In an interview, Manipur folk artist Manga Mayanglambam said, “Many children were killed in 2023; that tragedy inspired me. Music is my instrument.”
Manga Mayanglambam, who took part in RIFF (Rajasthan International Folk Festival) held in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, sang and composed music.
In Manipur, clashes between the Meitei and Kuki ethnic groups have been raging since 2023. For the first time, security forces have brought a Kuki armed group camp under their control.
In this context, artist Mangka Mayanglambam, who gained attention through Manipur’s traditional musical instrument, the pena, wrote a song in 2024 titled “Apocalypse: The Call of Mother Nature.”
He had begun writing this song around 2019–2020. He said that, due to the COVID period, he was unable to complete it for four years, and later, during the 2023 violence, he wrote the song and released it in 2024.
In this context, in an interview given to PTI at the RIFF festival held in Jodhpur, Mangka said:
During the Corona period, I thought human civilization itself had been destroyed. It felt as if Mother Nature was taking revenge for our actions. At that time, I couldn’t write more than two paragraphs. Then, in 2023, many innocent children were killed.
In the last two paragraphs, I wrote about the inhumanity of people hating one another. We have no love at all. I wrote metaphorically that the trees were dancing, the birds were mocking us, and the rivers thought we might be wiped out.
All the songs and stories have changed. Even when stories are written about love and peace, memories of the previous years come back to me and everything turns dark.
I may be dressed well. I may have put on makeup. But when I sing Manipur’s song in my heart, I feel a pain that cannot be described in words.
Music is my tool, my power. Music helps me share with the world that Manipur was a peaceful and beautiful place. Every time I sing a song, every time I tell a story, it reflects within me in a different way.
There are no job opportunities for artists in Manipur. This is the only source of income for people like us. Ninety percent of artists work only in Manipur.
Imagine three years without any festivals, celebrations, or festivities. Only struggles. Since 2023, the only melody we hear is the crying of mothers. We too are fighting in a different way. We, who have no power, fight on stages.
In this difficult time, music comforts many people. Even if only for a few moments, music is both a tool and a power for me to comfort others. I have played and shared this in many camps and spoken with people. That is why I still have not given it up. Many people have abandoned this profession. Many are in a situation where they cannot return to their hometowns, he said.
Manga is the last folk artist in Manipur who plays songs using a musical instrument called the pena, which is on the verge of extinction. At present, his music is reaching fans all over the world through YouTube, Spotify, and more.