The human cost of war
THE plight of refugees and their constant state of movement and instability became the central theme of 1 Sq Ft, a contemporary dance act by Manipuri choreographer Surjit Nongmeikapam, who was first inspired by the horrors of the World World II wreckage in Manipur.
The 30-minute act enunciated the human cost of war and the displacement it caused worldwide. Using the metaphor of his props – bamboo for boundaries, oars for crossing water bodies and chairs for comfort and seats of power – his act builds a powerful case for the reality of war and violence.
For a young Nongmeikapam, who now often sees refugees in Europe, the story started with his grandmother’s painful narration of the Battle of Imphal in 1944, when Japanese troops caused much destruction in the region.
“When I was little, my grandmother used to narrate the Japan attack and how they ran for survival. She told me there wasn’t enough food to survive yet they shared it with the soldiers.
They even ate rotten food. Because of the war, she couldn’t study further and regretted it lifelong,” Nongmeikapam, who is trained in Kathak, Kalaripayattu, Manipuri dance, contemporary dance and Manipuri martial art Thang-ta, said.
The act’s title 1 Sq Ft is a sharp elocution of how even a square foot, the space needed to stand, is not available for the refugees in a foreign land.
The choreographer, who equates war with “not just fighting, but also running for survival and a better life”, has used constant motion to signify the unstable lives of the refugees on the move.
“My idea was to explore people travelling from place to place to find ways to survive,” the young performer said.
Beginning with three dancers shifting seats, the brief act graduates to one of them succumbing to circumstances on the floor.
Chairs, symbolising power, are slowly weighed down on him, and soon he is unable to stand.
1 Sq Ft premiered at the Arteast Festival that concluded at the India International Centre here last week. It will feature in several upcoming cultural events.