BHOPAL: ‘Thang Ta’ a martial art of Manipur was presented by the students of MP School of Drama on Thursday on its premises.
In the performance, the students presented the art in six different scenes. In the first scene, they showed how we can use the art to defend and attack. It was followed by scenes of battle between one and two persons, using spear and sword, lathi, U su of China and Tyachi Chawan. The students prepared the presentation in a workshop under the guidance of eminent martial arts trainer S. Biswajeet Singh from Manipur.
It is noteworthy here that ‘Thang-Ta is a cultural heritage art of Manipur. Its traditional name is Huyel Langlon. Huyel Langlon means (Huyel means war and Langlon means knowledge of art) knowledge of war art. “Thang” and “Ta” are main weapons of this art so people commonly know the art as Thang-Ta. They take Thang to mean sword and Ta, the spear. In this art, movements of sword are intended to ward off evil spirits while other dance moves indicate protection. It is recognised by the Ministry of Culture of the government of India as a classical dance form of India.
