Manipur theatrical societies promote Northeast's theatre

In an endeavor to preserve the rich theatre tradition of Manipur, which is gradually losing its popularity to Bollywood movies and television, the theatrical societies in the state have taken up the challenge to revive theatre.They are trying to rope in the youth of the region and are promoting theatre as a viable business. They said Bollywood movies and TV have negatively impacted theatre and this is cause for concern.  "We have a rich culture and we need to preserve it. Through our theatre and other performances we are trying our level best to preserve it," said Rayanti Rabha . "We are doing this because we want to preserve the rich culture of communication through theatre. People should know about it and to empower the communities with theatre forms so that it becomes a saleable product," said AC Bhagawati, professor, IGNCA Guwahati. "It is the duty of the organisations like us to work towards the development of the theatre industry. We look forward for a good response from the people and the government," said Chabin Rajkhowa, Director, Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Nearly 400 artists recently gathered in Guwahati to participate in the theatre workshop that was held at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra under the aegis of Indira Gandhi National centre for arts.  The participation of the youth in such large numbers is a good sign for theatre from the region.