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Motherland calling: New NCPA dance performance reflects Manipur's civic war
Updated On: 31 March, 2024 07:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Neerja Deodhar
In a new performance that brings together Manipuri classical and folk dance, Latasana Devi confronts the war in her home state, and the lives and culture lost in the bargain
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Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-winning dancer Latasana Devi has enjoyed a 35-year-long relationship with Mumbai, where she found support from fellow artistes and nurtured many students. Pics Courtesy/NCPA
Mother, maternal, motherland—the root word ‘palem’ in the Manipuri tongue is imbued with rich, evocative meaning. It is also at the heart of classical dancer Latasana Devi’s upcoming performance at Nariman Point’s National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), as part of the institution’s Mudra Dance Festival 2024.
“Manipur continues to burn. The situation saddens me because there are fatalities every single day. The personified motherland in our performance mourns—in a rudaali-like singing style—the deaths of her children, and the loss of her culture in the process,” says a sombre Devi. The end of PALEM – Mother, however, is shaped by the dancer’s own optimism for her home state, and a belief that those who truly love their motherland will save it from infighting.
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