By Jaganmohini devi dasi
Reports on recently concluded Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Dance Drama in Manipur
1) From H.G. Sitanath Das(Prof. Sudipto Ghosh, IIT-Kharghpur)
I recently visited Manipur for seeing the dance drama – depicting the life and works of famous saintly king Rajrishi Bhagyachandra who had left a legacy of unique devotional services to Lord Krishna in the state of Manipur. I feel if I would not have seen this play, I would have missed a rare opportunity to relish the spiritual nectar of Krishna prema in my life.
Depicting the life and works of this saintly King Bhagyachandra, from his childhood vaishnava behavior to fighting to get back his throne to finally having darshan of Lord Sri Govindaji and installing His Deity as the center of the state, this play highly inspired me. Here we have an ideal example of a great King in the history of mankind – a unique and unparalleled king – who not only helped every citizen of his kingdom but also achieved the highest form of devotion and set an example for every person – how one can execute his duties and at the same time cultivate love, peace and devotion to the Supreme Lord even if he is occupied with immense responsibilities and he is the head of the state.
After watching this dance drama I feel that Manipur has a lot to contribute to the world. Though affected by so much turmoil today, I felt, that Manipur has love and devotion in every atom of its soil which will keep recalling its citizens. The life of Bhagyachandra will continue to inspire every person with love and devotion for generations to come.
We all, the disciples of our Guru Maharaja H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, as well as every citizen of this planet, should feel indebted eternally to the state of Manipur which has given us unparalleled eminent personalities in the history of mankind, like our Guru Maharaja and Rajrishi Bhagyachadra .
The dance drama has been widely covered in all the newspapers of Manipur and even the Calcutta famous newspaper Telegraph also gave a wide coverage to it. I was very much inspired to see one of those newspaper coverage which was titled as,
“Will Bhagyachandra’s Devotional Vision Save his People?”
Especially its first lines – “After watching the Rajarishi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natkam (dance drama) … one gets the feeling that life is finally going to come back a full circle in Manipur.” The coverage ended beautifully with – “it gives hope in these troubled times … that surely there is another cultural revolution looming at the horizons of Manipur.”
I thank, from the very core of my heart, all the devotees of Manipur who have been working heart and soul with so much of devotion and sincerity for the service of Guru Maharaja for the last several months to make it a reality.
2) From Parthasarathi Das, Manipur
It is a matter of great ecstasy to let you know that with all your blessings and support the Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Research Institute under the aegis of UBC(University of Bhagavata Culture), Manipur could stage the press show and the premiere show of Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natyam (dance drama) as scheduled on the 3rd and 5th July, 2009 respectively in the most befitting manner. We the fallen souls of ISKCON Manipur could do our best at least to transform the long felt vision of our Guru Maharaja into a reality.
To see the meaningful gait as well as beautiful bodily movements of the dedicated leading artistes of Manipur depicting the full view of the theme of the Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natyam as is embodied in the script, the packed audience in both the shows including newspaper critics, eminent personalities of the state, a few outstation guests, some of the renowned music and dance professionals of Manipur who contributed their expertise and our ISKCON devotees and their families etc. were thrilled with a deep sense of excitement and appreciation professing their devotion and skill in spontaneous applause.
We have also recorded the entire show in video format. Almost all the leading newspapers in Manipur and also national dailies had applauded the shows in the following days. We are enclosing herewith some of the excerpts of their comments and appreciations.
In short it may be taken for granted that the show was a grand success. The only thing that torments our mind constantly is that we could not produce the Nritya Natyam (dance drama) as desired by our beloved Guru Maharaja before he entered into Samadhi at Radhakund on the 4th October 2006. However, Guru is Krishna, He is all in all to us, He is always in our hearts. It is our sincere belief; our Guru Maharaja would be extremely pleased with our humble seva. He would shower his unlimited mercy upon all of us eternally in the form of our strength, devotion to fulfill his mission.
We thank all our well-wishers for extending so much support to the cause of promoting Bhagavata dharma in this planet.
Press review excerpts for Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natyam
(Poknapham daily dated July 9, 2009)
“The use of the large stage to show the war formations, the poetic suggestion with which the hill tribe woman describes Krishna to king Bhagyachandra, the part where Rajarshi Bhagyachandra tames a wild elephant in Tekhao, the appearance of the form of Lord Sri Krishna in the jackfruit tree at Kaina hills, the dimly visible Rasa dance on the raised background stage, the melodious singing accompanied by waves of soft and rhythmic music, and the spiritually heightened effect of all these will not be easily forgotten by the devotees of Lord Krishna and the audience present at the performance.”
Letter to the Editor (Poknapham daily dated July 9, 2009)
“Among the kings of Manipur, Meidingu was a most forward looking and distinguished king who had all the good qualities of a king and a sage. For this reason he is known historically as Rajarshi Bhagyachandra. It is a valuable gift from the king that Manipur’s art and culture is shining brightly in the whole world today.”
(Hueiyen Lanpao daily dated 10-7-09)
“The Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natyam was an unprecedented mega event made possible by the Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Research Institute team. It will not be an easy task to repeat the production again in future considering the magnitude of the production. However, the persistent question from the public is – Is the Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Nritya Natyam going to be repeated again soon? And if yes, when?”
Imphal Free Press, dated July 4, 2009
“The portrayal of the grandeur of king Bhagyachandra, a devotee king of the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur, and the magnificence of his religious reformations which took place in Manipur around 250 years from now, blended with the high ideals of the modern-day incarnation of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s bhakti movement, the ISKCON, brings back memories of a distant past and rekindles hope deep down in one’s heart that Manipur will finally find its cultural bearings once again.”
The Telegraph, dated July 10,2009
“The life and times of Rajarshi Bhagyachandra have been staged several times in the past four years with varying results. ….But Rajarshi Bhagyachandra, the dance drama directed by N Tiken and choreographed by W Lokendrajit, can be called Tiken’s magnum opus because of its opulence and brilliance. It was presented as a press show at ISKCON prasadam hall in Imphal by the Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Research Institute under the aegis of University of Bhagavata Culture. Its project director is late HH Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja.”