Mangka Mayanglambam on being the face of Indian folk music: ‘I feel a large responsibility’

At one point in her life, Mangka Mayanglambam wanted to participate in the beauty pageant ‘Miss Manipur’; to prepare for it, she would strut around her house. That is when her parents first saw an arte in her. Today, Mangka is the face of Manipuri folk music and represents India on various international platforms. She is also the only female Pena player and recipient of the State Icon Award in Manipur.
With ZIRO FOCUS, an international collaborative project produced Ziro Festival of Music and supported British Council, as part of India/UK Together, a Season of Culture, Mangka collaborated with Eadyth, another arte, and together they created a song ‘RaRaReHei‘ virtually, which will soon be released as an NFT with holders getting access to future IRL events and other utilities.
In an exclusive interview with , Mangka gets candid about a lot of things — from being the daughter of the well-known folk musician Mangangsana to mentoring and teaching children who want to grow up to be just like her.
What is the one thing that drew you to Indian folk music? 
I grew up lening to so many folktales and folk music. Since my father is a musician and composer, there were artes always coming to my place and practicing. Even though I didn’t exactly know what ‘folk’ meant when I was younger, growing up with this sound made me realise I wanted to sing and dance. It’s in my blood.

The most important lesson(s) you’ve learnt from your father and his journey. 
My father is a very gentle man and a great observer. He dedicated his whole life to music, researching and cultivating younger talents. But one thing that stands out to me is that he never treated me like his daughter while working with me. He always treated me just like one of his artes, something that gave me perspective. He’s truly my biggest inspiration and role model.

When did you realise you wanted to pursue folk music professionally?
I grew up lening to folk music because of my dad, and I would always keep pressuring him to let me learn something — music or dance. So when I was very young, he took me to one of the finest schools to get my training. After meeting and spending time with my guru, I realised that I wanted to be just like her, and that’s when I made up my mind. I think I was only 10 years old. I actually don’t remember the exact point because I have grown up performing and singing, since my childhood.
How do you feel representing India internationally at music festivals? 
Coming from a small state like Manipur and representing all of India, it’s such an honour for me. But also as a folk art I feel a large responsibility. The first time I represented India internationally was back in 2014 — I was selected from all over India to be at one of the world’s biggest radio festivals. That is an experience I will forever cherish. Passing Indian folk music onto the next generation to preserve and promote it is something I have always wanted to do.

What are some challenges you face today as an Indian folk musician?
Within every community, folk music is meant to be preserved and promoted. So preserving something that is meant to be kept sacred and at the same time, performing it on big stages can be challenging. There’s also other big challenges, since we have so many boundaries that we can’t cross because of the traditions that come with folk music — there are so many dos and donts, such as playing the Pena as a woman. It can be challenging to break stereotypes. Folk arts also cannot be compared to commercial arts, everything works differently for us.

What is the one accomplishment that you’re most proud of?
My children are my biggest accomplishment — the ones who came to me to learn from me. I always wanted to spend time with children, and now I have students. So they are my biggest achievement because I didn’t ask them to come to me to learn music or dance. But they came to me and said they wanted to dress up like me and learn music. Thus, their parents requested me to spend time with them.
 

How do you feel being part of a landmark bilateral culture program?
It’s amazing because I’ve always wanted to collaborate with arts from different parts of the world. It’s been an amazing journey and what makes it even more special is that I got to perform at a few places in the UK. So I would love to be a part of this again, as it really connects cultures. I would like to thank the British Council for making me a part of this journey.
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