Manipur celebrates Shumang Leela Festival, presenting 10 plays

The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, in collaboration with the Department of Art and Culture and the Manipur State Shumang Leela Council, is hosting a five-day celebration featuring 10 plays at the Iboyaima Shumang Leela Shanglen. The event, which began on December 14, will run through December 18.

 

The performances will include five plays each by female and male theatre groups.

 

One of the artists of Shumang Leela, Santosh Athokpam, expressed his happiness at being able to celebrate the Shumang Leela festival this time, saying it would provide an opportunity to showcase their performances after a long break due to the conflict.

 

He stated, “We couldn’t stage any play since the onset of this conflict. Our conscience doesn’t permit us to stage any play considering the gravity of ongoing violence that claimed many lives and displaced thousands. But now the situation is comparatively better, we would like to showcase some of our performances.” 
 

Furthermore, he mentioned that many artists rely on Shumang Leela as their primary source of livelihood. However, since the onset of the crisis, they have been unable to earn a single penny from their performances. As a result, they are currently facing some of the most challenging times of their lives. 
 

“Many artists have been forced to change their jobs due to conflict. Some got engaged in running hotels, beauty parlours and selling things in the street etc just to make ends meet,” he stated while expressing his hope that lasting peace could be brought soon and everyone would live with no worry. 
 

Santosh said that during their heyday, an artist could earn around Rs 30,000 per month.
 

The Deputy Director of Art and Culture, Gurumayum Dharmadas Sharma, said that as the current conflict has affected all sectors, the artists of Shumang Leela have also suffered greatly. They have not had the opportunity to showcase their performances for more than a year and a half.
 

There is an approved programme for the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre that mandates the organisation of an annual theatre festival. This time, the Directorate of Art and Culture, in consultation with the Shumang Leela Council, has focused on the Shumang Leela festival, as a festival of another art form was recently held. He informed that this festival would help rejuvenate the Shumang Leela artists of Manipur.
 

It may be mentioned that Shumang Leela is a traditional form of theatre in Manipur. In this unique art form, the role of male characters is played by female artists in the case of female theatre groups and in the case male theatre groups, all females are played by males.