Manipur strife compels Shumang Leela artistes to take up other jobs
Shumang Leela (Meitei courtyard theatre) artistes have changed their occupation for a living.
While some of them have begun driving auto rickshaw, others have taken up construction works like masonry etc., said lifetime secretary of Manipur State Shumang Leela Council, Shougrakpam Hemanta, who is also a comedian of the theatre group, on Thursday.
In such a tough situation besieging the ill-starred artistes, Shumang Leela promoters expressed apprehension that the age old traditional form of theater will die if the violence spanning more than seven months continues unabated.
The unique feature of Shumang Leela is that male artistes, in their group, play the roles of females, while women artistes, in their group, play male roles.
Originally, Shumang Leela started as a comic genre presented to the kings and noblemen which ultimately developed into the current form, and over the years, it has become a powerful medium for mass education apart from providing entertainment as well as relaxation.
Hemanta said that there are 15 male Shumang Leela groups and around 18 female groups in the state, and each group has nearly 20 artistes.
He said each artiste of the male group could earn nearly Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month during normal days. Now the artistes are facing their hardest times as they could not even make a single rupee out of their play since the conflict started on May 3, this year in the state.
“Though we have not been asked by anyone to forgo performing Shumang Leela, our conscience doesn’t permit us to stage play taking into account the ongoing violence that claimed over 170 lives and left a trail of destructions across the state,” Hemanta added.
“Because of this, many of our Shumanga Leela artistes have
