Manipur to commemorate 100 yrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Our correspondent

Imphal, July 27 (EMN): To commemorate the centenary year of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Manipur based Banian Repertory Theatre’s magnum opus – Jallianwala Bagh; “Manglen Onkhraba Lamjao” will be staged at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy auditorium in Imphal today.

The show which will be started from 4 pm will be held under the aegis of North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Earlier, the play was premiered in the Kangjam Padmakumar Literary Festival 2019 held at the well known playhouse -the Shrine of Chorus Repertory Theatre here in April this year.

The play which was directed by Ksh Phajaton Chanu is the stage adaptation of renowned literateur K Padmakumar’s Jallianwala Bagh, a piece of prose while the dramatisation is being done by Sahitya Academi and National Film Awardee Dr. Makhonmani Mongsaba.

The play was of a tragic story of Ratnabali, a housewife from one of the houses of neighbourhood of Jallianwala Bagh.

On the fateful day, she heard the sound of guns.  Why her husband had gone there? She went to look for her husband. There she found him dead in a pool of blood she wept but never lost sight of reality.

Ratnabali sought help but who would volunteer to help her in a place where curfew had been imposed. She noticed a dying boy cried for a drink of water. She could not quench the thirst of the dying soul. She sat all alone there throughout the long, dark and curfew imposed night.

This is the story of blood, sweat and tears of Ratnabali, the wife and the Ratnabali the mother on a fateful night that watches her grow to womanhood. This is homage to hundreds of unarmed people who were not only killed bur murdered mercilessly.

A brief formal function will also held prior to the play with Director A Shivadas Sharma of Art and Culture department, Manipur as the chief guest.

Theatre Director Ksh Jugindro Singh who is the director of the Manipur Ensemble and chairman of the Meghachandra Kongbam of Banian Repertory Theatre be the guest of honour and functional president.