the music and the dance.
- Guru–shishya parampara
- The traditional lineage of teaching, passed directly from guru (teacher) to shishya (disciple) across generations.