![]() | ICH WORKSHOP 3-4 November 2023 Tetso College, Dimapur | |
The Ministry of Culture, India, and Sangeet Natak Akademi organised a 2-day Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop in accordance with the UNESCO conventions of 2003 and 2005. IMASI Foundation and The Listener: Nagaland served as knowledge partners. |
![]() | THE LISTENER: NAGALAND 2-4 November 2023 Tetso College, Dimapur | |
The 2nd edition of The Listener, festival of oral literature, was held at Tetso College in Nagaland. The Festival Director was Sentila Yanger. It was produced by Imasi Foundation, MMGLD New Delhi, and INTACH Nagaland. |
![]() | THE LISTENER Festival of Orality 6-9 February 2023 Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal | |
The Listener, Imasi Foundation's annual roving festival of the orality of Literature, Performance, and Culture in the NER was inaugurated in Imphal. Manipur. It was chaired by Ratan Thiyam and L. Somi Roy of Imasi Foundation was the Festival Director. |
![]() | MK BINODINI DEVI L. Somi Roy Sahitya Akademi May 2022 | |
A literary biography monograph on MK Binodini Devi by L. Somi Roy published by the Sahitya Akademi in their Makers of Indian Literature series. |
![]() | BORO SAHEB ONGBI SANATOMBI Sahitya Akademi Award Winning Historical Novel In Meitei Mayek | |
Meitei Mayek Student Edition of the Sahitya Akademi Award winning historical novel. Published for the MK Binodini Devi Centenary by Imasi Publications. |
![]() | WARI MACHA BINODINIGI The Collected Short Stories of Binodini Manipuri, in Meitei Mayek | |
This complete collection of the short stories of MK Binodini Debi brings together the 19 stories in her landmark first publication, Nunggairakta Chandramukhi (1965), with 7 previously unpublished stories. A Special Student edition for the MK Binodini Centenary from Imasi Publications, 2022. |
![]() | PANDEMIC, BENGAL, AND BINODINI In “Local and Global Creative Intervention“ Monday, February 7, 2022 CIMA Gallery and Ashoka University | |
The publication of Binodini during the pandemic as guardrails in “Framing the Subika Art of Manipuri Manuscripts”, a talk by L. Somi Roy. Panel with Rina Banerjee, moderated by Rakhi Sarkar at “Imaginations” Symposium. |
![]() | MK BINODINI DEVI CENTENARY BOOK LAUNCH Sunday, February 6, 2022 Sri Sri Govindajiu Temple Royal Palace, Imphal | |
Centenary celebrations were begun on the 100th birth anniversary of MK Binodini Devi by Imasi Foundation at Sri Sri Govindajiu Temple, with the launch of two books. They are Wari Macha Binodinigi, the Collected Short Stories of Binodini, a student edition in Manipuri written in Meitei Mayek (www.imasi.org/imasibooks); and Nil Sandhyar Agun Megh, the first Bangla translation of Binodini, of her play Asangba Nongjabi and essay Sri Bhavana, by Minati Ghosh (www.bhashasansad.com). |
![]() | BINODINI AT JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL “Words are Bridges” Thursday, July 15, 2021 Virtual Durbar Hall | |
Editor and literary agent Preeti Gill and L. Somi Roy discuss his translation “The Princess and the Political Agent” of M K Binodini Devi's Sahitya Akademi Award winning novel “Boro Saheb Ongbi Sanatombi”.
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![]() | INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY Video Tributes to M K Binodini Devi March 8, 2021 Tantha Youtube Co-presented by Imasi Foundation and the Sahitya Akademi of New Delhi.
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Tributes from Dr. Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, Leimarenbi Haobi Maharani Anamika Devi of Manipur, and writers, artists, and admirers including from Jaipur Literature Festival, Penguin Random House India, and Manipur University. |
![]() | PUBLICATION: Binodini's Churachand Maharajgi Imung Student edition in Meitei Mayek February 6, 2021 Manipur Dramatic Union | |
Imasi Publications published Binodini's memoirs known in English as “The Maharaja's Household” for the Binodini Centenary (2021-2022) at Leikol's 99th anniversary tribute to MK Binodini Devi. |
![]() | PRESENTATION OF PHOTOGRAPH OF MAHARAJA CHURACHAND January 27, 2021 Churachand Higher Secondary School | |
Imasi Foundation presented a portrait of Maharaja Churachand to Principal S. Indira Devi and Oja RK Anila Devi of the school he founded as the first higher secondary school in Manipur in 1934. |
![]() | BINODINI'S HISTORICAL NOVEL “THE PRINCESS AND THE POLITICAL AGENT” May 11, 2020 Penguin Modern Classics | |
Penguin Random House India published the eBook of MK Binodini Devi's Sahitya Akademi Award winning novel “Boro Saheb Ongbi Sanatombi”, translated by L. Somi Roy, as a Modern Classic. |
![]() | PUNDIT ARIBAM CHITRESHWAR SHARMA Sana Konung amasung Nupigi Sankirtan 7th MK Binodini Memorial Lecture February 5, 2020 Dhanamanjuri University, Imphal | |
"The Royal Palace and Women's Sankirtan", a lecture presented in association with the College of Science and the College of Arts of Dhanananjuri University, with a performance by the Shree Shree Govinda Jiu Jalakeli Pala. |
![]() | PUBLICATION: "NINSINGLAKPADA JALAKELI" February 5, 2020 Dhanamanjuri University, Imphal Published by Elangbam Meghabati Devi in association with Imasi Publications | |
Maharaja Sanajaoba Leisemba published Thoidingjam Lakshmipriya Devi's book on the Jalakeli, the royal women's choir tradition of classical sankirtan music founded in 1845 Maharaja Narasingh of Manipur. Imasi Foundation's The Jalakeli Project will be archived at the University of North Texas, Denton. |
![]() | BINODINI BY RAMKINKAR BAIJ Ghare Baire: Inaugurated on January 11, 2020 Old Currency Building, Kolkata | |
Art exhibition:Ghare Baire: The World, the Home, and Beyond: 18th to 20th Century Art in Bengal.
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![]() | BINODINI'S ESSAY "GIRLS HOSTEL" November 19, 2019 Produced by Zubaan Books | |
Publication of the translation of MK Binodini Devi's Sri Bhavana, on her student days in Santiniketan, in Crafting the Word, an anthology of writings from Manipur. |
![]() | RARE GOLD MASTERPIECES OF MANIPUR September 23 24, 2019 Manipur State Museum, Imphal | |
Exhibition of royal family heirlooms of Maharaja Churachand and Maharani Dhanamanjuri and other gifts made by, and in the name of, their daughter MK Binodini Devi. |
![]() | BINODINI, STUDENT AT SANTINIKETAN September 1 October 1, 2019 Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan | |
In "Pillars of an Artscape", a photography exhibition celebrating 100 years of Kala Bhavan. |
![]() | JALAKELI IN AGARTALA August 20, 2019 Radha Madhav Temple Agartala, Tripura | |
Imasi Foundation and Triveg, in association with the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, Tripura, presented the Shree Shree Govinda Jiu Jalakeli Pala in memory of Maharani Ratnamanjuri of Tripura on the occasion of the the 111st birth anniversary of her grandson Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Deb Barman. Royal guests included HH Rajmata Maharani Bibhu Devi, HH Maharaja Pradyot Manikya Deb Barman, and HH Maharaj Kumari Pragya Deb Barman of Tripura. |
![]() | INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL ARCHIVING WORKSHOP June 10-12, 2019 IGNCA New Delhi | |
India's first workshop on digital archiving was organised in collaboration with IGNCA and University of North Texas for 32 participants from 7 states in NER and all over India. The focus was the oral traditions of North East India. |
![]() | SHOBHANA CHELLIAH Tibeto-Burman Languages in the Global Age 6th M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture June 10, 2019 IGNCA New Delhi | |
Presented in collaboration with IGNCA and live-streamed by Tantha, Professor Chelliah of the University of North Texas focused on "The Case of Manipur from Oral to Text to Digital". |
![]() | OF ART AND ARTISTS: BINODINI'S CRIMSON RAINCLOUDS October 29 2018 India International Centre, New Delhi | |
Photographic Slideshow of "Of Art and Artists" by L. Somi Roy of Imasi Foundation on Binodini's years at Santiniketan, her art, and Ramkinkar Baij, the great Indian modernist artist she inspired, through the lens of her play "Asangba Nongjabi". |
![]() | BINODINI IN BHUTAN August 25 2018 Mountain Echoes Festival, Thimphu | |
Presentation of "Binodini: A Photographic Memoir" at Mountain Echoes, Thimphu. L. Somi Roy of Imasi Foundation with Pramod KG, co-director of the literature festival. |
![]() | THE CHOIR OF THE DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW The Jalakeli Project 16 August 2018 Shri Radhamadhop Temple, Imphal | |
The Choir of the Daughters-in-Law (Mou Pala) of the Shree Shree Govinda Jiu Jalakeli Pala (est. 1845) of Imphal, Manipur, performs on the 43rd death anniversary of its founder Maharani Dhanamanjuri Devi of Manipur (~1886-1975) |
![]() | FROM PAGE TO SCREEN 21-24 February 2018 Manipur University | |
A selection of MK Binodini Devi's screenplays, stories, and a bio-doc, filmed by director Aribam Syam Sharma, organized in association with the Department of Mass Communication. Followed by Dialogues with the Director. |
![]() | THE JALAKELI PROJECT 9 June 2017 Radha Madhav Temple Yaiskul, Imphal | |
The Jalakeli Project, a web-based, crowdsourced, women's oral histories and digital tech arts conservation initiative, was launched on Snan Jatra. It is based on the sankirtan ritual music of the royal women choirs of the Narasingh Lineage of the Ningthouja Dynasty. HH Maharaja Sanajaoba Leisemba graced the occasion. |
![]() | BINODINI AT SANTINIKETAN: 25-27 February 2017 Visva-Bharati University Santiniketan, West Bengal | |
A retrospective of films scripted by Santiniketan alumni M.K. Binodini Devi and director Aribam Syam Sharma were screened at Visva-Bharati University. In collaboration with Gorky Sadan, Kolkata. |
![]() | VIVAN SUNDARAM: Re-Take of Amrita and Ramkinkar
5th M. K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture 8 February 2017 MFDC Auditorium, Imphal | |
Artist Vivan Sundaram delivered an illustrated lecture on Amrita Sher-Gil and Ramkinkar Baij, with special reference to Binodini at Santiniketan. With an introduction by Thoidingjam Tombi on "Binodini the Artist"and followed by a screening of Asangba Nongjabi (Crimson Rainclouds), telefilm by Aribam Syam Sharma with a screenplay by M.K. Binodini Devi based on her play. |
![]() | RAJKUMAR SINGHAJIT SINGH: Dance of Poetry, Poetry of Dance 4th M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture 8 February 2016 J. N. Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal | |
The 4th M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture was delivered by Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, one of the most accomplished performers and a senior exponent, choreographer, and scholar of Manipuri dance. Guru Singhajit's lecture-performances have been noted for their remarkable virtuousity and erudition at various educational institutions in India and abroad. He is the recipient of the highest honors in dance in India, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Shri. |
![]() | RADIO PLAYS OF M.K. BINODINI DEVI PUBLISHED 4th M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture 8 February 2016 J. N. Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal | |
Twelve extant plays by M. K. Binodini Devi, written for and broadcast on All India Radio were compiled and edited by Chongtham Kamala Devi and Dr. Bishnulatpam Tarunkumari for Imasi Publication's ON AIR: The Radio Plays of Binodini (ON AIR: Khonjel Lila Binodinigi). The little known genre was a form in which she was eminently successful.The book was released by Okram Ibobi Singh, Hon. Chief Minister of the Government of Manipur. |
![]() | M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S DANCE-DRAMA Ballad of Loktak (1991) Revived 4th M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture 8 February 2016 J. N. Manipur Dance Academy, Imphal | |
In Loktak Isei (Ballad of Loktak) M.K. Binodini Devi weaves an elegiac telling of one of the legends of the Seven Incarnations of Star-Crossed Lovers of Moirang, the picturesque town on the shores of Lake Loktak. Using folklore, flora and fauna - and children as lake flowers - the writer makes a powerful plea for the preservation of this natural wonder and its culture. Loktak Isei is one of five dance-dramas written by M.K. Binodini Devi, and the second on an ecological theme. |
![]() | MYANMAR MANIPUR CONFERENCE ON THE CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE Presented in association with Asian Cultural Council November 23-25, 2015 Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal | |
Artists and scholars from Myanmar and Manipur, and the world over, come together to talk about shared challenges of conserving cultural heritage in the performing and visual arts, architecture and monuments, crafts, literature, and media. Presented by Sangai Tourism Festival, in association with Asian Cultural Council, NYC and Laihui. |
![]() | M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S KEIBUL LAMJAO AT SANGAI TOURISM FESTIVAL Performed by J. N. Manipur Dance Academy November 23, 2016 Chorus Repertory Theatre, Imphal | |
Keibul Lamjao: Dancing Deer of Manipur is set in the eponymous floating home of the brow-antlered deer on Loktak Lake. M.K.Binodini Devi uses the dramatic and poignant legend of the hunter Kadeng of Moirang in her script based on her famous environmental essay. It is told from the point of view of the animal sacred to the Manipuris, the sangai, the deer “that looks at you”. |
![]() | CULTURES OF PEACE: ON NER WRITERS Festival of The Northeast October 24, 2016 Guwahati Town Club, Guwahati Produced by Zubaan Books | |
Zubaan's Cultures of Peace 2015, held in association with The North East Writers' Forum and the Heinrich Boell Foundation focused on travel writing, the troubled question of ethnicity, the media and women, new directions in writing and the translators' dilemma.Participating writers included Arzuman Ara, Surajit Barooah, Monalisa Changkija, Arup Kumar Dutta, Mitra Pukhan, Teresa Rehman, L Somi Roy, Anuradha Sharma Pujari, Ananya Shankar Guha, and T. Bijoy Singh, among others. |
![]() | FARTHEST FIELD: RAGHU KARNAD BOOK RELEASE AND READING September 28, 2015 MFDC Auditorium, Imphal Presented in association with Manipur Tourism | |
Award-winning journalist Raghu Karnad's Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War narrates the lost epic of India's Second World War, in which the largest volunteer army in history fought for the British Empire, even as its countrymen fought to be free of it. It carries us from the Calicut seafront, through Peshawar, Egypt and Iraq, to a climax in the hills of Manipur, unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world and swept up in its violence. |
![]() | BINODINI IN VIVAN SUNDARAM'S 409 Ramkinkars An installation-art-theater event March 25 – April 2, 2015 IGNCA, New Delhi | |
Artist Vivan Sundaram and his core collaborative team, references M.K. Binodini Devi as the muse of the Indian artist Ramkinkar Baij in the creation of 409 Ramkinkars, an installation-art-theater event. It was followed by a month-long exhibition of the installation. |
![]() | WORLD PREMIERE READING: AMITAV GHOSH'S FLOOD OF FIRE The 3rd M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture February 6, 2015 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal | |
Amitav Ghosh reads from Flood of Fire, the final installment in his internationally acclaimed Ibis Trilogy whichcompletes Ghosh's unprecedented re-envisioning of the 19th century war on drugs. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, The New Republic, The New York Times, and others, Ghosh's work has been translated into more than twenty languages. He is a Padma Shri and a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award. |
![]() | PUBLICATION OF M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S The Maharaja's Household The 3rd M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture February 6, 2015 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal | |
Part memoir, part oral testimony, part eyewitness account, M. K. Binodini Devi's The Maharaja's Household: A Daughter's Memories of Her Father provides a unique and engrossingly intimate view of life in the erstwhile royal household of Manipur, bringing to life stories of kingdoms long vanished. This important addition to the untold histories of the British Raj was translated by L. Somi Roy and published by Zubaan Books publication, with an introduction by Prof. Nahakpam Aruna. |
![]() | PRITI PATEL PERFORMS Black Swan: The Chosen One The 3rd M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture February 6, 2015 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal Anjika Dance Company, Kolkata | |
I hunt for the Black Swan. You may smile, my friends, but I pursue the vision that eludes me.I run across hills and dales, I wander through nameless lands, because I am hunting for the Black Swan. Priti Patel dedicates Black Swan to “my mentor, inspiration and guide, my Imasi, my mother”. Patel is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Manipuri Dance. M.K. Binodini Devi was the Founder and Patron of the Anjika Centre for Manipuri Dance, which celebrates 20years in 2015. |
![]() | LAUNCH OF M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S The Maharaja's Household January 21, 2015 ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival | |
M.K. Binodini Devi's intimate view of life in the erstwhile royal household of Manipur, and an important addition to the untold histories of the British Raj, is launched at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival. Binodini: Forgotten Kingdoms, Remembered Histories featured Maharaja Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Burman and Imasi Founder L. Somi Roy in conversation with Janice Parriat. East South Asia, examining links between NER and its neighbors, featured Tshering Tashi, Deb Burman, Roy, and Wipas Srithong in conversation with Prashant Jha. |
![]() | THE MANIPURI PONY: A CONSERVATION CASE STUDY Presentation by L. Somi Roy November 21, 2014 Indian Museum, Kolkata. Presentation for World Heritage Week Organized by INTACH, Kolkata | |
![]() | CALAMITY AND COURAGE: A HEROINE OF THE RAJ Belinda Morse Indian Edition, Imasi Publications 2014 April 21, 2014 Raj Bhavan, Imphal | |
Calamity And Courage: A Heroine Of The Raj, Belinda Morse's 2008 biography of Ethel St. Clair Grimwood who escaped from Manipur in 1891 after the killing of her husband Frank Grimwood, the British Political Agent. The biography concludes with the revelation of the untold story of Grimwood's life following her bestseller My Three Years in Manipur. The reading by Lady Morse was attended by her husband Sir Jeremy Morse and two descendants of Frank Grimwood, Judith Macaulay and her daughter Katherine Macaulay. The book was released by Governor V.K. Duggal. |
![]() | URVASHI BUTALIA: Dismantling the Master's House 2nd M.K. Binodini Devi Lecture February 6, 2014 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal | |
URVASHI BUTALIA is co founder of Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house and currently is Director of Zubaan, an imprint of Kali. Among her best known books is the award-winning The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India Zubaan has over the years developed an excellent list of books by writers from the northeast, and is also the publisher of Irom Sharmila's collection of poems, Fragrance of Peace. Butalia is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the Chevalier des Artes et des Lettres. |
![]() | M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S TRANSLATION
OF TAGORE PERFORMED Karna Kunti Sangbad
(Dialogue between Karna and Kunti) February 6, 2014 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal | |
M.K. Binodini Devi's translation of Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore's 1900 dramatic poem is brought to stage. The dialogue between a son and his long-lost natural mother has the preparations for the great war of the Mahabharata as its backdrop. Two missing fragments in the manuscript of M. K. Binodini Devi's 1966 translation from the original Bangla were supplemented by Nongthombam Kunjamohan Singh and Imasi Trustee Ratan Thiyam, who also did the concept and design, for this performance. |
![]() | M.K. BINODINI DEVI'S
SONG LYRICS PUBLISHED Isei Binodinigi (Songs of Binodini) Ed. Aribam Syam Sharma, Chongtham Kamala Imasi Publications, 2014 February 6, 2014 Chandrakirti Auditorium, Imphal | |
Isei Binodinigi is a collection of her 57 song lyrics by M.K. Binodini Devi andher translations of 28 Rabindra Sangeet from the original Bangla. It is co-edited by Aribam Syam Sharma and Chongtham Kamala Devi. The book was published on behalf of Imasi Publications by Thokchom Thouyangba and Thokchom Thoungamba and released by Shri Okram Ibobi Singh, Hon. Chief Minister of Manipur. |
![]() | SAMIK BANDYOPADHYAY: Cinema Across Cultures 1st M.K. Binodini Devi Memorial Lecture February 6, 2013 MFDC Auditorium, Imphal | |
Samik Bandyopadhyay is a film and theatre critic was a long-time friend and associate of M. K. Binodini Devi. Perhaps the most eminent critic of Manipur's arts and culture Samik has been at the forefront of bringing an understanding and appreciation of the work of artists like Aribam Syam Sharma and Ratan Thiyam to the world outside Manipur. He has lectured extensively in the USA, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England. Samik is the Founder-Editor of Thema, a small publisher based in Calcutta. He is also visiting faculty at the National Film Archives of India and the Film and Television Institute of India. |
![]() | SCREENING OF ISHANOU MARKS 40 YEARS OF MANIPURI CINEMA Original screenplay by M.K. Binodini Devi Directed by Aribam Syam Sharma; 1991 February 6, 2013 MFDC Auditorium, Imphal | |
The Chosen One is a rich melodrama that contrasts ordinary domestic life with the rituals of Manipur's shamanic traditions. Myth, magic, ritual and a riveting final sequence of shamanic dance (the maibis portray themselves) are all elements that made The Chosen One an official selection for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, Ishanou was one of 27 films selected for 100 Years of Indian Cinema: A Celebration. Imsi Foundation and Manipur Film Development Corporation also mark 40 Years of Manipuri Cinema. |