In a story of determination and resilience, 20-year-old Chanambam Alpana Chanu, who is currently residing at the Wangkhei High School relief camp, Imphal, has started her journey as a ‘Pala’ artiste after receiving basic training in the age-old art form for nearly eight months.
Alpana resides at the relief camp with her parents and three other siblings. What is even more interesting is that the relief camp is being run by only women volunteers from seven different Meira paibi organisations from the Wangkhei area.
Under the initiatives of the women volunteers, various forms of training in several trades and artforms including, sports, pena playing, ‘Pala Sheishak’, Thang-ta and others has been provided at relief camps.
Alpana received training as a Pala artiste under Konsam Indira Leima, a member of Eshei Loishang, Sanamahi Temple Board.
Interacting with the media, Alpana highlighted that she always had a knack for singing but could not pursue it properly due to financial constraints.
“But I got the opportunity at the relief camp under the initiative of the women volunteers and tutelage of Konsam Indira Leima. I took part in my first ‘Pala’ for a wedding ceremony at Kongba Chanam Leikai,” she said.
She expressed gratitude to the relief camp management team and her teacher who provided her such an opportunity to explore and thrive independently as a human being.
“This experience has boosted my confidence and willingness to become successful in a specific pathway,” she added.
Meanwhile, Indira noted that she provided training at two relief camps, which are the Sawombung relief camp and Wangkhei High School Relief camp. Nearly 60 and 30 students respectively are taking my classes, she added.
She stated that providing youths staying at relief camps with such training was a great initiative to empower them while also aiding in restoring our culture.
She highlighted that training in folk, nata-sankirtana, traditional dance and thang-ta were being provided under the guidance of Sanamahi Temple Board. Similar to Alpana’s story, children taking classes in other artforms have also begun showcasing their new found talents on various platforms both inside and outside the state.
