Project aims to propagate indigenous music of Manipur

KHELEN THOKCHOM

Manipuri instruments on display at Pal Complex in Imphal on Sunday Picture by UB Photos
Imphal, Sept. 27 : Traditional musical instruments of Manipur, in a new avatar, are ready to find their place in the modern pantheon and take local music to new heights.
Altogether 20 musical instruments — 17 reincarnated and three new ones — have been introduced to the world of music by N. Tiken Singh, a well-known musician of the state from Imphal West district, raising the hope that these will now be played along with other prevalent wind and string instruments and drums of the world.
Tiken Singh had taken up the project of modernising the classical instruments 20 years ago with funds provided by the Union ministry of culture. The upgraded instruments were put on display for the first time today at the Progressive Artistes Laboratory complex, Lamboi Khongngangkhong, Imphal West.
These instruments are improved versions of traditional ones like pena, gushem, siranga, drums, flute and others. The new form of pena, a violin-like instrument, is penao while that of siranga is sananta. Pena has only one string, while penao has three strings. Sananta is also a string instrument and differs from siranga in tuning and number of strings.
The new instruments include sets of plates, bowls and water pitchers made of brass and sets of drums, all given local names. For instance, the set of drums is named khoi mahum (hornet’s nest).
“The aim of the project is to modernise traditional instruments of Manipur to preserve, promote and propagate indigenous music. Manipur has 32 indigenous tribes and 11 indigenous castes and communities,” Tiken Singh said.
He said the state’s traditional instruments had limited scales and, therefore, could not be used in modern western or Hindustani music. The upgraded ones have all the required scales, the project director said.
Appreciating the efforts of Tiken Singh, Manipur’s only musicologist, Laishram Birendra Kumar Singh, said the new instruments would take the state’s music to new heights. “Manipuri musicians have been depending on other instruments but we can stop this now with the arrival of the new instruments as these can be played with any song of the world,” Birendra Kumar Singh said.
In fact, Tiken Singh had introduced sananta in Europe even before today’s unveiling of the instruments. This instrument played a major role in the Shakespearean play As You Like It, which was directed by well-known theatre personality Tim Supple and staged in London some years ago. Tiken Singh was the only musician in the play.
Musicians like Heisnam Bhagat, director of Rhythms, a music group of Imphal, said some of the improved instruments like the Manipuri sitar have unique sounds, not found in any other instrument of the world.
Said Tiken Singh, “Creating the instruments was not an easy task. This is the result of repeated experiments.”