Youth of Tripura village sees traditional ‘Manasa Mangal’ as remedy to drug abuse

Agartala, August 17: Jolaibari, an obscure locality that falls on the Sabroom-Agartala national highway in South Tripura district is famous for many reasons. Particularly for its geographical proximity to the Pilak archeological site, this place has historical significance and in terms of cultural practices, Jolaibari still bears the most pristine view of an ideal Bengali village.

This must be the reason why traditional practices of Bengali culture such as Manasa Mangal, Dhaki, Boisakhi Mela, and so on and so forth are still an unavoidable part of the social customs there.

But, what a new group of school and college students have displayed through their attempt to keep the legacy of Manasa Mangal alive and relevant is at the same time progressive and unique in nature.

The group who like to call themselves “Padma Purana (Colloquial name of Manasa Mangal) Unique Group Jolaibari”, has taken an initiative to fight the increasing drug menace by signing ‘Manasa Mangal’.

Speaking on the issue, a member of the group Samaresh Majumder explained that Manasa Mangal is touted to be a womanly affair. But, their idea was different from others.

“Initially, we have been shamed. Many said we are going off track. But, we worked persistently. Today, our team has grown big. Our group is now invited to sing Manasa Mangal outside Jolaibari as well”, he added.

Another member of the group said they also want to give a message to the entire new generation to quit drugs or other addiction and invest attention to cultural activities.

“Not only sports, cultural activities can also be a remedy to the curse of addiction. We hope our efforts of raising awareness against drug abuse through singing Manasa Mangal will become successful one day and more and more youth will indulge in cultural activities quitting drugs”, he added.

The group now has more than fifteen members with several lead singers who are expert in reading the verses of Manasa Mangal with a blend of contemporary folk music and numbers that are popular in the rural areas.