“Mingal, A name of Hope”
Mingal, the first Bishnupriya Manipuri Rock band from Bangladesh has been synonymous to inspiration for Manipuri youth since its birth. They are well known for their unique blend of traditional and rock music. Mingal started their journey in 2013, it was the occasion of “Durga Puja”, at Shivbazar, Kamalganj, Bangladesh that time I was in my teen. This band has paved the way for many young lads to take up music and continue it. In these 10 years Mingal has done substantial numbers of shows in Kamalganj and other places of Bangladesh. Mingal also hasperformed at different platforms like Radio and Social Medias and catered audiences from various languages.
The significance of Mingal will never be comprehended if the context is missing. This is a fact that, the foundation of the the Bishnupriya Manipuri society lies on dance and music. Bishnupriya Manipuris are well-known as graceful performers of various art forms. Especially, in the field of dance and Music where they have earned a reputation worldwide. However, the sad reality is, with time the glory is fading slowly as the veterans of the art forms are getting older as well many of them have already died. Moreover, currently the society is not taking any actions to preserve or document their cultural aspects and knowledge. For that reason, the great lessons or the techniques are not being passed on to the next generation. Having said that, it would better to be mentioned that, due to the effects of globalisation Bishnupriya Manipuri youth are trying to build their career on fields like Engineering, Business, Govt Service etc but art which is a matter of genuine worry for the society in general. The members of Mingal has identified this problem and they have been working to resolve the issue. For instance, they had started to collect old songs as well as the stories behind the songs from the authentic sources and archiving them. Also they are working hard to blend traditional music with modern music to make things more presentable to the new age audience. Well, they are doing a great job since they have popularised many traditional songs like “Kunjobone” , “Kunjokanone” , “Modhurosi Vrindavane” , etc whereas new songs like “Ima”, “Aho Aji” have become very popular amongst the community. Many people including me are considering Mingal’s act as befitting measure in order to preserve the Bishnupriya Manipuri heritage however, more people should come forward since the amount information out there is huge which need adequate manpower as well as effort to converse the wonderful culture so that it can outlive more decades.
Recently “Mingal” has announced that they have been working on their first album for many years and they have plans to publish it soon to their audience. They have made this public in their last show where they received huge response from the fans and audience.
Speaking of the last show, I must say I was fortunate to witness a moment of lifetime. While “Mingal” was performing a bunch of kids kind of exerted their authority of the front row and astonishingly they were singing every songs along with “Mingal”. This act left the members awestruck since they had no idea about the fact that those kids were well versed about every Manipuri song that “Mingal” performed. From the photographs you can take a guess how immersed those kids were into the performance. Finally, when the show was over those kids took selfies with the band and expressed their gratitude to “Mingal”. These bunch of kids will grow up with this memory that may be influential and inspirational for them. It’s quite special feeling to experience your favourite songs being performed in front of your eyes where you get to sing along! You never know some of these kids might turn their head towards music and this moment can be a sheer inspiration for them. I can sense it because being a musician, I myself can feel the nerve of the young lads who will undoubtedly remember that magical night for long long time and perhaps some of them might have already made up their mind to learn music and be performing like “Mingal” some day, exactly the way I dreamt once also maybe anyone of them would become a steersman to lead the Bishnupriya Manipuri culture forward and present it to the world.
Photo Series: Documenting Bishnupriya Manipuri Culture Shubhro Sinha. Bangladesh.
