Yumlembam Gambhini Devi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1945 Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai, Manipur, India |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Dancer |
| Known for | Nata Sankirtana, Manipuri dance |
| Spouse | Konsam Thopi Singh |
| Parent | Y. Gulap Singh |
| Awards | Padma Shri Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Nritya Ratna Award Nat Sangeet Award |
Yumlembam Gambhini Devi is an Indian singer of Nata Sankirtana and dancer of Manipuri Raas. [1] She is a member of faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) [2] and a recipient of the 1988 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. [3] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for her contributions to Manipuri dance and music. [4]
Gambhini Devi was born on the New Year day of 1945 at Yaiskul Hiruhanba Leikai in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur to Y. Gulap Singh, a Nata Sankirtana performer, as the fourth of his eight children. [5] She started learning music and dance at the age of 5 and , later, joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) from where she secured a post graduate diploma in Raas. At the Academy, she received training from such notable gurus such as Amudon Sharma, Maisnam Amubi Singh, Khaidem Lokeshor Singh, Kshetritombi Devi, Ngangom Jogendra Singh and Ibopishak Sharma, in Manipuri dance and from Nongmaithem Tomba Singh, Khanda Moina Dan, Ngangom Jogendra Singh and Thokchom Gopal Singh in music (Monoharsai Kirtan). [1] Her debut performance was when she was 7 years old and has performed on various stages in India and abroad since then. [5] Her teaching career started at her alma mater where she worked as a member of faculty till her superannuation in 2005. While continuing as a visiting Senior Guru (Guruhan) at the Academy, she worked for the Imphal station of the All India Radio as a Top Grade Artist, reportedly the first female artist from the state to get the top grade. [1] She also founded a music training institute, YGR, Nat Sankirtana Sheidam Shang. [5] She is a former member of the selection committee of the Rabindra Bharati University and the Central Dance Audition Board of the Doordarshan, the Indian national television network. Her songs have been compiled in two albums and she has published a book under the name, Basak, on Basak songs. [6]
Manipuri Sahitya Parishad awarded Devi the Nritya Ratna Award in 1979 and she received the Nat Sangeet Award from the Manipur State Kala Akademi in 1980. [5] Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Nata Sankirtan reached her in 1988, [3] the same year as she was selected for the Senior Fellowship by the Department of Culture, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. [1] The Government of India honoured her with the civilian award of the Padma Shri in 2005. [4]
The Manipuri Dance, also referred to as the ManipuriRaas Leela, is a jagoi and is one of the eight major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur. The dance form is imbued with the devotional themes of Madhura Raas of Radha-Krishna and characterised by gentle eyes and soft peaceful body movements. The facial expressions are peaceful mostly expressing Bhakti Rasa or the emotion of devotion, no matter if a dancer is Hindu or not. The dance form is based on Hindu scriptures of Vaishnavism and is exclusively attached to the worship of Radha and Krishna. It is a portrayal of the dance of divine love of Lord Krishna with goddess Radha and the cowherd damsels of Vrindavan, famously known as the Raas Leela.
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts. In 2003, the award consisted of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram, and a tamrapatra. Since 2009, the cash prize has been increased to ₹1,000,000. The awards are given in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts and puppetry, and for contribution/scholarship in performing arts.
Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, is a leading exponent, choreographer and a guru of Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, including the Pung cholom and Raslila. He was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984 and the Padma Shri in 1986 for his contribution to the Manipuri dance. In the year 2011, Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his contribution to Indian Dance. In 2014 he was also conferred with the Tagore Award.
Darshana Jhaveri, the youngest of the four Jhaveri sisters, is a leading Indian exponent of Manipuri dance, an Indian classical dance form. She is a disciple of Guru Bipin Singh, and started performing on stage in 1958 along with her sisters. She is one of the founders of the Manipuri Nartanalaya in 1972, which popularized Manipuri dance in India, and is currently headed by her, with centres at Mumbai, Kolkata and Imphal.
Sundari K. Shridharani was the founder and director of Triveni Kala Sangam, a multi-arts institution, which she established in 1950.
Elam Endira Devi, is an Indian classical dancer and teacher, known for her expertise and scholarship in the classical dance form of Manipuri, especially in the genres of Lai Haraoba and Raas. The Government of India honored her, in 2014, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.
Khangembam Mangi Singh, popularly known as Guru Pena Mangi, was an Indian musician, known for his expertise on the Manipuri traditional musical instrument Pena. The Government of India honored him in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Khumanthem Ningol Nameirakpam Ongbi Ibemni Devi was an Indian singer of traditional music, known for her expertise in the Khongjom Praba genre of Manipuri music. The Government of India honoured Ibemni Devi in 2012, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Haobam Ongbi Ngangbi Devi was an Indian classical dancer and musician, known for her expertise in the Manipuri Dance forms of Lai Haraoba and Raas. In 2010, the Government of India awarded Haobam Ongbi Ngangbi Devi the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Hari Uppal (1926–2011) was an Indian classical dancer and the founder of a classical dance academy by name, Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir, known for his expertise in the dance forms of Kathakali and Manipuri. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Rajkumar Achouba Singh is an Indian classical dancer and teacher, known for his scholarship on the Manipuri dance forms of Raas and Lai Haraoba. Singh, who is credited several books and articles on Manipuri culture, is a former Principal of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal. A holder of post graduate degrees in Raas and Lai Haraoba, he has also been a visiting teacher at the Government Dance College, Imphal. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. He is also a recipient of the Manipur State Award.
Kshetrimayum Ongbi Thouranisabi Devi is an Indian classical dancer and author, specialising in the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri. She was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Maisnam Amubi Singh was an exponent of the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, and the founding supervisor of the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Academy. Singh, who was credited with pioneering solo dance in Manipuri, was the first winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi award from the state of Manipur which he won in 1956. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1970 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Ningthoukhongjam Khelchandra Singh was an Indian writer, lexicographer and historian, known as the author of Manipuri to Manipuri and English, the first modern general dictionary in Meitei language, which was published in 1964. He was a fellow of the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1987.
Kongbrailatpam Ibomcha Sharma, popularly known as Abhiram Shaba, is an Indian singer and performer from Manipur, who is known for Sankirtan singing of Raseshwari Pala, a part of the traditional Manipuri dance. His role as Abhiram Shaba in the Manipuri show, Goura Lilas is reported to have earned him the nickname. He is a former Guru at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy and a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1981. He was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri by the Government of India, in 1998.
Sougaijam Thanil Singh is an Indian classical dancer, known for his proficiency in the classical dance forms of Manipuri and Nata Sankirtana. Born to S. Ksher Singh, a Manipuri dancer, in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur, he received his early training from his father as well as Guru Tombi Sharma, Guru Bhaigchandra Singh and Guru Koireng Singh. Later, he studied Manipuri dance and Nata Sankirtana, under Maisnam Amubi Singh, renowned dancer and Padma Shri awardee, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal, securing a diploma and a post graduate diploma, respectively, in the disciplines.
Thingbaijam Babu Singh was an Indian classical dancer, academic and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri. He was the Pradhan Guru of Pung and Raas traditions of Manipuri dance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Born on 8 February 1936 at Lairensajik, a small village in the state of Manipur, he was known to have been one of the notable choreographers and teachers of Manipuri dance and had a long line of renowned performers such as Elam Endira Devi, Ibemubi Devi, and Priti Patel, as his students. Singh was the author of a book, Meitei Punglon Raga Ahouba, and was a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 1990. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to Manipuri dance.
Sabitri Heisnam is an Indian stage actor and one of the notable theatre personalities in Manipuri theatre. She has also acted in the critically acclaimed short film, Scribbles on Akka (2000), directed by Madhusree Dutta, which won the IDPA Award, best script award at Shanghai International Film Festival and the National Film Award for Best Anthropological Film. She is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award of 1991. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for her contributions to Manipuri theatre.
Meitei Sankirtan, also known as Meitei Sankirtana or Manipuri Sankirtan or Manipuri Sankirtana, is a Meitei cultural form of performing art involving ritual singing, drumming and dancing performed in the temples and domestic spaces in Manipur in India. Through the performances which exhibit unparalleled religious devotion and energy, the performers narrate the many stories of Krishna often moving the spectators to tears. It is practiced primarily by the Meitei Hindus in Manipur and by the Vaishnava Manipuri population settled in the neighbouring States of Tripura and Assam. "Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur" was inscribed on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the eighth session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, held in December 2013.
Atombapu Sharma also known as Pandit Raja Atombapu Sharma was a Manipuri Brahmin Sanskrit scholar, a Vaishnava, also versed in astronomy and astrology, a journalist and social reformer from Manipur, India. He is considered as "The Doyen of Journalism in Manipur".
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