Dakula, The Mridangam Artist.

“Dakula” or “Mridangam Artists” are an integral and inseparable aspect of Bishnupriya Manipuri culture and heritage. Since Manipuris are pretty religious community rooted into the belief of spirituality, they always prioritise the spiritualism in their daily activities. From the basic household functions to the biggest religious festivals, Bishnupriya Manipuris perform all their rituals with traditional music which are predominantly spiritual songs to seek blessings from the divine and also the ancestor. It is usually seen that A “Dakula” and “Isalpa” accompanied by other people sing along the enchanting verses of music and perform the “Arati”, lit up the sacred fire to remove all the presence of darkness.

For this aforementioned reason the “Dakula” hold an unprecedented importance in the society and always are busy performing here and there because despite being a small community the people always want to practice and uphold their age old traditions. These Dakulas are very hard working and till a quite late age they like to perform for love of the art form. However, sometimes due to heavy workload they find it very difficult to maintain a good health since the work is very challenging and physically demanding. Nevertheless, they have been performing up to their level best in order to sustain this beautiful culture and community and I hope that these people get their due credit they deserve.

In this photograph, a veteran “Dakula” Mr Dhone Oja, one of the most senior Masters of Mridangam, having his Mridangam on his back is way to perform at a function just before the dusk.

Project: Documenting Bishnupriya Manipuri Culture and heritage.