''Yelhou Jagoi'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''The Dances of Lai Haraoba'') is a 1995 non-feature Manipuri documentary film scripted by Rajkumar Achoubasana and directed by

Aribam Syam Sharma Aribam Syam Sharma is an Indian filmmaker and composer from Manipur. He debuted in the first Manipuri film '' Matamgi Manipur'' as an actor. In 1974, he directed his first movie '' Lamja Parshuram''. It became the first Manipuri film to run for ...

. It is conceptualized by

Kapila Vatsyayan Kapila Vatsyayan (25 December 1928 – 16 September 2020) was a leading scholar of Indian classical dance, art, architecture, and art history. She served as a member of parliament and bureaucrat in India, and also served as the founding directo ...

and produced by

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts was ...

(IGNCA),

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. The film was screened at the

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan ( ). It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest- running documentary film festivals in the world ...

2019, Japan. ''Yelhou Jagoi'' was also screened at the second edition of ''Fragrances from the North East'' 2014, a three-day festival of cinema from the northeast. A special retrospective on ace filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma was organised at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

in 2015 where 15 films of

was screened. ''Yelhou Jagoi'' was one of them.

Synopsis

''Yelhou Jagoi'' is re-enactment of creation also known as

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba (, ), also known as Umang Lai Haraoba, is a classical,———— ritualistic, theatrical dance and music festival, annually celebrated by the Meitei people, to please the Umang Lai deities of the traditional Meitei religion (San ...

, a dance form of Manipur. The myth of creation, re-creation, reflections of flora and fauna and the synergy of mankind and its endeavour are beautifully encoded in these celebrative enactments. From the story of creation and re-creation, it manifests the living within the nature that express through 364 hand gestures (''Khutheks'') used in dance sequences called ''Laibou''. The documentation highlights ''Nungnao Jagoi'' - through this Maibis express - the birth of a child and its growing process. Similarly, the ''Yumsarol'' looks at the construction of traditional houses. Again, the documentation also highlights ''Panthoibi Jagoi'', which celebrates romantic love of Lord ''

Nongpok Ningthou Nongpok Ningthou , also known as the Sovereign of the East or King of the East, is a deity in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. He is the ruling guardian deity of the eastern direction. Legend says Nongpok Ningthou and his consor ...

'' and Goddess ''

Panthoibi Panthoibi (, ), also known as , is a goddess associated with civilization, courage, fertility, handicraft, love, victory, warfare and wisdom in the mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). She is a consort of the God Non ...

''. Likewise, the film highlights the lesser known nuances of ritualistic dance form of Manipur within the broader spectrum of nature and contextualizing the creation and co-living with the nature itself.

Accolades

The film won the

National Film Award for Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film The National Film Award for Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It was on ...

at the

43rd National Film Awards The 43rd National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1995. Ceremony took place on 6 A ...

. The citation for the National Award reads, "''For documenting authentically and artistically a traditional dance form of Manipur''".

References

{{reflist 1995 films Films directed by Aribam Syam Sharma Meitei-language films Meitei folklore in popular culture Indian dance films Indian documentary films 1990s Indian films 1995 documentary films