October 9 - Priti Patel & Anjika (Kolkata)

Priti Patel is one such artiste who has, through her efforts, tried to preserve the essence and authenticity of Manipuri dance through her system of instruction. Born in 1960, she was initiated into the world of dance at the early age of 5 years. At the age of 12, she started learning dance from eminent Manipuri dance gurus, Late Guru Bipin Singh and The Jhaveri Sisters. Through the rigorous training she underwent under her Gurus, she excelled as a danseuse in this form of dance and especially in the Vaishnavite Ras Leela form of the Manipuri dance tradition. However her quest for mastery and perfection made her delve more into the study of this unique dance tradition. She took lessons in the pre-Vaishnavite dance forms of ‘Thang-ta’ ( the martial art form of the Manipuri dance tradition), and ‘Lai Haraoba’ (a ritualistic dance form of the Manipuri tradition) . In this quest for knowledge, she was imparted extensive training by her guru Padmashree Lt. Ojha Th.Babu Singh and Padmashree Ojha Ksh. Thoranisabi Devi in the ‘Sankirtana’ and ‘Ras Leela’ traditions and by eminent scholar Padmashree Pandit Lt. N. Khelchandra Singh in the “Thang-ta” tradition. It was Padmashree Lt. MK. Binodini Devi , a Manipuri literatere and scholar, who has shaped and influenced Priti’s dance and over the years, gave her information on the origin, history, importance and the very ethos of Manipuri dance, culture and society.

Even as this research and quest for knowledge and information goes on, Priti Patel started giving lessons on Manipuri dance, to her own students, at the same time trying to preserve its very essence and sanctity.
In November 1995, through the efforts of Lt. MK. Binodini Devi , Lt. Pandit N. Khelchandra Singh and Lt. Th. Ojha Babu Singh who wanted to hand over to Priti Patel the torch of imparting education in this unique dance tradition to students outside Manipur, Priti Patel laid foundation of a unique school called “Anjika” in Kolkata. Time and again Priti has been seeking advise not only from her Gurus but also from Legendary personalities like Padmasree Aribam Shyam Sharma and Padmasree Sri Ratan Thiyam .

Priti Patel has through her school Anjika, not just been imparting training and expertise in this dance form in the same unique tradition that has been followed over the ages, but has also been teaching her students the value system that has been passed down the generations. Her students, Baisali BasuSarkar , Suman Sarawgi, Shrobona Mitra Das , Madhura Lohia and many others have received training and been awarded certificates from Anjika .

Anjika, as a school, has dual curriculum. It is a school for Manipuri dance and is also a school for Movement Therapy for children suffering from cerebral palsy. Priti Patel has undergone formal training from the Lesley College, Boston in the United States of America in dance and Movement Therapy and has worked with special children in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Cerebral Palsy. She has developed this unique for of therapy where these special children with a motor co-ordination disorder are given movement therapy through the medium of dance. Manipuri dance , in its uniqueness of being dance with gentle, smooth and fluid movements helps these special children in gaining control over their limbs ; and in doing so, this medium of expression helps them in uplifting their spirit and helps them to gain confidence. This pioneering work has proved to be successful and Anjika has seen the growth and development of some special children in this field . A student of Anjika , Suryasekher Basu, a special child suffering from Down Syndrome has been awarded the “Shri Umedbhai Patel Award” for dance by Anjika, an award given to special children in this field.

Anjika operates from Kolkata, where besides Priti Patel herself, the staff includes some very skilled young artistes from Imphal in Manipur. In Kolkata. the school imparts formal education and training in the dance form, besides being a resource center of artistes for all its performances. The Imphal chapter of Anjika, which was initially intended to be only a resources center for artistes for its shows and performances, has also recently started functioning as an informal training center for young students in Manipur. Anjika also conducts research and documentation in this dance form and has its own, though humble, library of literature, audio and video cassettes on this form of art. Anjika has performed in several prestigious dance shows all over the world and with the blessings of her Gurus they have won recognition and respect.