Eight-day ‘Pena Phamshak’ festival concludes in Imphal

IMPHAL, Dec 29 – In an effort to revive and preserve Pena, an indigenous musical instrument of the traditionally cultured people of Manipur, an eight-day-long Pena Phamshak festival was held here at Naoremthong in Imphal West district for the first time after a gap of more than a decade or so. The colourfully arranged musical festival specially on Pena which began from December 15 concluded Sunday with solo and group performance by eminent Pena players from Meitei and Tangkhul community. Such a rare and eight-day festival of Pena Phamshak was organized by the Epanat 'Punat Thijinba Kanglup popularly known as Epathoukok across this tiny state under the sponsorship of North East Zonal Cultural Centre, Dimapur and Department of Arts and Culture Government of Manipur.

‘‘The main idea of organizing such kind of festival is to preserve the royal court music, Pena in this contemporary Manipuri society’’, Makhonmani Mongshaba, secretary of Epathoukok said. Makhonmani, a national awardee for producing a popular Manipuri feature film Chatledo Eidi and currently undergoing research works in many of the indigenous musical instruments as well as other traditional customes made it clear that ‘‘Pena is royal court music’’, not just an ordinary folk music compared to other indigenous instruments.

‘‘Of course Pena is a kind of folk music, but then it had it's own place in the royal court. When Manipur was a princely state, it was clearly written in the Royal chronicle cheitharol kumbaba too’’, he felt. In this festival of such an indigenous royal court music, Pena, not less than 18 eminent pena players cum singers who can perform the coveted phamshaks sequences unlike others, of Manipur participated in the festival. According to researchers, there are about 145 pena players-cum-singers in the valley areas.

There are also some pena players in the hill districts particularly among the different tribes. Two Tangkhul pena players -cum-singers also came out openly in public this time and took part in the festival here.

Talking to this correspondent, R S Shangmakhai,a pena singer from Shangshak in Ukhrul district presently settling in Yaingangpokpi along the Imphal-Ukhrul road said, ‘‘nowadays we hardly get the opportunity to perform our old-time talents in playing Tingtela (pena in Tangkhul dialect) these days in view of the modern day's music’’, adding ‘‘however we’re always invited for our performance during Lui Ngaini festival or during Yanger-Luikup-Phani season’’. Lui Nai Ni is the seed sowing festival of the Naga tribes living in Manipur which always falls on February 15 of every year, while the Yanger-Luikup-Phani is another post-harvest festival celebrated among the Tangkhul community in the State. Prior to the beginning of the festival, Epathoukok also organized a one day long seminar to preserve Pena as the royal court music of Manipur on December 14 wherein the delegates resolved to urge the concerned authority in Manipur to revive the status of pena as a royal court music as respected in the past.

The resolution copy of the seminar was also made available to the Arts and Culture Minister Dr Moirangthem Nara for his attention in upgrading the present status of pena as well as to consider the matter while framing the final draft policy of the proposed forthcoming Manipur Cultural Policy. Though the Arts and Culture Minister Nara attended as chief guest during the inaugural session of the pena festival, the concluding show of the festival was witnessed by the ‘Maharaja’ of Manipur Meidingu Leishemba Sanajaoba.