Choreographed in 1985, by Chaotombi Singh, head of the repertory unit in the Manipur Dance Academy, this work must have been a path breaking work in its time. Contemporary dance choreography based on Manipuri dance movements and adapted to depict the deer, the effect was artistic but very real at the same time. The music, by M.Kula Singh was pleasing but unobtrusive, with the percussion and other sounds reminiscent of the Manipuri culture.

The once abundant deer population in Manipur is now threatened with extinction. Manipuris believe that killing a Sangai brings ill luck including separation from a loved one. The legend has it that the king sent a young chief in charge of a hunting expedition during the hunting festival, Kadeng Thangjahanba. The young man’s ladylove pleads with him to bring back a live deer. He returns with a doe, to find the girl being married off to the king. Thus the superstition came into being.

It was an engrossing one-hour dance-drama. The power and cruelty of man and the helplessness of the animal was very sensitively portrayed. The scene of the struggle leading to it’s capture, between the deer and the young chief, was heartrending. The music, the movements and the subtle lighting combined to create a poignant moment. The tiger and man are perennial dangers to the deer population. They continue stalking the deer. The fright and the misery of this harmless animal were well depicted by the dancers. The production ended on this distressing note.

The appeal was more in the subtlety than in any dramatic impact. The lighting was imaginative but subdued. The simple, but very evocative costumes- the deer in beige outfits with just the suggestion of the antlers on the head conveyed the message with minimal strapping. The dancers of course carried the show with their subtle abhinaya, their graceful movements with the Manipuri style very much in evidence. And not once did they falter in their roles, every movement of the arm or leg suggestive of the deer. A treat for art connoisseurs.